Relationship jokes come in many shapes and sizes. There are the long-time long- term marriage jokes: “I make all the big decisions and she makes all the little decisions.” “Oh yeah, big decisions like what?” “Well, we haven’t had any of those yet.” The naughty jokes: “I don’t like to talk dirty in bed. It might wake her up.” There are even the cruel jokes: “ I dated a homeless girl once. You could drop her off anywhere.” But no one is doing it better these days than comedian and storyteller Mike Birbiglia. You might already be familiar with his work. He has been seen on David Letterman, Conan O’Brian, Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Cracked Corn and I don’t care. OK, I do care. His Comedy Central specials are hysterical. If you have seen him on any of these appearances, you are already a fan and will gladly trek to whatever comedy club, theatre, VFW hall or bus stop to see him do his thing live and in person. Well, his thing is coming to town this month and you might want to mark it on your calendar or set a reminder on you IPhone to remember the dates.
The show is called “My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend” and it will be performed on March 10 at the Mayo Center for the Performing Arts in Morristown and on March 11 at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank. It opened off-Broadway at the Barrow Street Theatre where, during its run, won the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Solo Show and was named a “Critic’s Pick” by The New York Times, New York Magazine and Time Out New York. Time Magazine called the show’s finale “possibly the best 15-minute stretch of playwriting…all season.” After four months and 80 performances, Mike has decided to take the show on the road. Good for him and good for us.
The best comedy always seems to grow out of real life situations. Romance and the art of finding true love in the modern world are natural fodder for any comic. Mike has taken some brutally honest missteps and miscues to a new level of painful and hilarious heights with his one man verbal attempt to try and make sense of something that has eluded man’s grasp from Adam and Eve to Shakespeare to the Kardashians…True Love (as Wesley would pledge to Princess Buttercup). As date nights go, this one could liven up any relationship. Or shoot it down in flames. That’s the mystery of romance. And that is where you will find the laughter. And as we all know, women love a man who can make them laugh (yeah right, if that were true, Bozo would be living in the Playboy Mansion).
Check out Mike Birbiglia and the show at:
www.birbigs.com
www.mayoarts.org
www.countbasietheatre.com