Alex Edelman’s new special is out now on HBO and MAX. Alex has been honing this special for 6 years and has been performing it from the Edinburgh Fringe to Broadway. The core of it? An Orthodox Jew (Alex) attending a White Supremacist meeting.
Just For US
First Premiered at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival in 2018, and then months later America was struck with the worst anti-Semitic attack in its history by a White Supremacist killing 11 people in a Pittsburgh Synagogue.
A year later Alex made a 4-minute documentary for the BBC that explores the root cause of prejudice and antisemitism and shares how he has experienced prejudice from different genders, political sides, and races.
And in 2023, the US and the UK saw a huge spike in anti-Semitic abuse of around 400-500% according to The Guardian, months after the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war.
However, despite this, Alex claims that Just For Us, the show about him being essentially a “spy” in a White Supremacist meeting isn’t actually about anti-Semitism, it’s more of a question on where do Jewish people belong in a place that isn’t Jewish?
It’s about the rumination on how one deals with being a person from a specific group in a world where they don’t always feel they belong.
In an interview with The New York Times, Alex also said that he’s trying to create conversation about Jews and their place without resorting to victimhood. In regards to this, in an interview with, Vanity Fair he said,
But for the most part, I find the conversation about victimhood to be dehumanizing and very not good for comedy. And very boring. And like you said, just not something I want to see anymore in Jewish art. I think it flattens people from characters into archetypes.
Just For Us’ Evolution
In the 6 year runtime of Just For Us, the show has undergone quite a few changes. In the wake of of the Israel-Hamas war, he thought hard about his show to let “people know he was aware of what’s going on but not a slave to what’s going on” either.
I thought really deeply after October 7 about whether to perform the show differently, and I thought that it should be addressed at the top. So there’s now an address—which isn’t in the special, and I’m glad isn’t in the special.
Alex also talks about the post-show conversations he has encountered, with many people hoping that the show would also answer more questions. Like what happened to those White Supremacists? or Is he still in contact with them? Which is quite honestly super hard questions, he says,
Am I still in touch? I am not. Would I do it again? Yes. Have any of them seen the show? No idea. I thought I saw one of them in Union Square in 2022, but going up to a stranger to ask, “Hey, do I know you from a meeting of White Nationalists?” struck me as a bad move.
But the people who talk to him with curiosity for a unique approach to discourse, how to tell a story, or to share with him the times where they connected with someone different to them or wandered into a room where they didn’t belong (All of which exactly describe the Just For Us show!) is his favourite.
The show 6 years ago is completely different from the show now especially considering that when it was first performed it was in live theatre.
Meeting His Idols
The show was a hit and even comedy legends like, Eric Idle, Steve Martin, Jerry Seinfeld, Billy Crystal all gave him words of encouragement and a lot of advise.
I was fortunate to catch the very last performance of Alex Edelmans remarkable stand-up, anecdotal play, Just for Us at the Taper on Sunday. Luckily you can see it soon on HBO. Don’t miss it, it’s an extraordinary evening. He has moved the boundaries of comedy. Bravo!
— Eric Idle (@EricIdle) April 3, 2024
He also had the opportunity to meet one of his long-time comic idols, Mel Brooks. Alex praised Brooks for being “woke” in his own way for co-writing with Richard Pryor for the comedy film, Blazing Saddles. A film that many consider today to be offensive.
Brooks asked Richard Pryor to co-write the film simply because Brooks wanted someone who actually has experience being an African-American in the United States. When Edelman, praised him for representation and being woke, Brooks merely replied with,
Ah, it was just the right thing to do.
What’s Next For Alex?
Though the success of his show sparks conversation about what his next special is going to be about, Alex feels a bit hesitant on this next project because his long-time friend and creative director, Adam Brace tragically passed away because of a stroke three weeks before the show was performed on Broadway.
Just For Us is now on it’s final run of performances in Los Angeles and now he is saying goodbye to the show he has tended to for 6 years. He felt both ‘joyous’ and ‘sad’ that it’s ending since this was his last collaboration with Adam Brace.
Adam and I had a really fruitful creative partnership, so that’s a bummer that my last connection to my friend is kind of going to be cut off in this way. And at the same, it’s all very cool. Maybe this will make space for something else more exciting and interesting, or maybe not.
In 2021 he said that he’s thinking about making a new special with the focus being on Israel but the past current events have made him a bit hesitant especially with Adam Brace’s passing.
A show 6 years in the making is now available from the comfort of your own home at HBO! And if you’re looking to scratch that live comedy show itch, then we’ve got tons of those happening everyday here at Big Belly Comedy Club!
