The other night, I had the chance to catch the opening night performance of comedian Alex Edelman’s hit one man show, ‘Just For Us’—and it was one of the best things I’ve seen in a long time! After a run on Broadway, Alex has brought this hilariously touching and timely show here to Los Angeles for a limited time (playing now through November 26th).
You might wonder what happens when a Jewish man decides to visit a meeting of unsuspecting White Nationalists (after seeing a random invite to discuss ‘whiteness’ on Twitter) in Queens, NY—wanting to learn more about what makes these keyboard warriors tick—that’s the basic premise but the way Alex tells this story had my complete attention for 90 minutes as he weaves in multiple tales from his Jewish upbringing—while questioning his own identity and sense of empathy. His overall style and delivery was sheer perfection—I genuinely laughed like I hadn’t in awhile. With tensions extremely high right now, this was exactly what I needed and I cannot recommend seeing this show enough!
Alex is so darn cute, there’s just something about him that I know the audience really connected with. Plus, it was truly great to be back at the Mark Taper Forum—which has been closed during a pause, it is hands down one of the best intimate theatres in all of Los Angeles!
For tickets, visit Center Theatre Group, and for more information visit JustForUsShow.com
Expertly crafted by one of comedy’s most distinctive voices, this singular theatrical experience is an exploration of identity and our collective capacity for empathy—and it’s also “belly-laugh funny!” (The New York Times). In the wake of a string of anti-Semitic rhetoric pointed in his direction online, standup comic Edelman decides to go straight to the source; specifically, Queens, where he covertly attends a meeting of White Nationalists and comes face-to-face with the people behind the keyboards. What happens next forms the backbone of the shockingly relevant, utterly hilarious, and only moderately perspirant stories that comprise Just for Us.