Alex Edelman ponders his life’s purpose in standup show at Steppenwolf Theatre

Alex Edelman will perform his new solo comedy show at Steppenwolf Theatre in August. (Photo courtesy of Alex Edelman)

“Spielberg is definitely getting an invitation,” comedian, writer, and actor Alex Edelman declares when asked: If he could invite anyone—living or dead—to a hypothetical Shabbat dinner, who would it be? After deliberating for several moments during a phone interview with Jewish Chicago, he responds: “Steven Spielberg, Spinoza, Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, and Nora Ephron.”  

The diversity and depth of Edelman’s fictitious guest list offer some insight into the totality of the man, who along with being a comedian and writer, seems to be part Jewish scholar and part philosopher in one charming package. 

Edelman, who often blends standup with storytelling, comes to Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre in August for his new solo comedy show called What Are You Going to Do. In the show, the 30-something Edelman ponders faith, family, and identity, and whether he should spend his life doing something else—like saving lives like his physician father. In general, how can he be most of service to the world? 

“The show asks the question: What’s the best way to be helpful in this time we’re living in?” Edelman explained in a recent phone interview with Jewish Chicago. 

His latest offering follows the success of his breakout solo comedy hit Just For Us, which chronicles the true story of Edelman’s attendance of a meeting of white nationalists in Queens, N.Y. The show played more than 500 performances around the world, including at Steppenwolf and on and off-Broadway, and was adapted into an HBO comedy special. The work earned him a Tony, an Emmy, and a spot on the 2024 Time 100 list of the world’s Most Influential People. 

Edelman enjoys chatting with audience members after each performance. “There’s nothing like seeing people face to face, and the Jewish geography is really cool,” he said. “A central part of [being Jewish] is discourse, and the shows offer that. It’s a really nice collaborative experience between the audience and me, and who could hope for more than that?” 

His own Jewish origin story begins in the Boston suburb of Brookline, where he was raised in a Modern Orthodox Jewish family, alongside two brothers, one of whom is American-born Israeli Olympian AJ Edelman. After high school, Alex Edelman spent a year studying at a yeshiva in Jerusalem.  

He still considers himself Modern Orthodox today, but said he no longer observes Judaism as strictly as he once did. “I’m big on making Shabbos a defined space, tefillin is still a big part for me, and I do huge seders with my friends,” said Edelman, who co-wrote the online event Saturday Night Seder to benefit COVID relief. “The core of my Judaism at the moment is community, and it’s a really diverse Jewish community.” 

In the post-October 7 era, does Edelman feel a responsibility as a Jewish celebrity to speak out against antisemitism? “I don’t think of myself as a celebrity. Sometimes people tell me I should be a voice. But to paraphrase Lena Dunham—I’m OK being a Jewish voice, but not the [only] representative, because we are not a monolith,” Edelman said. 

He splits his time between New York and Los Angeles, but he has relatives in Skokie, and relishes the chance to perform in Chicago. 

Beyond standup, Edelman is co-starring in and writing for The Paper, Peacock’s spinoff of The Office, which was renewed for a second season. He’s also working on a movie and a play. He’s busy, but he’s not complaining. “The part of me that feels most sated and happy is the one that’s doing a bunch of things at once,” he said. 

Does he ever find time to relax? 

“Yes,” he said, “but my relaxing can be really stressful.” 

Edelman’s What Are You Going to Do plays five performances at Steppenwolf Theatre Aug. 12-16. To learn more, visit Steppenwolf.org.