"At first excruciatingly funny and then just kind of excruciating. The first hour, about his wife and cat and brother and vascular repair, is gorgeous, just the right amount of wrong...But once Mr. Birbiglia actually has a kid, most of what makes him so immensely appealing — his acuity, his empathy — goes down for a nap...The jokes don’t really stop, but they take a brakes-stripping turn toward self-pity ...After the birth Mr. Birbiglia seems awful. "
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"About his reluctant journey to fatherhood and how it has changed his life. That may sound about as scintillating as potato salad, but Birbiglia isn't some generic straight white guy whining about domesticity. He is raw, self-deprecating and painfully aware of both his privilege and his failings...The show isn't groundbreaking in structure, style or substance...But the meticulous and evocative way he expresses himself makes 'The New One'—like a newborn baby—special, unique and lovable."
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"The show is a sustained demonstration of effective comic writing and acting—Birbiglia is brilliant at weaponizing the conspiratorial stage whisper...Birbiglia hits peak funny when riffing on his frailties, medical and otherwise, and his self-deprecation comes across not as an underhanded cry for unearned 'helpless dad' sympathy but as an expression of genuine doubt about his role in the new family unit."
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"His comedic observational skills are sharp as a tack...Birbiglia seems deeply sincere in his lack of self-regard. It makes him all the funnier and more relatable...By the end of the evening, you feel less like an audience member than an old friend. Which is not to downplay the performer's incredibly sharp wit and gift for wordplay...It takes tremendous skill to come across in such an unskilled manner....That the show is being staged in such intimate confines only makes it all the more special."
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"It’s kind of a medical miracle, what Mike Birbiglia has done. No, not fathering a child after fertility doctors informed him 'my boys don’t swim.' Rather, he has miraculously breathed life into a catalogue of ancient comedy targets...His take on these subjects is frequently hilarious, and fresh nearly to the point of innocence, as Birbiglia encounters each awful reality for himself...An affecting story is at first funny, then sad, and finally profound."
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"Parenthood is well-worn territory for comedians, but Birbligia makes the show fresh and revealing through direct storytelling, precise pacing and his trademark nice guy persona, in which he presents himself in a casual, affable and excited manner. He interweaves observational humor, personal anecdotes (such as his clueless experience in Amsterdam’s Red Light District), sentimental touches and physical bits."
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"Directed by Seth Barrish, 'The New One' is original perspective on a familiar situation. Birbiglia is at the height of his powers as a storyteller, and his innate drollness earns laughs from particularly embarrassing subjects...Really, the laughs are nonstop. There's not a single lull. But it's also surprisingly tender, particularly in the later section."
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“The latest chapter of Birbiglia's life inventory...This time Birbiglia digs more deeply, subjecting his flaws to hilariously ruthless examination and getting to the heart of marriage and fatherhood and what they mean to him. As always, he is the most elusive of targets, defying categorization even as he lands laugh after laugh...‘The New One’ treads nimbly on more profound matters...This time he has an epiphany that can bring a tear to your eye”
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