Comedian Alex Edelman made his Broadway debut on June 26 with the opening of his solo show “Just for Us.” The play, centered on anti-Semitism and Edelman’s Jewish heritage, focuses on the time he attended a meeting of white nationalists. Despite this dark subject matter, the show is wholeheartedly a comedy and comments on these topics using humor and laughter.
In the most recent episode of “The Broadway Show with Tamsen Fadal,” Fadal and her team interviewed Edelman and other star comedians on the show’s opening night. Edelman expressed great pride and gratitude about “Just for Us,” and received overwhelming support from the show’s crew as well as his fellow comedians.
“People seem to really like the jokes and the stories. The story is propulsive and it keeps people engaged and interested,” said Edelman.
Although “Just for Us” is a solo play, Edelman feels deep gratitude for members of the crew and the comedians who inspired him, without whom he would not have been able to create the show.
“That’s not only me; that’s lots of help that I’ve had from my director, Adam Brace, from producers and people like Mike Birbiglia. So many comedy legends have been very helpful in terms of putting the show together,” said Edelman.
On the red carpet, other comedians expressed positive sentiments about the show. Billy Eichner, the comedian known for his series “Billy on the Street,” shared his enjoyment for the show’s individuality. “We have a lot of big musicals, and those are great, but I like something intimate, unique, with a singular, original perspective,” said Eichner.
Comedian Atsuko Okatuska discussed the significance of comedy being used to tell difficult stories. “I’m so stoked whenever people count comedians as storytellers.… We’re multihyphenates, with depth and the ability to talk about things in a way that can be difficult, which is making it funny,” said Okatuska.
Furthermore, actor Busy Philipps shared the importance of storytelling from unique perspectives. “The more people that can be exposed to different stories from different people, the better off we all are.… His show is really fantastic, and I think it’s really important in this moment in time,” said Philipps.
Also in this episode of “The Broadway Show,” Fadal talks with “Grey House” star Tatiana Maslany, Charlie Cooper speaks with Kevin Cahoon of “Shucked,” and Broadway.com editor-in-chief Paul Wontorek talks with James T. Lane about his Off-Broadway solo show “Triple Threat.” Audiences also hear from Ben Platt, Noah Galvin and Molly Gordon about their new movie “Theater Camp,” as well as Joel Meyers from “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.”
