NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� a comedian known for hosting brutal roasts of celebrities, is coming to Broadway this summer with a one-man autobiographical show that will offer fans a softer, more intimate side.
鈥淭he hard part for me is letting go of a bit of my armor 鈥� of my roastmaster persona 鈥� and letting the audience get to me so that I can then get them,鈥� he tells The Associated Press ahead of a formal announcement Wednesday. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 healthy to change it up and surprise people.鈥�
鈥淛eff Ross: Take a Banana for the Ride鈥� will play the Nederlander Theatre starting Aug. 5 for an eight-week engagement through Sept. 29.
The show will explore Ross' close relatives, especially his grandfather on his mother's side 鈥� Ross calls him 鈥渢he hero of my childhood鈥� 鈥� who stepped up after the comedian's parents died when he was a teenager.
鈥淚t鈥檚 very autobiographical, but it鈥檚 also not really about just me. It鈥檚 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鈥檚 really important to me,鈥� Ross says.
鈥淚t鈥檚 very joyful. It kind of takes the stigma out of loss and sickness and lets people know that they鈥檙e going to be OK no matter what happens.鈥�
The title comes from the days when Ross was living with his grandfather in New Jersey. The younger man would take his grandfather to doctor visits or visit him in the hospital during the day and at night go into New York for open-mic nights.
鈥淢y grandfather would always give me money for the bus and a banana, and he鈥檇 say, 鈥楾ake a banana for the ride.鈥� I reluctantly took it, and more often than not, I鈥檇 be stuck in traffic, or I鈥檇 get low blood sugar, and that banana would be a lifesaver,鈥� says Ross.
鈥淏ut it was really his way of saying, 鈥楤e ready for anything鈥� and also, 鈥業 can鈥檛 go with you but I鈥檓 there with you in spirit.鈥� So it was an emotional thing, it was a practical thing. It鈥檚 something that I still do.鈥�
Ross is known as 鈥淭he Roastmaster General鈥� for his incendiary takedowns of Justin Bieber, Rob Lowe, Alec Baldwin and among many others.
The seeds for 鈥淛eff Ross: Take a Banana for the Ride鈥� were planted in the mid-1990s when Ross gathered jokes and stories about his grandfather for an hourlong set. But digging up the past proved too much.
鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 sustain it emotionally. It was just too much for me as a 30-year-old guy,鈥� Ross says. 鈥淏ut now, 30 years later, I can dig in and look back and add a layer of experience over it all.鈥�
He was spurred on in large part to losing three comedic friends 鈥� Bob Saget, and 鈥� within eight months. 鈥淭hat motivated me to look back at the old show from decades earlier and rewrite it completely for my current brain and my current skill set.鈥�
Ross will be the latest comedian to come to Broadway, following Mike Birbiglia, Alex Edelman, Keegan-Michael Key, Rachel Dratch, Billy Crystal and Colin Quinn. made his Broadway debut this year in a revival of 鈥淕lengarry Glen Ross.鈥�
Ross reaches back even further. His aunt took him to see Jackie Mason鈥檚 鈥淭he World According to Me!鈥� in the 1980s, and the young comedian was floored by the comedian's captivating set.
鈥淚t was elegant, but it was also punk rock because he was being bawdy and naughty and hilarious and saying taboo things and it really, really stayed with me for a long, long time.鈥�
Mark Kennedy, The Associated Press
