Comedian and writer Alex Edelman will receive a Special Tony Award in June for his solo standup show Just For Us.

Edelman made his Broadway debut last year with the one-man show which centres on a gathering of neo-Nazis that he attended covertly in New York, after he received antisemitic abuse from them online.

The Tony Awards Administration Committee announced today that Edelman will receive the Special 2024 award – which is presented to outstanding productions, artists and organisations that do not fit into the categories – alongside two other winners. Joining Edelman in receiving the prize are sound designer Abe Jacob, known as the "Godfather of Sound", and hair and wig designer Nikiya Mathis (Jaja’s African Hair Braiding), Deadline reported.

Edelman, who was born into an Orthodox Jewish family in Boston, became the first American since 1997 to win the Edinburgh Comedy Award for Best Newcomer in 2014 for his debut show Millennial. His brother AJ Edelman is an Olympic bobsled athlete representing Israel.

He told the JC last year that Just For Us, which is currently streaming on HBO MAX, is not about antisemitism.

“Antisemitism is so big, you can’t possibly get your arms around anything other than a corner of it,” he said. “The show is about one Jew’s identity when he is so far removed from his natural habitat that he can see its hard edges.”

However, he did say that the topic has “become more fashionable” since he started writing the show in 2018.

He said: “You know, to me antisemitism is like the weather. Do I feel like I’ve gotten something good out of it? It is just a song that never stops playing.”

Jason Laks, interim president of the Broadway League, said, “Alex Edelman had an exemplary debut in Just For Us, a show that was as moving as it was hilarious and spoke to the power of communication, identity and empathy at a time when it is needed more than ever.”

Edelman appears in Jerry Seinfeld’s film Unfrosted, out on Netflix on Friday, and is developing a movie with A24. He has been included in TIME 100: The Most Influential People of 2024.

The 77th Tony Awards ceremony takes place on 16 June at Lincoln Centre for the Performing Arts in New York.