Just For Us takes us through hilarious anecdotes from Edelman’s life — his Olympian brother AJ, an unconventional holiday season, and a gorilla that can do sign language — but at its center is an astonishing and frighteningly relevant story. After a string of anti-Semitic abuse is directed at Edelman online, he decides to covertly attend a gathering of White Nationalists in New York City and comes face to face with the alt-right abusers. The result is a hair-raising encounter that gives ‘Just for Us’ its title and final, jaw-dropping twist.
Edelman performed Just for Us Off Broadway last year. It's a mitzvah that the show has now moved to Broadway for a summer engagement, so more audiences can sit with his uncomfortable truths in a time of increasing anti-Semitic hate. Under Adam Brace's well-calibrated direction, and employing just one mic and three stools, Edelman conjures a roomful of enemies he naively believes he can charm. They don't succumb, of course, but theatergoers do.
On Broadway, it’s the summer of Alex. Edelman, that is. As the headliner of “Just for Us,” Edelman confirms he’s one of the funniest minds of his generation. Or maybe any generation. By virtue of numerous engagements — off-Broadway, across the sea, on NPR, at D.C.’s Woolly Mammoth Theatre — “Just for Us” has been chiseled to diamond-cut perfection. It had its official opening Monday night at the Hudson Theatre, a joyous 90-minute excursion through Edelman’s insights and autobiography. And framed by an event Edelman thrust himself into, horrifying and fascinating and pathetic, that gives “Just for Us” a riveting topicality.
Digital Rush
Price: $33
Where: On the Today Tix app.
When: Released on a first-come, first-served basis every performance day at 9 AM.
Limit: Two per customer
Information: Subject to availability.
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