Off-Broadway Review: JUST THE TIP (Jon Schnitzer at SoHo Playhouse’s Huron Club)

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by Alex Simmons on June 23, 2025

in Theater-New York

HOLY LAND, HOLY LAUGHS

Comedy goes a lot of places, and some say a comedian can and should be able to joke about anything. But what if a comedian wants to go to Israel and the Palestinian territories? What if that comedian wants to tell jokes about it?

Jon Schnitzer is not the first comedian to tackle one of the world’s longest running land conflicts. He’s not the first comedian to travel to the region and tell a story about it. But Jon may be the first performer to wade into the Israel-Palestine conflict without the goal of providing answers, hypotheticals, or an overall take. Which is a refreshing and welcome move.

In Just the Tip, running to June 28 at the Huron Club in the SoHo Playhouse, audiences are treated to a nice 69-minute comedy set telling Jon’s story of traveling to Israel and the Palestinian territories, and his experience while being there.

With origins that reach back to the late 1800s, the show is not entirely about this conflict. Jon has plenty to say about growing up as a Jewish American and his conservative father–he’s even got a great Jimmy Stewart impression in his pocket. Toss in a fun story or two from his school days and by the time he’s told us about getting hung up on when calling a Santa hotline, we’re ready to hear about his trip to one of the most volatile regions on the planet.

With deft direction from Jinsha Moore, and theme music by Alexander Burke and Art Santora, Jon takes his time easing us into his story, poking fun at the differences between Jewish Americans and Jewish Israelis, and similarities between Jews from in the Middle East and their Arab and Muslim neighbors (as if the title of the show doesn’t give it away). Things take a turn for the poignant when Jon describes a Palestinian artist who turns tear gas canisters into art, while living in the “most tear gassed place on the planet.” Making a beautiful thing from an awful thing is something all artists, including standups, have engaged in. Schnitzer’s performance here is no exception.

Most memorable about Just the Tip is that Jon doesn’t wrap up the show with a declaration of allegiance to one side of the conflict or the other. It is ironic that comedians are known for their opinions on a range of issues but this comedian offers no overreaching take to the audience. Jon doesn’t have a solution, or a comment on either side’s talking points, or a rosy hypothetical utopia happy ending for all involved. All Jon has is his experience while visiting, and his observations. Which, like most people who take a trip to Israel or the Palestinian Territories, don’t always line up with propaganda from the opposing sides, or their allies.

As an added personal touch, Jon offers the audience a QR code to see the pictures he took while visiting the Middle East. Giving the audience faces to put to the names mentioned, and a view of the donut shop Jon has a few zingers about, gives the evening a personal and humanizing touch.

There aren’t any answers or declarations in Just the Tip, there is truth. But funny truth with warmth and guts.

photos courtesy SoHo Rep

Just the Tip
SoHo Playhouse, 15 Vandam Street
69 minutes
ends on June 28, 2025
for tickets, call 212.691.1555 or visit Soho Playhouse
for more info, visit Jon Schnitzer

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