In The New One, now on Broadway after a sold out run at the Cherry Lane Theatre, Mike Birbiglia's humor falls under the category of self-deprecation, as he recounts stories of medical issues, a couch, his wife, his brother, his nephews, and his cats.
If the title and the crayon-esque artwork didn't give you any clues, the show follows his journey to truly being a father, which didn't necessarily happen when his wife went into the delivery room. Birbiglia was born to be a storyteller. He has a talent for taking what may seem like the most uninteresting stories about surgery and children's toys, and turning them into kind-hearted and clever jokes that leave the audience laughing for longer than you would expect, also putting a happy grin on Birbiglia's face.
Unlike many comedians, his humor is grounded in his own life. He looks at his flaws through the lens of comedy. And, the stories he tells in this extended stand-up routine, are real. His feelings are raw and on display, and while sometimes the stories veer into a territory known as a little too much information, his heart is truly there. I wouldn't simply call it a comedy show, as it displays the love he has for his family, even if he had to take a long and sometimes difficult journey to get there.