Los Angeles Times - Recommended
"...Mike Birbiglia is the kind of stand-up comedian your mother would want you to settle down and marry, if there were no eligible doctors, lawyers or bankers with a reasonably good sense of humor available. While other comics overwhelm you with their wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am wit, he tells mild-mannered jokes that promise to keep a roof over your head, even if leaks and black mold are inevitably part of the act."
Broadway World - Recommended
"...Mike Birbiglia is an undoubtedly remarkable storyteller. The way his latest solo show, The Old Man and the Pool, which is playing now at CTG's Mark Taper Forum, is structured is clean, snappy, clear, and concise. No loose knots are left untied and no Chekhovian guns are left unfired. Giving us a sweeping history of his medical conditions, he takes us through resonant moments of childhood, adolescence, and tender fatherhood. He never gets so heady as to impose a moral or clear lesson, and he never becomes too serious to land a visual gag."
LA Splash - Highly Recommended
"...Who else but Mike Birbiglia could find humor in a series of medical emergencies, cardio exercises – and a nearly naked old man? You’ll find out when you see the world premiere of MIKE BIRBIGLIA: THE OLD MAN AND THE POOL. Written and performed by Mike Birbiglia and directed by Seth Barrish, the production underscores Birbiglia’s unique form of comedic storytelling as he describes a coming-of-middle-age story about what to expect as we grow older (but let’s hope not)."
TheatreMania - Highly Recommended
"...Mike Birbiglia makes a triumphant return to the stage at the Mark Taper Forum with another intimate discussion in his disarming, everyman fashion. Riffing on family, health, exercise, and grammar, Center Theatre Group's production of Mike Birbiglia: The Old Man and the Pool has the audience in stitches, laughing hysterically at the frailty of humanity."
Total Theater - Highly Recommended
"...The Old Man and the Pool is more stand-up comedy than theatrical performance but, hey, it was produced by a major theater company and was performed in the Mark Taper Forum, so respect must be paid. Also, this solo turn by Mike Birbiglia was consistently funny and engaging, making it a pleasure to write about."
Entertainment Weekly - Highly Recommended
"...There aren't many instances when I find myself, a first-generation Latin American woman from Los Angeles, relating to a middle-aged white man from Massachusetts. I mean, I don't even like wearing closed-toed shoes. Can you imagine the winters? Ugh, hard pass. And yet... watching Mike Birbiglia's new one-man show, The Old Man and the Pool, I felt connected to him, reliving some of my own recent medical traumas and finally being able to laugh at them and release a little of the anxiety I've been carrying."
Stage Raw - Highly Recommended
"...Though it takes place in the Mark Taper Forum downtown, a venue typically home to plays and one-person shows, The Old Man and the Pool is more of a finessed stand-up routine than a typical night out at the theater. This shouldn’t come as a surprise to most audiences; Birbiglia’s last show in L.A., The New One, played at the Ahmanson, another Center Theatre Group venue, in 2019, but is now streaming as a comedy special on Netflix."
Ticket Holders LA - Highly Recommended
"...Mike Birbiglia's comedy is all his own and as such, The Old Man and the Pool is a highly unique and refreshing entertainment, making us feel a tad embarrassed to be laughing at his poor-me modernday Little Tramp persona-that is until one considers there's a strong possibility we're all on the same journey."