By: Darryl Reilly
“I wouldn’t fuck Sandra Bernhard with Bea Arthur’s dick!” is Jeff Ross’ historic zinger from the 1999 Comedy Central Friar’s Club roast of Jerry Stiller. The broadcast then cuts to Ms. Arthur’s characteristically leering, slow burn finger-pointing reaction to what became a landmark joke. The petite Dr. Ruth Westheimer was also in for salacious assault, “90 and horny! She went down on me standing up!” These snippets are part of a pre-show projected video clip compilation demonstrating the distinctive brilliance of this audacious old school comedian who acquired the sobriquet of “The Roastmaster General.”
That sequence introduces the hilarious, poignant, and smoothly paced Broadway show Jeff Ross: Take A Banana For The Ride. The beaming Mr. Ross then enters down the theater aisle wearing costume designer Toni-Leslie James’ dazzling yellow suit and engages with audience members while tossing off Don Rickles-style insults with his growling from the streets vocal delivery. “Hey! You’re supposed to clap!” He snapped at me who was sitting in the fourth row on the aisle futzing with a pen and a pad while taking notes. He extended his hand, we shook hands, he soon bounded onto the stage and we were off for 90 minutes of laughs and tears.
“I want tonight to be a cathartic experience” declares Ross at the start, “I almost died last year.” Soon to be 60, he has endured alopecia, survived two bouts of cancer, and faced the traumatic deaths of both his parents by the age of 19. His mother died of leukemia and his father of complications of cocaine use. Jeff Ross: Take A Banana For The Ride is a finely-honed performance art-style collection of detailed personal segments dealing with death and grief, laced with Ross’ ferocious standup comedy. His show is parts Joan Didion, Spaulding Gray, and Jackie Mason. Near the end, Ross goes through the audience giving out bananas to those who publicly share their troubles.
Ross was born and raised in New Jersey and grew up among his colorful Jewish relatives who owned and operated a successful catering hall. His irreverent song “Don’t Fuck With The Jews” is a brash production number. He attended Boston University, moved back to New Jersey, and began appearing at Manhattan comedy clubs. There is a queasy reminiscence of a friendly male club official’s attempt at sexual molestation of Ross, the point of this anecdote is to demonstrate how rough making it in show business was going to be. His Late Show with David Letterman debut was at the age of 29 and is shown here. Most moving are his emotional tributes to close friends Norm MacDonald, Bob Saget, and particularly Gilbert Gottfried, who all died in a short time span. Ross wears a T-shirt with an image of Gottfried.
During the pandemic, the single and childless Ross was spurred to rescue an aged and infirm German Shepard whom he named Nanna because she had had numerous litters. Their bond and her end are beautifully depicted through his tender and humorous commentary matched with striking video imagery. It is a ravishing ode to the love of animals. Nipsey, the German Shephard puppy he also adopted soon after Nanna makes a grand in-person appearance during the show. Ross gets outrageous comic mileage out of imagining the canine duo as antisemitic, putting on a German accent at times. “They wouldn’t make good guard dogs they’d tell the burglars, ‘The Jew is sleeping in the bedroom!’”
Director Stephen Kessler in collaboration with creative consultant Jeff Calhoun has staged the presentation with visual variety and momentum. That is amplified by dramaturg Seth Barrish’s shrewd shaping of Ross’ material. Scenic designer Beowulf Boritt’s vintage-type couch, small round table, and semi-circular playing area, all connote an otherworldly dimension. This is complemented by a collection of various-sized antique picture frames hanging above the playing area in the void. These show projection designer Stefania Bulbarella’s gorgeous rendition of footage and stills. Adam Honoré’s bracing lighting design and Daniel Lundberg’s modulated sound design are integral to this accomplished production.
Assisting in the mirth is music director, orchestrater, and arranger Asher Denburg on piano and associate music director and arranger Felix Herbst on violin; clad in all-black they are often subtly on view. Ross periodically kibbitzes with this silent pair after their superior musicianship. Mr. Denburg also composed the show’s jaunty original music.
In his 20’s Ross lived in New Jersey with his feisty widower grandfather who had been a construction worker, he wore a ring he made from the nail of a German submarine he helped salvage during W.W. II. Every day in that time before Ross left by bus for Manhattan to perform, the old man would give him a banana “for the ride.” Jeff Ross: Take A Banana For The Ride is a soul-baring combination of the antic with the sentimental for an enriching entertainment.
Jeff Ross: Take A Banana For The Ride (through September 29, 2025)
Nederlander Theatre, 208 West 41st Street, in Manhattan
For tickets, visit www.jeffrossbroadway.com
Running time: 90 minutes with no intermission