46 | FEBRUARY 1 • 2024 J
N

A

lex Edelman’s having a banner 
year that’s wrapping up in Detroit 
and Chicago. The comedian and 
writer makes his second-to-last stop on the 
national tour of his critically acclaimed solo 
show, Just For Us, at the Fisher Theatre on 
Saturday, Feb. 10. 
“I’ve never been to Detroit. It’s known as 
a pretty good theater city, so this is a must- 
do for me,” says Edelman, 34. 
The tour comes on the heels of his wildly 
successful two-month Broadway run. Just For Us 
was filmed live over the summer at the Hudson 
Theatre in NYC and will come out on HBO 
sometime this year. And, in another career highlight, 
Edelman recently hosted the Norman Lear 100th 
birthday special for ABC in September, just two-and-a-
half months before Lear passed away.
Flying into Detroit to support Edelman and take 
him to some of her favorite haunts is Edelman’s good 
friend and Just For Us producer, Rachel Sussman.
“I’m particularly excited because I grew up seeing 
touring productions of Broadway shows at the Fisher 
with my family. Just for Us will be the first time 
that I’ll be back to witness a production that I had 
a hand in producing here in my home state,” said 
Sussman, who grew up in Bloomfield Township.
As a Tony Award-winning Broadway producer, 
Sussman’s recent credits include Edelman’s 
show, Parade, What the Constitution Means 
to Me and, beginning on March 26 at the 
Music Box Theatre on Broadway, the new 
musical Suffs. 
Edelman first met Sussman through 
their mutual friend, Tony Award-winning 
composer Benj Pasek, at the height of the 
pandemic back in March 2020. Edelman 
and Pasek were executive producers 
and Edelman was also the head writer 
of Saturday Night Seder, a virtual program 
of comedy, music and sketches. Edelman 
and Pasek brought Sussman on as a 
co-producer for the grassroots 
effort that raised over $3.5 
million for the CDC 
Foundation COVID-19 
Emergency Response 
Fund. 
“During Saturday Night 
Seder, Rachel became one of 
my closest friends in the world. 
She’s a really special part of my 
life,” said Edelman, who grew up 
Modern Orthodox in Brookline, just 

ARTS&LIFE
THEATER

A comedic exploration 
of Jewish identity.

JULIE SMITH YOLLES 
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

On Tour with
 Alex 
Edelman

Alex Edelman 
and Rachel 
Sussman

EMILIO MADRID