Comedian Mike Birbiglia performs his one-man show “The Old Man and the Pool” at Steppenwolf Theatre through the end of the month and he describes it as a “story that starts at my doctor’s office, for my annual checkup. I do the pulmonary test, where you blow into the tube, and I did so poorly that the doctor said, just based on that, he would think I was having a heart attack.” That sent Birbiglia down a rabbit hole of “tests and doctor’s appointments and trying to change my diet and make better life decisions and going swimming at the YMCA,” he said. “And it sort of set me on this existential comedic spiral about what it means to be alive and dead and what we should consider doing when we’re alive. And (the show’s) got about 150 jokes in it.”
Birbiglia is also writer-director of the semi-autobiographical indie movie “Sleepwalk With Me” (about a guy who sleepwalks) as well as “Don’t Think Twice” (about a group of improv performers). He has his own comedy specials on Netflix and he also shows up as an actor in other people’s projects, including Amy Schumer’s “Trainwreck,” Netflix’s “Orange Is the New Black” and Showtime’s “Billions.”
He was also tapped to fill in as guest host on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” this week after Kimmel announced he has COVID-19.
