Mike Birbiglia did not want to become a father. He states seven reasons as to why. Mainly he believed he was inadequate. He also did not want his life to change drastically.
He tells the audience all of this in "The New One". Playing for twelve weeks on Broadway's Cort Theatre, Birbiglia's experience is funny and also harsh. The first part of the show is dedicated to the reasons as to why he did not want to become a father. Interspersed are stories of his brother and nephew and his career. As someone who does not want children it was easy to relate to this, but as the show progresses even I thought some of the things he was saying were too mean.
Birbiglia is a comedian and actor who has appeared mainly with Amy Schumer. He is funny and endearing. You can't help but like him. He is relatable. That is why it is a shame that the second half of the show isn't as strong as the first half. The jokes aren't as funny especially when you stop to think about the things he is saying about his family which now includes his young daughter.
"The New One" begins with a stage bare of almost everything but a stool and a rug. Birbiglia begins his show talking about his first major purchase: a couch. This turns into a story involving his brother and nephew and after recounting this story to his wife she tells him she wants a baby. He insists that he shouldn't have one especially since upon marrying she knew how he felt about having one of his own. She reminds him that she was unsure at first whether or not she wanted one, but now it's official. She wants a baby.
He lists 6 out of the 7 reasons in detail why he should not have children. In the end he gives in to his wife's demand and she is pregnant and experiencing pregnancy hormones that double every three days.
The show is directed by Seth Barrish, and director and performer make the show funny. There are bits during his wife Jen's (he calls her Clo) pregnancy that are hilarious. It is fun to watch him relive his wife's pregnancy and all the funny moments that came with it.
When the baby arrives, the jokes keep coming. They just aren't as funny anymore.
It is possible that Birbiglia is overexaggerating how he felt after his daughter's birth for comedic effect. Even so, he is not as likable as he was before the birth of his daughter. He is upset by the fact that his life has drastically changed even though his wife promised it wouldn't and while that is understandable, he comes across as selfish and full of self pity.
There comes a moment after a particular interaction with his wife and daughter that he states "I know why dads leave". He makes a joke out of it, but it is still an incredibly harsh things to say. This is the moment in the show that got the least amount of laughs and those that did laugh did it more because they felt uncomfortable.
I am not familiar for Birbiglia's comedy. It is possible that he says things like this for shock value. I don't know. Even so it is not funny. It is a horrible thing to say and maybe he does legitimately feel this way. He hasn't left his wife and daughter, so maybe he feels this is why he can say something like this. I have no idea, but it did not sit right with me.
A lot of the jokes built around the birth of his daughter and life after her birth revolve around traditional gender roles. He is not as attached to his daughter because his wife is doing all of the work. She is raising their baby and still doing all the household chores without his help. Yes, there are people who live this way in reality and more power to them if they are both content. He is not content, though.
The show does have a happy ending. He begins to help his wife with the chores and he develops a bond with his daughter. There were beautiful moments on his way to the discovery of fatherhood, but there were also ugly moments. Those jokes might have been written in an exaggerated form of how he truly felt, and I am not knocking on his experience. He is allowed to feel how he does. The ending makes up for those moments, though.
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