I’m not sure when I became a fan of Mike Birbiglia, but looking back at his IMDB profile it seems that the first thing I saw him in might have been Going the Distance with Drew Barrymore and Justin Long, who very cutely dated for three years back in the earlier 2000s. I don’t think I knew who he was back then, but going back and watching it again, I remember his character as the waiter (I’ve had this movie on my DVR since 2019, and it was a bit of serendipity that I had it at my fingertips).
The next thing I might know him from is Orange is the New Black, where he played prison Activities Director Danny Pearson for two seasons. Not sure if he registered then. But after his appearance in Orange, and subsequent small roles in Cedar Rapids, Trainwreck, Broad City, and Girls, all that I’ve seen and liked, he must have sunk into my brain somehow. So, when he appeared as Oscar Langstraat, the quicky “venture philanthropist” in Billions, there was just enough of him already imbedded in my brain that made it so easy to find him ambiguously familiar and so likable in that role. Ever since, I’ve always had my eye out for him, so when I saw he had produced a stage show called The Old Man & the Pool, I put it on my list of want-to-dos.
I was looking for things to do over the wonderful, quiet week that is the week between Christmas and the New Year, I decided to take a day to myself and go see two shows that I wanted to see, Old Man and A Strange Loop, the Pulitzer Prize-winning show about an author at war with himself.
I always love that week. It’s usually quiet work-wise, and after the race to the finish that is Christmas Eve, for the last few years I have enjoyed Christmas day as a pajamas, leftovers, and TV day. So, on Christmas day, I took a look at my calendar and Broadway.com, and booked January 8 for a matinee for the pool, and evening performance for the loop.
I’m not one to make new years resolutions. What I am one to do, and especially wont to do this year, is to be more mindful of my time, and the decisions I make around what and whom I give my time to. I once had a therapist point out to me that in times of stress, I tend to hoard time. That was an interesting concept to me because it was something I never thought about, and having my actions explained in that manner was truly helpful. I became more aware of my actions and tried to balance them better when I was in a hoarding phase.
But now, years later and with more life under my belt, time has become a primary currency. None of us knows how much time we have left, and in a way, I’ve not only accepted my time hoarding inclinations, I’ve decided to lean into them.
So, off I went to the Hamilton Train Station on the morning of the 8th. I left early because it was a nice day for January and wanted to see what else there might be to do before the first show, and I wanted to walk.
And walk I did. From Penn Station all the way up to Columbus Circle (and back!). I made two stops before the show: the first one intentional to Breads Bakery on Broadway at W. 62nd for a delicious chocolate babka for me to take home and then an unintentional one at the American Folk Art Museum on Columbus at W. 66th.
The AFAM was a great find an even greater surprise to find there was free admission. It celebrates art done by the self-taught and the exhibition that day, Morris Hirshfield Rediscovered, was awesome and inspiring.
Before I knew it, it was time to head to the Vivian Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center. I don’t always like to know what a show is about. Sometimes you can’t avoid it, but I even managed to avoid even one Hamilton song before I saw it.
Now, I’m not going to go into each story that he told, especially since the show has closed. Perhaps it will be made into a special on a streamer - and it would definitely be worth the time to do that. The stage was minimally set, with just a blue wave-shaped structure that was lit to resemble a pool.
What I will say about the show is that it starts with him retelling what happened at a recent doctor visit. What follows is one harrowing health-care tale after the other, told in a way that is all at the same time self-deprecating, funny, touching, and slightly sardonic. It was excellent, and he is a great storyteller and narrator of his own highs and lows. I left the show with an even bigger appreciation for him. And for time.
Yes, in a way the show came full-circle to one of the exact reasons I decided to take myself on a date to NYC: Time. Hearing scary and unexpected things from doctors is something that Mike dealt with in his show, and something that most of us will hear at some point in our lives.
I left the theater and headed back into the cold, ready to head back downtown for my second show. A quick check of my phone showed a text that the evening performance of A Strange Loop had been cancelled for unexpected reasons.
“What to do with that unexpected time?” I wondered.
I decided to just keep walking south.
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