Stand-up comedian Jeff Ross, whose repertoire of incendiary jokes on “Comedy Central Roast” earned him the moniker of “Roastmaster General,” is set to make his debut on Broadway later this summer.
Ross, 59, will take the stage at the prestigious Nederlander Theatre in Midtown Manhattan on Aug. 5 to preview his one-man autobiographical show, “Take a Banana for the Ride,” which runs through Sept. 29.
Ross, who starred in the 2015 romantic comedy “The Wedding Ringer,” among other films, workshopped the solo show in May 2024 at the Netflix Is a Joke Festival in Los Angeles before taking it on the road later that year.
“Take a Banana for the Ride” is inspired by the Emmy-nominated comic’s grandfather, who looked after him after his parents died when he was a teenager. Ross’s mother succumbed to leukemia when he was 14; his father died from drug-related causes five years later.
“I lived with my grandfather when I was an open-mic comedian, and he used to give me money for tolls and gas and a banana and say, ‘Take a banana for the ride,'” the New Jersey native told Newcity Stage in March.
“And that went on to mean so much more than literally just a banana because bananas have thick skin, and they’re like people in that they get bruised, but they’re still good. In fact, the more bruised they are, the sweeter they get.”
In a June 18 interview with the Associated Press, Ross—who previously hosted the 2019 Netflix comedy series “Historical Roasts”—said his one-man show is a “very joyful” introspection about life, which he hopes all of his audiences will relate to.
“It kind of takes the stigma out of loss and sickness and lets people know that they’re going to be OK no matter what happens,” he said.
“It’s very autobiographical, but it’s also not really about just me. It’s about all of us. When I talk about my uncle or my mom, I want you to see your uncle and your mom in the stories. That’s really important to me.”