![\"Alex](\"https:\/\/itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/0149_Alex_Edelman_in_JUST_FOR_US_on_Broadway_credit_Matthew_Murphy.jpg\")
<\/a>Alex Edelman. Photo by Matthew Murphy.<\/p><\/div>\n
I mention religion because Alex\u2019s tales mostly pertain to him being Jewish. But the\u00a0audience<\/em>\u00a0doesn\u2019t have to be of the same ethnic persuasion to have a great time. (Well, Nazis\u2014and perhaps Jared Kushner\u2014won\u2019t enjoy it, but that\u2019s about it.) I’m sure a large percentage of the Opening Night audience was<\/em> Jewish, but the friend I saw Just For Us<\/em> with is definitely\u00a0not<\/em>, and she laughed just as hard as everybody else.<\/p>\n And let me tell you, I was surprised that\u00a0I\u00a0loved it so much; I was right along with the rest of that audience in giving him an immediate and prolonged standing ovation.<\/p>\n I say \u201csurprised\u201d because I had just seen Alex on\u00a0Jimmy Kimmel<\/em>\u00a0the week before, and had not been amused. So, I attended his show mainly\u00a0out of respect to the venue; I was thrilled to be back in the Taper again. (More on that in a minute. Of course.)<\/p>\n For the first dozen minutes or so of\u00a0Just For Us<\/em>, I found myself nodding in agreement at Alex’s observations rather than chuckling, and then all of a sudden, when he started talking about his brother being in the Olympics, (a true story,) the hearty laughter came right out of me. And didn’t stop. I even forgot about the fingernail I had just broken when I arrived! (And you know what a big deal\u00a0that<\/em>\u00a0is.)<\/p>\n You would think that I don’t have that much to say about a ninety-minute one-man show, but you would be wrong. If you don’t have time to read the rest of this review, the headline is to just go see it while you have this opportunity. It’s not going to be in LA very long, so do yourselves a favor and do not miss it. We all<\/em> need this levity right now.<\/p>\n \u201cPause\u201d seemed to be the word of the evening for me.\u00a0 I already knew that, as opposed to \u201cclosing,\u201d the iconic Mark Taper Forum at the very-happening-right-now Music Center in downtown LA was taking some sort of break from productions, which had all of us theatre fans very sad. We really had no idea when it would be open again.<\/p>\n How great to see the wonderful Mark Taper Forum lit up again. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n So at first I thought that this occasion was the \u201cre-opening.\u201d But that afternoon, I read that Alex’s presentation is part of an initiative labeled \u201cCTG:FWD,\u201d which means that only special events will be presented there for awhile. (And trust me\u2014Just For Us<\/em>\u00a0is, indeed, a special event.) And then the theatre’s Artistic Director, Snehal Desai, spoke before the (imaginary) curtain rose, and explained the situation, saying the Taper has been on a \u201cpause,\u201d a perfect way to describe this instance.<\/p>\n And then I noticed how many times I was jotting down that word in my review notes. That’s because I couldn’t repeat several of Alex’s best bon mots to Mr. X when I got home without factoring in the performer’s brilliant pauses! They are everything!<\/p>\n I loved the structure of Just For Us<\/em>, as well. It\u2019s basically one long hilarious story, with a ton of detours along the way. (As many of you can attest to, no one loves a digression more than\u00a0I<\/em>\u00a0do!) Alex is a Jewish guy from Boston in his mid-thirties, with a tale to tell about his visit to a small gathering of white nationals (I refuse to capitalize that group) in Queens a few years ago. He interrupts it to discuss Christmas, his semi-Orthodox upbringing, and a myriad of other mirth-filled topics from his life. The entire presentation\u00a0is very well-thought-out and written. And performed, of course!<\/p>\n Since Alex’s presence is the only visual on stage, (save for a black stool or two…or three,) I feel justified in telling you about his physical attributes. Alex is thin and in shape and–my favorite\u2014has great posture, (except for being pigeon-toed.) He (or someone) chose good basic wardrobe for this show. He also has a nice voice, which is easy to listen to in a row. And his big hands are good for expressiveness.<\/p>\n Alex Edelman. Photo by Matthew Murphy.<\/p><\/div>\n But, I was not a fan of his constant running around the stage. I\u00a0found it to be\u00a0distracting. I appreciate him playing to all parts of the audience so quickly,\u00a0but I was\u00a0wishing that he would just walk; no running is necessary. (Alex said he loves to know what the audience thinks, so I hope he’s okay with that observation.)<\/p>\n But\u00a0you\u00a0<\/em>all\u00a0should<\/em>\u00a0run to the Taper, to see\u00a0Just For Us<\/em>! Right now.<\/p>\n That’s it for my basic review of the production. But here are some auxiliary thoughts that I feel the need to share:<\/p>\n The main one is that\u00a0I read Alex’s\u00a0Author’s\u00a0Note<\/em>\u00a0in the program before the show began,\u00a0which mentioned\u00a0that his great friend and forever director, Adam Brace, had recently passed away, at only forty-three, too boot. My heart went out to Alex the entire time. (Still does.) When he addressed that tragedy after the standing ovation, I thought my heart would literally break for him. What a tragic loss, for Alex, for the entertainment business, and for the world. [Note: I had actually researched Adam the day before, but I didn’t notice that he had passed. And all the while, I was happily thinking what a phenomenal collaborator he is! So I was shocked when I read my program.]<\/p>\n Alex Edelman. Photo by Matthew Murphy.<\/p><\/div>\n Now, to bring the room back up, Alex\u2019s bio in the program mentions that he has \u201ctwo differently-sized feet.\u201d I was already a tad disgruntled that, as attractive as the style is, he was rocking very clean white sneaks on stage, because my eye was often drawn to that brightness, which made me lose focus on what he was saying, but I became obsessed with hoping he’d put his feet together so I could see that discrepancy for myself! And figure-out which is which. (But he never did, so I advise looking elsewhere when you see Just<\/em> For Us<\/em>, so you can concentrate on every hilarious word.)<\/p>\n I have to add a bit of similar personal\u00a0experience here, as I’m sure many of you expected. I really didn’t want to do it in this<\/em> review because I am in no way saying that I could\u00a0ever<\/em>\u00a0do what Alex is doing. But, as someone who has done the\u00a0very<\/em>\u00a0poor man\u2019s version of a one-person show on TV for all those years back in the day, I want to stress how incredibly hard it is to do what he is doing at the Taper.<\/p>\n While I didn’t talk for an hour and a half, as Alex does, my directors had to practically grab me off the stage with a cane at the end of the allotted half hour. But the difference,\u00a0(well, one of the\u00a0many,\u00a0chief among\u00a0them being that\u00a0he’s<\/em>\u00a0a brilliant writer and performer, and I was just lucky that my unplanned tales turned-out to be somewhat amusing,) is that Alex does this\u00a0same<\/em>\u00a0ninety-minute monologue for\u00a0every<\/em>\u00a0performance!!! And I’m sure with the same gusto. And charm. If\u00a0I<\/em>\u00a0repeat my stories three times in my life, I’m done with them. I\u2019ve always felt that I was stealing from myself if I repeated a story. My brain doesn’t understand being able to do what he does, over and over and over again. It\u2019s so impressive.<\/p>\n I also feel that Alex is very courageous to be talking about being Jewish in these troubled times for our people. When I was doing Karen’s Restaurant Revue<\/em>, I was basically advised, (by just about everyone,) to not mention that I was Jewish. My thought was, \u201cCan’t everyone tell?!\u201d But since some people erroneously thought I was Italian or Greek, I\u00a0just didn’t discuss my ethnicity very often. And here is brave Alex, doing an entire show on being Jewish!!!\u00a0 In this scary world right now! How I admire him for that. (While also saying a prayer for him.)<\/p>\n Much of what he says on stage reminds me of some of my own life stories, as I’m sure it will do for everyone who sees\u00a0Just For Us<\/em>. Except for him<\/em> being nutty enough to opt to be in a room with a bunch of Nazis, of course.<\/p>\n Just For Us<\/em>\u00a0running through\u00a0November\u00a026, 2023<\/strong> JUST FOR US No matter your religion or ethnicity, I highly recommend that everyone see\u00a0Just For Us, Alex Edelman\u2019s very affordable one-man show at the Taper, which is on tour following an uber-successful Broadway run. I mention religion because Alex\u2019s tales mostly pertain to him being Jewish. But the\u00a0audience\u00a0doesn\u2019t have to be of the same<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a>
\n Mark Taper Forum 135 N. Grand Ave.<\/strong>
\n 213-972-4400\u00a0www.centertheatregroup.org<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"