Sydney Comedy Festival: Alex Edelman, Millennial
The Comedy Store, April 23
He's straight, but he comes out once a year: US comic Alex Edelman.Credit: Gary LaPersonne
★★★★
In some ways, Alex Edelman and I are a lot alike. We're both Gen-Y, we're both Jewish (only technically, in my case) and we've both come out as gay to our parents.
In other ways, however, we are worlds apart. Edelman is living the dream in New York City, he gets on stage and people laugh rather than cry, and he is actually straight.
The 26-year-old opens with his tradition of "coming out" at Thanksgiving dinner each year ("the champagne comes out, the turkey comes out, I come out") – which might sound tiresome for his family. But once you're exposed to Edelman's infectious energy and witty charm, you begin to realise it is probably quite a hoot.
Millennial is critical of much of the modern world, particularly the common gripes of Edelman's own generation; dead-end retail jobs, the uselessness of liberal arts degrees, and trends like veganism ("vegans are just like war veterans – they don't get medals, though, they just have to know that they're heroes").
Some of Edelman's targets are familiar and would border on cliche in the hands of a less skilled comedian, but his lines are fresh and his delivery is fun and spirited – as opposed to the dour, sour and judgmental demeanour that marrs so much observational comedy.
Jewish humour is sprinkled through the set rather than ladled out like matzo ball soup, which makes it so much sweeter when it comes ("I've tried MDMA but I've never tried bacon").
The freshness dips a little on topics such as the election of Barack Obama, now seven years ago. Edelman's material can be quite US-centric but for the most part it travels well, at least to an Australian audience. If anything, his first and only Sydney performance was let down by an early 7pm crowd that wasn't quite ready to match his energy (he did 22 shows in Melbourne).
Edelman won Best Newcomer at last year's Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and it's easy to see why. He demonstrates great proficiency at mining everyday experiences for material, flits between topics smoothly and within a broader narrative, and comes across as someone you would really like to have as a friend.
And maybe you can. Edelman makes a point of shaking hands with everyone as they leave. It's a nice touch – one he won't be able to maintain when he sells out big theatres, as he surely will.