ST. PAUL, Minn. (Sept 25, 2019) – Following the acclaimed, sold-out off-Broadway run, Mike Birbiglia’s The New One will be at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts for a limited four-show engagement October 17-19, 2019. Tickets are on sale now at Ordway.org or by calling 651.224.4222.

Comedian Mike Birbiglia’s hilarious and brutally-honest one-man show is about the life-altering decision to become a parent after a lifetime of believing that he should never father a child. “I’ve lost a lot of great friends to kids,” he confides, never quite buying the reassuring mantra, “This won’t change our lives together.”

St. Paul is one of only four cities to host The New One. Birbiglia explained why: “I’ve always loved doing shows in Minneapolis and St. Paul. I’ve been performing there regularly on my tours since 2003. I’ve always loved performing there because it’s a group of people who love theater and also love comedy. There is a thriving scene in both areas and so bringing a show that merges theater in comedy is a thrilling opportunity. Plus it has an easy airport code to remember: MSP.”

Written by Mike Birbiglia, with additional writing by Jennifer Hope Stein, The New One is a new play directed by Seth Barrish (The Barrow Group) with set design for Broadway by Beowulf Boritt (Bernhardt/Hamlet, Come From Away, and the Ordway’s production of Smokey Joe’s Cafe), lighting design by Aaron Copp (Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center), and sound design by Leon Rothenberg (The Waverly Gallery). Mike Birbiglia’s The New One was produced on Broadway by Kevin McCollum (Rent, Avenue Q). This American Life’s Ira Glass is Executive Producer. Joe Birbiglia is Associate Producer and Mike Lavoie is Production Consultant.

In 2008, Nathan Lane introduced New York City theatergoers to Mike Birbiglia by presenting Birbiglia’s solo theater debut, Sleepwalk with Me, which went on to be adapted into a New York Times bestselling book and Sundance Award-winning feature film of the same name. Since then, Birbiglia has written and performed Thank God For Jokes and My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend for which he received a Lucille Lortel Award. Now he’s delivered The New One.

Critics have widely praised Birbiglia’s The New One:
“Birbiglia is brilliant.” – The New Yorker
“A life affirming piece of work for fathers, mothers, and all of us who have them.” – Vogue
“A genius blend of confessional and observational comedy.” – The New York Times

A lot of people think you should go see The New One:

• Audra McDonald called Mike “spectacular” and the show “amazing.” She said “Go.”
• Lin-Manuel Miranda called The New One “as perfect a night as you’re gonna get.” He said “Go.”
• Frank Oz said “Hilarious! Touching. Hilarious. Soulful. Hilarious. Insightful. Hilarious.
• Truthful. Hilarious. Dangerous. And Hilarious. And it's really really funny too.” He also said “Go.”
• John Mulaney went on to say, “I’ve seen all of Mike’s work. This is quite possibly his best show. Go.”
• Non-celebrity and insightful member of the public Jennifer Prandato wrote, “I laughed so hard at @birbigs show tonight that I swung my hand up to cover my mouth and chipped my tooth with my ring and STILL couldn't stop laughing which is probably the highest praise I could ever give, so if you get the chance to see him, GO.”

Cast and Creative Bios

Mike Birbiglia (Performer/Writer) is a comedian, storyteller, director and actor who has performed in front of audiences worldwide, from the Sydney Opera House to Carnegie Hall. His most recent shows, My Girlfriend's Boyfriend and Thank God for Jokes, were both filmed for Netflix. In addition to performing live, Birbiglia is an author and filmmaker who wrote, directed, and starred in the films Sleepwalk with Me and Don't Think Twice. His book, Sleepwalk With Me and Other Painfully True Stories, was a New York Times bestseller and a finalist for the Thurber Prize for American Humor. As an actor, Birbiglia has appeared on “Inside Amy Schumer,” HBO's “Girls” and “Broad City” as well as in the films Trainwreck, The Fault in Our Stars, and Popstar. He plays the role of Danny Pearson on “Orange is the New Black” and Oscar Langstratt on Showtime's “Billions.” He is a frequent contributor to This American Life on public radio. Last year Birbiglia was honored with the Kurt Vonnegut Award for humor.

Jennifer Hope Stein (Additional Writing), aka J. Hope Stein, is the author of Occasionally, I remove your brain through your nose (Poet Republik, 2017). Her poems can be found in The New Yorker, Poetry International, Lenny Letter and In the Shape of a Human Body I Am Visiting the Earth: Poems from Far and Wide (McSweeney’s and Poetry International, 2017). She was an associate producer on the film Sleepwalk With Me and consulting producer on the film Don’t Think Twice.

Seth Barrish (Director) is the Co-Founder and Co-Artistic Director of The Barrow Group where he most recently directed Scott Organ's The Thing With Feathers. He directed Thank God for Jokes (Outer Critics Circle Nomination for Outstanding Solo Show, Lucille Lortel Award nomination for Best Solo Show), All The Rage (Lucille Lortel Award-winner for Best Solo Show), My Girlfriend's Boyfriend, Sleepwalk With Me (Nightlife Award for Outstanding Comedian in a Major Performance), The Tricky Part (OBIE Award-winner, Drama Desk nominations for Best Play and Best Solo Show), Pentecost (Drama Desk nomination for Best Play), Old Wicked Songs (Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award & Garland Award for Best Direction), and Good (Straw Hat Award for Best Direction), among dozens of productions spanning a 35-year career Off Broadway, in regional theater and internationally. Seth co-directed the feature film Sleepwalk With Me. In 2016, he co-adapted Ibsen's An Enemy of the People. Seth served as a Consulting Producer on the feature film Don't Think Twice. Seth is a professional acting and directing teacher and wrote the book, An Actor's Companion-Tools for the Working Actor, published by TCG with a foreword by Anne Hathaway. As an actor, Seth appears regularly in film and on television. Seth is also a composer (SESAC) and most proud of his affiliation with his family, Lee Brock, Phillip & Rachel Barrish.

Beowulf Boritt (Scenic Design) Broadway: Be More Chill, Act One (Tony Award), The Scottsboro Boys (Tony Nomination), Therese Raquin (Tony Nomination), Bernhardt/Hamlet, Meteor Shower, Prince of Broadway, Come From Away, Sunday in the Park with George, A Bronx Tale, Hand To God, On The Town, Sondheim On Sondheim, …Spelling Bee, LoveMusik, Rock Of Ages, Chaplin, Bronx Bombers, Grace, The Two And Only. Off-Broadway: 100 shows including The Toxic Avenger, The Last Five Years, Miss Julie and many shows at the Belmont Italian American Playhouse in the Bronx. Other designs: The Seven Deadly Sins (New York City Ballet) and the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. He received a 2007 OBIE Award for sustained excellence. Ordway audiences experienced Boritt’s spectacular set design earlier this month in the Ordway Original production of Smokey Joe’s Cafe: The Songs of Leiber and Stoller.

Aaron Copp (Lighting Design) Broadway debut. Music: Natalie Merchant, Yo-Yo Ma, Maya Beiser, Diamanda Galas, Bang-On-A Can. Off-Broadway: several shows with Mike Birbiglia, Naked Boys Singing. Dance: Miami City Ballet, Eliot Feld, Merce Cunningham, Royal Ballet Of Flanders, L’il Buck, Damian Woetzel, Jonah Bokaer, Karole Armitage. Regional: Old Globe, Dallas Theater Center, Kennedy Center, Village Theater, Two River Theater. Lighting consultation for Lincoln Center, Park Avenue Armory, The Shed, Princeton University, The Joyce Theater.

Leon Rothenberg (Sound Design) Select Broadway: The Waverly Gallery, Boys in the Band, A Doll’s House Part 2, Violet, The Realistic Jones, The Nance (Tony Award), The Heiress, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone (Tony Nomination). Regional: Arena, ACT, Geffen, Pasadena Playhouse, Huntington, Portland Center Stage, Seattle Rep, La Jolla, Old Globe, Long Wharf, McCarter, Williamstown Theater Festival, New York Stage and Film, others. Select New York/Off-Broadway: Second Stage, NYCC, MTC, Public Theater, Culture Project, Tectonic. International: Cirque du Soleil. Faculty: CalArts. http://klaxson.net

Ira Glass (Executive Producer) is the host and creator of the public radio program This American Life. He’s worked with Mike Birbiglia on a bunch of projects, under various titles, but all amounting to the same job: he gives editing notes to Mike. Under that arrangement, Glass co-wrote and co-produced the film Sleepwalk with Me, co-produced Don’t Think Twice, and produced the online short Fresh Air 2: Too Fast Too Furious. He’s featured Mr. Birbiglia on his radio show many times.

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