Alex Edelman's 'Just for Us' Heads to Florida Studio Theatre in Sarasota for 2027 Run

Florida Studio Theatre in Sarasota is currently in pre-production on a major regional staging of Alex Edelman's celebrated one-man show 'Just for Us,' with previews scheduled for February 24 and 25, 2027, an opening night of February 26, and a scheduled run through March 28, 2027. A possible extension through May 2, 2027 is also on the table, which could meaningfully expand the production calendar for crew and creative team members attached to the show. Casting is actively underway, and with more than a year before the curtain goes up, the production is at precisely the stage where key roles are being locked in. Anyone looking for a substantive regional theater engagement in Sarasota should be paying close attention right now.

The show itself is well-known in theater and comedy circles. Alex Edelman, a British-American stand-up comedian and writer with strong Edinburgh Fringe and late-night television credentials, developed 'Just for Us' over several years before it became an off-Broadway sensation at the Cherry Lane Theatre and then transferred to Broadway at the Hudson Theatre in 2023, where it ran to wide critical acclaim. The piece is a one-man show in structure but genuinely theatrical in execution, weaving Edelman's personal history as an Ashkenazi Jewish kid from Boston into a gripping, often very funny, and deeply uncomfortable account of the night he attended a white nationalist meeting in a Queens apartment after stumbling into an online community through social media algorithms. The material takes on antisemitism, identity, and the strange human capacity for empathy in a format that blends stand-up timing with the narrative tension of a one-act play. It won the Olivier Award for Best Entertainment or Comedy Play in 2022, which speaks to both its pedigree and its commercial draw.

Directing the Florida Studio Theatre production is Timothy L'Ecuyer, whose work at the regional level has demonstrated an ability to serve text-driven, character-rich material. The show's success on Broadway was shaped significantly by director Adam Brace, who passed away in 2023, making subsequent productions of 'Just for Us' both a tribute to that original collaboration and a meaningful interpretive challenge for any director stepping in. L'Ecuyer inherits a show with a deeply established identity and the task of translating it for a Sarasota audience and a new theatrical context. The production is written by Edelman himself, whose voice is so central to the material that the script functions almost as a performance document as much as a traditional text. Casting director Alexys Hatch is attached, though given the one-man nature of the show, her work here likely extends to supporting roles, understudies, or swing casting arrangements rather than a large ensemble.

Florida Studio Theatre is the producing entity, with Executive Producer Richard Hopkins and Executive Director Rebecca Hopkins steering the ship. FST is one of Florida's most active and respected professional theater companies, operating out of Sarasota with multiple performance spaces including the Gompertz Theatre, the Keating Theatre, and the Goldstein Cabaret, among others. The company operates as a year-round professional theater with an Equity company, making this a likely LORT or SPT union engagement depending on the contract tier negotiated for this production. FST has a strong track record of producing contemporary work alongside musicals and has built a loyal subscription audience in Sarasota. For crew and production professionals, FST is a known quantity in the regional theater world: a well-run organization with real infrastructure and a commitment to professional standards.

Sarasota is a strong home base for this kind of production. The city has a robust arts community and FST specifically maintains dedicated production facilities, administrative offices, and technical departments that support its busy season schedule. For local Florida-based theater professionals, this is a prime opportunity to work on a show with genuine national name recognition. For those considering relocating for the engagement, Sarasota offers a high quality of life at a reasonable cost relative to New York or Los Angeles, and the FST campus provides a collegial working environment that many theater technicians and designers find appealing. The production's Queens, New York reference in the location data reflects the setting of the story itself rather than any production activity in New York, so the full engagement is based in Sarasota.

In terms of crew needs, a one-man show of this profile still requires a complete technical team. Lighting design will be especially important given that the piece relies heavily on atmosphere and dramatic tension rather than scenery. Sound design, set design, and stage management are all core hires, and the production's possible extension through May suggests that FST is anticipating strong ticket demand and wants the flexibility to keep the show running. Anyone interested in a thoughtful, well-regarded piece with a manageable but high-profile profile should treat this as a serious opportunity.

The full production listing for 'Just for Us' at Florida Studio Theatre is available now on ProductionList.com, including production contacts, office details, and the complete crew list as it develops. With casting underway and pre-production firmly in motion, the window to get in front of this production is open. Check the listing, bookmark it for updates, and reach out through the contacts provided to make your case early.

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