If you spend any time at all watching stand up comedy on Youtube, you’ve probably seen an Alex Edelman video. Or perhaps you’ve gotten recommended “The Graveyard Shift at KFC” a few times. If you don’t know Edelman, he’s one of the funniest young stand up acts around, has been on Conan twice and is the head writer for Saturday Night Seder. Saturday Night Seder is a series that started this year on Passover and raised over $3 million for the Coronavirus Emergency Response Fund, and has had countless celebrity appearances. Last Monday, some alumni of SNS were joined by Jeff Goldblum, Tan France and many other incredible guests for their “Get Out the Vote Rally” to endorse Joe Biden. It’s currently the first day of November, and obviously mine and everyone else’s anxiety is through the roof for an election that may be fun to watch from the comfort of Canada. If everything goes wrong and the apocalypse continues, at least I got to talk to Alex Edelman before that, even just for a mini interview.
You’ve been on Saturday Night Seder with some incredible celebrities like Jeff Goldblum and Nick Kroll, how did SNS come together in the first place?
Edelman: SNS came together because a bunch of comedians and musical theater Jews and non-Jewish Passover enthusiasts were cooped up inside and needed some way to observe the holiday and raise money for COVID relief.
What impact do you think this election will have on the Jewish community, especially teens and college students?
This election is crucial for the entire country, but for young people in particular. For young Jews, who seem to be concerned with policies that will uplift the most vulnerable Americans, this election is a clear choice between a candidate that will do that and one who has shown no interest.
I think you’re doing great work trying to get young people out to vote blue, especially during such a stressful time. How are you handling the anxiety of the upcoming week and the results?
I am compulsively chewing my fingernails, but I’m also phone banking a ton and that’s really helped.
Since this is a female-run publication, I’m interested to know which women inspire you in your career as a comedian and writer, as well as any Jewish representation that may have helped you growing up?
Oh my goodness. First of all, there are too many brilliant women in comedy to name them all, but some particular inspirations and favorites are like Maria Bamford, Jackie Kashian, Katherine Ryan, Nicole Byer, Natasha Rothwell and Hannah Einbinder. Some Jews that left deep thumbprints in me growing up were the Brooks’ – Mel and Albert – and more contemporary comics like Elon Gold and Gary Gulman have also made a huge impact on me.