Q&A: Local actor Ryan London Levin talks about taking on a 1-man show about Jewish identity

A play exploring Jewish identity, antisemitism and belonging opens Oct. 26. Six Points Theater in St. Paul is producing “Just for Us,” the Tony and Emmy award-winning one man show by comedian Alex Edelman. Edelman performed “Just for Us” around the world, and a film version is available online.

The play follows the comedian, who was raised as an Orthodox Jew, on one fateful night in Queens, New York, when he attends a meeting of white supremacists. The story weaves in and out of the meeting, going on tangents about Judaism and cultural assimilation.

Six Points Theater is the first theater in the U.S. to produce “Just for Us” without Edelman playing himself. Here, prolific Twin Cities actor Ryan London Levin takes on the role. Levin spoke with Jacob Aloi of MPR News.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.  

Tell me about taking on a deeply personal one-man show as somebody who is not the person who wrote it

Levin: It’s interesting, and it’s strange because it’s [Edelman’s] baby, and he created this with a close friend of his. This is something that he experienced, and it’s a true story. I’m basically going at an approach that this is like any stage script, and I’m telling it in a sort of an acting, theatrical perspective.

This show contains so many great jokes from Alex Edelman’s repertoire. Are you approaching this like it’s its own story? Or are you studying Edelman’s comedy and his approach to storytelling?  

My main hope is to do it differently, because I don’t want anyone to come who’s seen it, to come see me do a mimic. So, I am approaching it like it is a story, but it’s also an acting challenge.

I’m sort of looking at this like a Neil Simon kind of play. [Edelman] is a bit of a modern Neil Simon, where he’s talking about very strange things and being in very strange situations, and bringing that sort of thought into each character and how he plays himself.

Alex Edelman has said this show is about assimilation. And the show grapples with Jewish identity and whiteness. What kind of experiences have you had working with this script as a Jewish man yourself?

He speaks to a lot of people my age, my generation, of just how complicated [Jewish identity] is because our Judaism is just so entwined in who we are. He has this great line about how he has a lot of non-Jewish friends who will go, ‘Oh, I used to be Christian, but not anymore.’ And he says, that’s not how it works in Judaism. Judaism is the Hotel California of religions. It’s the mailing list you can’t unsubscribe from.  

It’s encompassed me, and it’s all a part of me. And as we go through these strange and difficult times right now, it’s sort of put front and center, you know, my whiteness. I am white, but the minute I’m Jewish, or they find out that I am Jewish, it shifts. The world shifts around me. And he does such a beautiful job of sort of getting into that sort of complicated gray area.

We are doing this interview during the Jewish high holy days. How has it been working on the show during this important time of year for Jews?

I spent a lot of time recently being quiet and reflecting in the middle of these high holidays and sort of this opportunity where I actually get to play a Jew, because in my career I’m not always playing a Jew. And to play someone that is so me, or to play someone that I so relate to in this time, and I get to sort of speak upon all these political thoughts and feelings and personal identity crises and whatnot — it feels like perfect timing. 

Any Jewish story at any time is always relevant. But [Edelman’s] talking about politics, and he’s talking about politics now, and he’s talking about white supremacy now. It’s such a beautiful marker for where we are as Jews my age are sort of taking off. 

I will be doing this during the election, which is another exciting thing. This is exactly what I want to get off my chest during this time.  

There is something special about playing characters that you feel represent you especially when you don’t get to play those kinds of characters often

I don’t want to call it like going ‘full Jewish,’ but it’s basically going full Jewish here, where I’m just really getting into what’s a part of me and what I grew up with, and getting into the language, and getting into the characterizations and the beauty of it all. Getting to show that in front of an audience authentically is quite special, and it’s emotional for me. I give my best work when I’m doing something that is so real to me and showing it to an audience, and I get to do that full force with this one. 

[Edelman] says something [in the show]: If you raise Jewish children right, empathy is a core value. As a Jew, as a modern Jewish man, I think it is so true.

It is a core Jewish value to be empathetic. And the way he approaches this meeting of white nationalists, trying to be empathetic, the way he’s approaching the world, just trying to find common ground with the universe, the world, that’s my major takeaway from this show that I want to put on the forefront.

It is important to show that he’s a guy that’s struggling with his identity, but he is so proudly Jewish and that moment where I will get to express that, I want people to hear that and really see it, because it’s powerful.