TAKE A BANANA FOR A RIDE

Review By Celia Ipiotis

Considered a  super roast meister, Jeff Ross’ new one man show Take A Banana for the Ride the Nederlander Theater is full of heart.

Perhaps softened by his own battles with stage 3 colon cancer, Ross recalls a life that revolved around an outsized family who loved him but had their own consuming issues.

Written and performed by Ross, the show was energetically directed by Stephen Kessler and backed by a flurry of photos and video projections of family and friends appeared inside large Baroque frames by Beowulf Boritt stretched across the curved wall. 

A Jersey boy, Ross’ family owned one of Jersey’s most popular event spaces.  By all accounts, a popular and fun loving family man,  Ross’s father Ronny  acquired a cocaine habit, and his mother, Marsha, succumbed to tuberculosis. All these losses drove Ross into the home of his lovingly gritty  grandfather.  A fine mimic, Ross effectively captured the voices of those  who filled his life.

Despite the tribulations faced in his times of anxiety, Ross’ grandfather steps up to help support his dreams of being a stand-up comic by giving him a few bucks for the bus and a “banana for the ride.”

Ross enlarged his circle of references to include his love of his comedy pals (sadly, he’s lost Bob Saget, Norm Macdonald and  Gilbert Gottfried) and deliverd a very funny bit about Meghan Markle’s seemingly incredulous discovery that the British family was, perhaps, racist. Amazed by this assessment, Ross noted that at one point or another, the British monarchy colonized large portions of the world advancing the notion of white exceptionalism.

Oh yes, before closing the show, Ross walked into the audience and asked people to talk about their own losses or health crucibles. There were a number of teary eyed responses. Ross was very supportive of their pain and handed them a banana.

In the end, Ross spun a funny, earnest yarn of a life fully lived along with his sweet, rescued German Shepherd. 

EYE ON THE ARTS, NY — Celia Ipiotis