Tony and Emmy Award-winning comedian, actor and writer Alex Edelman performed stand-up for Northwestern students and community members in an event hosted by Northwestern Hillel at Cahn Auditorium on Monday evening.
Edelman, who made his Broadway debut in 2023, covered a wide range of topics during his set, sharing jokes about his experiences as a Jew, the concepts of faith and religion and recalling stories about his family — including his father, who Edelman said almost won a Nobel Prize. He also made fun of how his mother portrays his father, saying that from her stories, people come away thinking she’s “married to the dumbest piece of s—t.”
He also talked about living in New York City, where he said “the love language is cruelty.” He added that he had an encounter with a man on an airplane who claimed he had met Mike Tyson when he had actually met Neil deGrasse Tyson. At several points throughout the show, Edelman announced that he was about to go off on a tangent — and the audience followed him.
Edelman poked fun at topics surrounding Jewish identity and community, including perceptions of current events.
“I’m sure that some of you guys have this relationship in your life where you are the Jewish person that non-Jewish friends call when the Jews are in the news,” Edelman joked in one segment.
Communication sophomore Alex Boyarski, who identifies as Jewish, said he enjoyed the show and felt Edelman spoke to his identity.
“I got a lot of his humor, and I thought he did a great job,” Boyarski said. “He takes conflicts going on right now and puts a funny spin on them, so I thought it was a good way to cope through humor.”
Edelman jokingly recollected his own struggles in finding suitable career prospects, touching on the successes of his father — a doctor and researcher who designed artificial hearts.
He also looked back on his limited success with academics.
“My father has known me for 36 years,” Edelman joked. “You guys have known me for 10 minutes. Do you wish I was a doctor?”
Recounting his time working as a hospital clown, he described the moment a child who lost an arm told Edelman his performance was the worst experience of his “whole life.”
He also took audience members through his time as a teacher, remembering how he was fired after an interaction with the principal in which he directly refuted her claim that she was her “own worst enemy.” Instead, he told her, “You should hear the way the other teachers talk about you.”
Edelman discussed belief systems several times, including a “spiritual” pilgrimage he took in Japan. Regarding faith, he characterized Judaism as “a series of questions” and made several jokes about religion.
“If you’re Jewish and you’re sliding on black ice and you take your hands off the wheel, prepare to meet Hashem,” Edelman joked, referencing Carrie Underwood’s hit song “Jesus, Take the Wheel.”
As a fan of Edelman and his HBO Max special, “Just for Us,” first-year Pritzker student Hanna Lupovitch said the event excited her, because she wanted to see him in person.
“I was laughing literally the entire time,” Lupovitch said.
Toward the end of the show, Edelman shared his experience attending the Kennedy Center Honors a couple years ago, specifically a conversation he claimed he had with musician Michael W. Smith, who he said sat next to him.
Edelman said he and Smith had begun a “deep, meaningful conversation” before Smith asked whether Edelman was Jewish, pointing out that Jesus Christ was Jewish and asking Edelman how he felt about Christ.
“I wasn’t going to be dismissive, because it means something to him, and he had talked already about how much his relationship with Jesus means,” Edelman said. “So I was like ‘Michael, to me, he is easily one of the top five Jewish magicians of all time.’”
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