Alex Edelman is having a big year.
Time Magazine named the stand-up comic one of the 100 most influential people of 2024 this spring, just a couple weeks after he released a new 90-minute special on HBO called “Just for Us.” Then, a few weeks later, he won a special Tony Award for the Broadway version of the one-man show.
Edelman, who is Jewish, built his punchline-filled show around stories about his Orthodox family — and his attempt to confront antisemitism by crashing a meeting of white nationalists.
“Comedy is a great Trojan horse,” Edelman said. “It's a really good spoonful of sugar, but I also think it prompts conversation, … and all the comedy that I've done that's been resonant with people is the stuff that's prompted conversation.”
Still, Edelman said, entertainment and jokes come first. And when he performs at a stand-up comedy festival in Snowmass Village this Saturday, “there'll be some stuff to think about and argue with your friends over afterwards, probably, but it’s jokes, personal stories, and more jokes.”
He’s the headlining act in a three-day lineup, which also features local and regionally-known talent and some other national-caliber names. Edelman has made multiple tour stops in Aspen and Snowmass Village before — including a gig at The Collective, which is organizing this festival — and he’s looking forward to making a return.
“Aspen’s one of the first places I headlined, one of the first places that booked me,” he said; he workshopped some of the content from “Just For Us” here, too.
“Pretty much everything I've done in the Roaring Fork Valley has been first looks at exciting new material,” Edelman said, and audiences can expect fresh content when they come to the show this weekend.
Festival lineup includes stand-up sets, crossover events
Edelman’s headlining show for the Snowmass Comedy WKND! is based at the conference center in Base Village on Saturday night; other traditional stand-up sets feature comics like Reem Edan, Josh Adam Meyers, and Nancy Norton at The Collective community center.
Other events cross over into the realms of food and music, too, at locations throughout Snowmass Village. A silent disco is on the docket at The Collective on Friday. A late-night “comedy jam” will combine stand-up with live music at The Tavern on Saturday. A “Babes that Brunch” program on Sunday will feature comic conversations at The Collective with optional bites and drinks from Mawita.
And on Saturday afternoon, Edelman will team up with Little Nell chef Keith Theodore for a “Comedians in Kitchens” program at the Limelight Hotel in Snowmass.
The two of them go way back — Theodore’s wife, Gena Buhler, is a performing arts consultant who has booked Edelman for several local gigs — and Theodore has noticed Edelman’s appreciation for the culinary world. The chef also sees some overlap between their professions.
“There’s a connection there. Cooks are funny,” Theodore said. “You know, not everybody gets our sense of humor, but in our world, we're hilarious because we … try and deal with a high-stress situation, and comedy is a way to kind of get through that while you're going through the daily grind.”
Theodore said the program will include a cooking challenge with mystery ingredients and some audience participation. He and Edelman have also crafted a menu with some of the comic’s favorite foods to share with the audience.
Individual tickets are required for most of the Snowmass Comedy WKND events. More details are available on Eventbrite.
