The Elegant, Utterly Original Comedy of Alex Edelman

In the long and checkered history of possibly terrible impulse decisions, here’s one for the ages: A few years ago, the comedian Alex Edelman decided on a whim to show up uninvited to a casual meeting of white nationalists at an apartment in New York City, and pose as one of them. Why? He was curious. He wanted to see what it would be like to be on the inside of a gathering that would never have knowingly included him, given that he is Jewish. The events of that night became fodder for his one-man show Just for Us, which has toured across the United States and overseas in recent years, and opens on Broadway tonight.

I first saw Just for Us in December, and have often thought of it since then, not only because it is hilarious, which it is, but also because I have rarely encountered a piece of comedy so sophisticated—or, as the comedian Mike Birbiglia put it to me, one with such an “elegantly light touch.” Birbiglia produced the show’s most recent run, off-Broadway. He never had any intention of producing, but felt he had to help make it possible for more people to see Edelman. “You can’t have a story that good and not have everyone hear that story,” Birbiglia told me. “It’s the only show where I’ve recommended it to probably 300 people and not a single person has said they don’t like it.”

One of the things Birbiglia admires about Edelman is “his tenacity for considering revision or rethinking things that already work,” he told me. “Most people, when their show is really well received, they’re like, ‘I’m done.’ I always admire people who never view work as done.” I recently sat down with Edelman to talk about the mechanics of writing, what makes something funny, and the best advice he’s gotten from his comedic heroes. Our conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Adrienne LaFrance: I want to ask you about your writing process, but first let’s talk about Broadway.

Alex Edelman: Oh my God.

LaFrance: It must feel surreal.

Edelman: People are like, “Is this a lifelong dream?” And I’m like, “Yes.” But also, I never dreamed of this.

LaFrance: It never would have even occurred to you.

Edelman: It would be like if you were jogging and someone’s like, “Do you want to jog … on the moon?” You’d be like, “What.”

LaFrance: So you’re hilarious, which is of course a prerequisite. But what struck me about Just for Us is the quality of the writing—how layered it is, and the sophistication of how you return to various jokes over the course of the show. I’m curious how you approach the writing process.

So laughs are No. 1. Laughs have to go into everything. Everything else can go. So then you’re like, Mike Birbiglia saw the show in its old form, and he was like, “B+.” And I was like, “B+?!”And he was like, “You need