Mike Birbiglia
The name may or may not be familiar to you yet, but New York comedian Mike Birbiglia is a red hot property.
At 33, he’s got three Comedy Central cable TV specials to his credit, three comedy albums, three movie roles (“Going the Distance,” “Cedar Rapids” and “Your Sister’s Sister”), a regular spot on public radio’s “This American Life” series and two hit one-man shows.
The first solo stage show, “Sleepwalk with Me,” was released as a feature film, and his second, “My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend,” ran on Broadway for four months last year. Now on a national tour, Birbiglia brings “My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend” to Santa Rosa’s Wells Fargo Center for the Arts at 8 p.m. Friday, April 20.
A sample of his take on modern romance: When women meet him at a club. they meet Two-Drink Mike, who loves to dance. Zero-Drink Mike likes to watch wildlife programs on television, but Five-Drink Mike dances WITH wildlife.
Birbiglia took time to answer a few questions by email earlier this week:
Q: Are you really Two-Drink Mike or Zero-Drink Mike or Five-Drink Mike?
A: Rarely Five-Drink mike. Sometimes Two-Drink mike. Most often Zero-Drink Mike. Though sometimes Zero-Drink Mike looks like Two-Drink Mike when I’m tired.
Q: After the debut of “My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend,” did you hear from old girlfriends? Any reaction from your wife on that?
A: I have yet to hear from ex-girlfriends but I look forward to that day! This show is very much about my relationship with the girlfriend who is now my wife, and when I was developing that I really had to keep in mind to respect her privacy, and her family’s privacy, and my family’s privacy. And my wife helped me out a lot with the show.
Q: Do you plan to release a film version of “My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend,” as you did with “Sleepwalk With Me?”
A: Yeah, I actually am developing My “Girlfriend’s Boyfriend” as a film. And it’s really helpful touring the show right now, because it allows me to live out the experiences every night with an audience. So a lot of times, I’ll do the show and then go back to my hotel room and write for a couple hours.
Q: What’s your next project?
A: Right now I’m touring “My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend” around the country and around the world — the UK, Canada, and Australia. I’ll probably do about 50 cities once all is said and done. I’m really excited about being on the road, and can’t wait to come to Santa Rosa. I’ll be around after the show and will sign whatever people want me to sign — iPhones, boxes of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, babies. Last week, someone had me sign their Dustbuster. That was a very special moment for me.
Admission: $30-$45.
Information: 546-3600, wellsfargocenterarts.org.
