Exclusive: How Alex Edelman Went From Tony Win to Emmy Nomination

2024 has been quite a year for Alex Edelman.

In April, the writer and comedian was honored as one of Time100's Most Influential People, alongside Jeffrey Wright, Leslie Odom Jr., and Colman Domingo, to name a few. 

In June, his one-man show "Just for Us" won a Special Tony Award for his "exemplary debut" this past season.

And now, he has been nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special for the film of his acclaimed show, which debuted on HBO and Max in April.

"Just for Us" chronicles Edelman's experience attending a meeting of white nationalists in Queens, New York. As a Jewish man, his recollections of the event range from terrifying to hilarious (often at the same time), and his show has made audiences across the world both think and laugh about the world in which we currently live.

BroadwayWorld sat down with Edelman to discuss some of the accolades he has received for "Just for Us", how the Broadway show made the transition to the screen, and the late director Adam Brace, who passed away last year.

This interview has been condensed for clarity and length.

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Congratulations on these well-deserved honors. How are you doing with all of this recognition?

I'm good. It's all stressful in a nice way. I'm working on something that I can't talk about yet and dipping my toe in the water has been really something amidst the whirlwind. I never could have dreamed that any of this would happen. It's been crazy, but I'm really grateful.

"Just For Us" tells a story that, on its surface, does not sound funny. Did you see the comedic potential right away, or was this something that other people thought was worth exploring in this kind of way?

I didn't see the comedy potential right away. I put myself in tense situations a lot, sometimes for good and sometimes for bad because I don't know any better or don't understand how things will come across. The funny thing is, I feel like it's sort of the most natural thing in the world for me to be in that room. It was explained to me later that it was not appropriate but I've always had experiences from going places that I shouldn't.

I'd even say that a career in comedy for a young Orthodox Jewish kid may not be the most natural thing. But no, I didn't see the comedic potential in it right away. My friends, other comedians, directors, and my director Adam Brace, told me. I was doing it on stage a little bit, but I didn't think that there was a full show in it until other people pointed me in that direction.

What was the vision for bringing the stage show to the screen?

I loved comedy specials growing up and always wanted to have one. Also, when you work on something and you feel like you've made it good, you want it preserved in a way that you think is special. 

It's been a really unique thing to get to make something you're proud of and then to capture it in a way that you think is brilliant. [Director] Alex Timbers is one of my favorite theater people and someone who's had a huge impact on me as a fan of Broadway and comedy. 

I always knew I wanted it to be something that people could view at home. In terms of addressing it as a special, we thought about how it would be different as a viewer at home versus in a theater. When I was doing the show after knowing it was going to be filmed, I thought "If I could have a camera, where would I want the audience to be able to see the expression on my face? Where would I want them not to see the expression on my face?"

Timbers knows that even better than me because he's such a great comedy special director. Kelly Lyon, our editor, knew better than me as well. It was a perfect storm of stuff and I'm so happy with how the special came out.

Did you have a desire to change anything for the recording because this would be the one that people were going to watch forever?

The show changed a lot every night, and so, going into filming the special show, I had to decide which version of the show I wanted. Every joke had 10 or 11 starting lineup lines, and then there were little utility things that would swap in and out. To use a basketball analogy, you never play the game with the same starters all the time. You'd swap in sort of utility players or jokes. So filming it, I was like, "Which game do I want to play? Do I go with the start? Do I address what's happening in the room for an audience that's going to be at home?" Those decisions were all minute ones that were made in the days coming up with Alex and then in the editing bay after with Kelly.

In fact, there was a line that I really loved in the live show that I wanted in the tape show. For some reason, we only got one version of it and Timbers said, "I don't know that it's better". This was months after I'd stopped doing the show on Broadway. He thought that the show would function better without this line, and he was right.

Something that people don't realize is that shows are never done. I don't really finish my shows, honestly. They are always growing and shrinking and waxing and waning because the show is a representation of where I'm at. 

I want to circle back to those accolades. You've received a Special Tony Award and an Emmy nomination for "Just For Us." Where were you when you found out both pieces of news and what went through your head?

Shortly before the Tonys were announced publicly, I was at my friend Benj's apartment. I got a call from two of the people on the committee who told me that "Just for Us" was going to be getting this Special Tony. I started to cry because I wasn't expecting it. I was told it'd been a possibility, but I didn't want to know any rumors so I was totally oblivious. I was thinking about my crew because, unless you have great people to talk and commiserate with, a show can suffer and it can be frustrating or isolating.

[But] I had really great people, especially my stage managers and Mike Birbiglia, who was one of my producers. Also, Jenny Gersten, Rachel Sussman, Greg Nobile, and Emily Bergquist, who were the four leads on my show, and Adam, who passed away. I was very moved and I felt a sort of release, which was a nice thing. There were so many different emotions. I really loved Adam Brace, and I'm interested in how the Emmys are going to feel because he should be with me at all this stuff. Adam should be at the Tonys and the Emmys. 

For the Emmy nomination, I was working out and I got a text that said, "Congratulations." I was like, "For what?" because, for some reason, I thought it was over and that I'd been shut out. You don't expect an Emmy nomination. and I can't believe that I get a chance to celebrate the special a little bit. The Tonys are one thing, but I'm so proud of this filmed thing that I've written. It's my first filmed thing that I have properly written solo (with help from a million people, but still solo) and I'm just gobsmacked by it. For that, I felt pretty unmitigated joy. And again, I thought about Adam and what he would say. 

It's exciting that people who might not have been able to see it on Broadway now have the opportunity to watch it.

We tried to make the tickets affordable on Broadway for that reason. I said no to doing Broadway a couple of times before the producers came. I always wanted to do it, but it's expensive and people seem to love to start the Broadway voyage before they've built the ship completely. I wasn't interested in a vanity exercise and my four producers were the first people who presented a Broadway option at a reasonable ticket price. That was really important to me. Not to be controversial, but Broadway tickets are very expensive. How are you going to get young people to see Broadway? How are you going to get new Broadway folks in?

I was so proud of how many first-time Broadway people we had at the show and how many people watched the comedy special thinking they were seeing a comedy special but also getting a piece of narrative. I've always loved tricking people into stuff that they'll like.

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"Alex Edelman: Just for Us" is available to stream on Max. Watch the trailer below:

Photo Credit: Bruce Glikas