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Brick Wall Comedy
Brick Wall Comedy
Promotional art for Just for Us
Cover image credit: via TMDB

Just for Us

Alex Edelman

HBO · 2024 · 1 h 30 min

A Jewish comedian crashes a white nationalist meeting in Queens.

A Jewish comedian crashing a white nationalist meeting in a Queens apartment because he wants to see who they are—and, weirdly, wants them to like him—is the engine of this highly polished solo show. Alex Edelman spent years refining the narrative on stages worldwide, culminating in a celebrated Broadway run and this filmed adaptation for HBO. Instead of a tense confrontation, Edelman spends the evening trying to blend in, eating a muffin, flirting with a woman named Chelsea, and wrestling with his own desperate desire to win over a room of people who despise his existence.\n\nThe show was filmed at the Hudson Theatre in New York City and directed by Alex Timbers, preserving the physical staging originally shaped by the late director Adam Brace. Edelman does not stay behind a microphone stand; he paces, leaps, and re-enacts the apartment meeting with frantic, self-deprecating intensity. He weaves the main Queens story with seemingly unrelated detours, including his brother’s unusual stint in the Winter Olympics, a childhood Christmas his family staged for a grieving Christian friend, and a lengthy opening segment about Robin Williams and Koko the gorilla.\n\nRather than offering a neat moral lesson about tolerance, the show highlights the limits of empathy and the absurdity of trying to find common ground with extremists. The performance earned Edelman a special Tony Award and a 2024 Emmy for outstanding writing, marking the end of a multi-year touring run.

The set list

5 bits

  1. Infiltrating a white nationalist meeting in Queens after receiving antisemitic threats on Twitter.

    Balances the absurdity of the gathering (framed jigsaw puzzles, 'whites-only muffins', and flirting with an attendee named Chelsea) with tension and self-reflection on his compulsive urge to ingratiate himself.

  2. Koko the Gorilla's friendship with Robin Williams.

    Riffs on the handlers explaining Williams's death to the gorilla in sign language to warm up the room with observational silliness.

  3. His Modern Orthodox family hosting a Christmas celebration.

    Recounts his parents holding Christmas at their home for a friend named Kate who was alone for the holidays, and his father explaining Santa Claus to his sons.

  4. His brother qualifying for the Winter Olympics.

    Jokes about family identity, noting he called his brother 'the Frozen Chosen' when he competed for Israel.

  5. His full Hebrew name versus his secular moniker.

    Contrasts his complex traditional name (David Yosef Shimon ben Elazar Reuven Alexander Halevi Edelman) with his father's confusion over him choosing the name Alex.

How it plays

Tone
Hilarious, self-deprecating, suspenseful, and self-reflective, contrasting lighthearted silliness with uncomfortable social and political tension.
On stage
Described as a 'human hummingbird' and an admitted 'people-pleaser'; energetic, solicitous, and professionally charming with expressive, loose-limbed physicality.
Pace
Rapid three-jokes-per-minute clip, bounding across the stage with high momentum, curiosity, and kinetic physical gestures.
About
antisemitism, Jewish identity and assimilation, whiteness and privilege, empathy and its limits, people-pleasing

What the critics said

Widely acclaimed by critics as irresistible, hilarious, and intellectually sharp, deftly blending memoir, theatrical solo storytelling, and standup comedy while tackling heavy themes of bigotry and identity.

In the room: Engaged and responsive Broadway theater crowd experiencing heightened tension and belly laughs.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: playbill.com, aboveaverage.com, steppenwolf.org, press.wbd.com, nytimes.com, vulture.com, variety.com, newyorker.com, en.wikipedia.org, indiewire.com, deadline.com.

Backstory

Crafted in response to online antisemitic harassment, prompting Edelman to covertly attend a white nationalist meeting in Queens. The special is also dedicated to his longtime collaborator and stage director Adam Brace, who passed away in May 2023 shortly before the Broadway premiere.

Details

Released
Taped
2023, Hudson Theatre, New York
Runtime
1 h 30 min
Where
HBO
Director
Alex Timbers
Honors
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special (2024)Special Tony Award (2024)Obie Award Special Citation (2022) and 1 more
Topics

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