JEFF ROSS: TAKE A BANANA FOR THE RIDE Previews

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 8/4/25 at 12:00am

What doesn’t kill you makes you funnier.

After performing in 8 Hard Rock hotels across the East Coast earlier in the summer, standup comedian Jeff Ross arrives on Broadway tomorrow night (August 5) with his one-man show Take a Banana for the Ride. Intimate and apeeling, the new show lets Ross bare his heart as he tells of the people and events that shaped his life… and hey, he might even do a little roasting, too! Opening night is August 18 at the Nederlander Theatre for a run through September 28; Stephen Kessler directs.

“Legendary comic Jeff Ross returns home for his long-awaited Broadway debut in Take a Banana for the Ride — a hilarious, heartfelt one-man show about laughing through the pain, the importance of having thick skin, and the vengeful pleasures of a Jewish comic owning a German dog. This 90-minute performance is the result of a 30-year journey in comedy: a cathartic mix of dangerous jokes, touching family stories, and songs that stay with you long after the curtain falls. No two shows are exactly alike, but each reveals the Roastmaster General at his most unguarded — raw, reflective, and ridiculously funny. It’ll be your most emotional night at the theatre since Mufasa died in The Lion King! (Oh no, did we ruin it?)”

Who’s ready for the Roastmaster General?

[TheGingerBreadMan]

Posted: 8/4/25 at 7:06am

Looking at the seat maps, sales are absolutely abysmal. Not sure who thought that Broadway audiences want Jeff Ross of all people. This was a terrible idea from the beginning.

[ACL2006]

Posted: 8/4/25 at 8:01am

TheGingerBreadMan said: "Looking at the seat maps, sales are absolutely abysmal. Not sure who thought that Broadway audiences want Jeff Ross of all people. This was a terrible idea from the beginning."

not surprised. he should have played an off-Broadway house.

[GottaGetAGimmick420]

Posted: 8/4/25 at 8:44am

Yeah this is horrendously sold, but I'm sure they're getting rent from Nederlander for a steal...

[raddersons]

Posted: 8/4/25 at 8:49am

Jeff Ross doesn’t have the NPR cred like Mike Birbiglia or any off-broadway momentum like Alex Edelman. When I walked past the Marquis for this the other day I just said “What? Who?”

[BoringBoredBoard40]

Posted: 8/4/25 at 9:06am

This is going to be a huge misfire, if Colin Quinn no longer has the juice to play Broadway in what universe would this guy who is at best ten years removed from his high (when he was on a Comedy Central roast every year)

And weirdly enough this show seems to be a total 180 from his usual material which doesn't bode well for word of mouth....Star TribuneReview: Insult comic Jeff Ross doubles down on being Minnesota NiceJeff Ross' one-man show about grieving with giggles. Ross is best known for roasting celebrities and ripping into fans, picking up the baton once carried by....Mar 13, 2025

[swright1031]

Posted: 8/4/25 at 11:10am

Does anyone have a discount for this or know what the rush/lotto is going to be like?

[ACL2006]

Posted: 8/4/25 at 11:10am

swright1031 said: "Does anyone have a discount for this or know what the rush/lotto is going to be like?"

If I was given a comp ticket for this, I wouldn't go.

[Huss417]

Posted: 8/4/25 at 11:23am

I didn't realize this was an extended run. Looking at the sales does this even make it to opening night?

[swright1031]

Posted: 8/4/25 at 12:59pm

ACL2006 said: "swright1031 said: "Does anyone have a discount for this or know what the rush/lotto is going to be like?"

If I was given a comp ticket for this, I wouldn't go."

One of my friends who is not really a theater goer is for some reason and fan and really wants to go. If I have to sit through this I’m just trying to make it as cheap as possible for me

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 8/4/25 at 1:04pm

I just realized that Ross was in “Ricky Stanicky” which was one of my favorite movies of 2024.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 8/4/25 at 1:06pm

TheGingerBreadMan said: "Looking at the seat maps, sales are absolutely abysmal. Not sure who thought that Broadway audiences want Jeff Ross of all people. This was a terrible idea from the beginning."

Good. 

Ross was credibly accused of sexual assault of a minor, so I hope he performs this show to an empty house every night. 

[BoringBoredBoard40]

Posted: 8/5/25 at 3:38pm

First preview now is magically almost sold out.

also $45 lotto tickets which is $50 too much.

JEFF ROSS: TAKE A BANANA FOR THE RIDE to Offer $45 Lottery Tickets

[KrupYou]

Posted: 8/5/25 at 3:54pm

I hope the roast master takes on some of the biggest divas on broadway. 

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 8/5/25 at 9:57pm

So, did anyone see this one tonight?

[CoffeeBreak]

Posted: 8/5/25 at 10:54pm

Yes.  Mezzanine that was 1/5th full, if that.   Show is stand-up with a few off-key songs (made sense for a comedian).  Pianist and violin accompany and support stories.  Jeff takes the audience through his humorous childhood with letters, photo and video.   Some funny-enough jokes mixed with semi-touching moments about family, friends, pets  - and losing them.   He seemed very excited to be on Broadway having grown up in Newark, NJ.  80 minutes.  Bananas on exit. 

Updated On: 8/6/25 at 10:54 PM

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 8/5/25 at 11:19pm

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

I'm assuming they kept "Don't **** With the Jews" at the start of the show then?

 

[CoffeeBreak]

Posted: 8/5/25 at 11:26pm

Yes, towards beginning.

[BoringBoredBoard40]

Posted: 8/5/25 at 11:41pm

Random scattered thoughts. 

I can say I have seen worse on Broadway, I think this shows biggest sin is...why is it even a show?

It opens with clips of Jeff from various roasts, which atleast tonight played to total silence.

Thankfully it was only 80 minutes but by the end it kind of leaves you going "who even are you?". Jeff tells essentially three mains stories...losing his parents, his grandpa and his dog, between are clips of him through his career and various songs (which lets be generious with that word, the dude can't carry a tune) and so much name dropping. One section discusses losing Bob Saget, Gilbert Gottfried and Norm McDonald in under a year, but for people he claims were so important to him, the entire section is surface level. The material is all over the place, telling Michael Vick jokes in 2025?...hack, absolute lazy hacky material. The fact this is directed by the guy who directed the National Lampoon Vegas Vacation movie and has almost no prior stage credits...explains alot. 

The show ends with him speed roasting the audience which was painful and I would cut.

We got free bananas afterwards...which ok?

We were in the mezz which was almost totally empty on the sides, the back orchestra was also empty.

this ride is going to be rough and I would advise folks not to take it

Updated On: 8/5/25 at 11:41 PM

[AlmostFamous3]

Posted: 8/5/25 at 11:55pm

Really not sure how this made it to Broadway. I assume they got the theater pretty much rent-free, but even with that, the 20 people in the audience who actually paid for their tickets can't possibly sustain the theater staff and everything else needed just to turn the lights on at the Nederlander. Keep the free bananas - cut everything else.

[BoringBoredBoard40]

Posted: 8/6/25 at 12:06am

The other thing and apologies if this becomes a bit of a rant, he does not have enough stage presence to carry the evening, and why would he?

Say what you want about Alex Edelmans show, he did it off-broadway for almost nine months before it transferred.Birbiglia did two shows off-broadway before going to Broadway, and even that show had a off-broadway run.

this dudes filmography is so thin and this show was developed through a string of dates at Hard Rock locations? It truly blows my mind how some truly great shows never get a shot on Broadway and somehow people burn their money on misguided nonsense like this. 

[CoffeeBreak]

Posted: 8/6/25 at 12:14am

Instead of Ross, take a trip to down to the Greenwich House theater and catch Josh Sharp's Ta-Da!  

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 8/6/25 at 12:36am

Jeff Ross probably doesn’t even have enough fans to sell out the comedy cellar.

[Jonathan Cohen]

Posted: 8/6/25 at 2:15am

Call_me_jorge said: "Jeff Ross probably doesn’t even have enough fans to sell out the comedy cellar."

I've actually seen him at a sold out show at the Cellar. It was the day before Trump first got elected, and he was taping a roast battle thing for Comedy Central. We nearly didn't make it because Madonna was performing unannounced two blocks away in Washington Square Park, and I was for sure dropping everything to see that. 

Big picture, Ross' career has two key problem. One is the credible accusation that he had an underage girlfriend, which is why I won't watch him anymore. 

The other issue is just for years his identity was as the Comedy Central roast guy, and Comedy Central doesn't do anything but The Daily Show and South Park anymore. He's done a couple of things on Netflix, but like the Tom Brady Roast helped Nikki Glaser more than it helped Ross. 

[Melissa25]

Posted: 8/6/25 at 5:38am

Nicki Glaser should have scored the Nederlander for a summer month or two. Then I’d be remotely interested.