Articles of speech are important. For instance, when this writer first read the title of comedian Jeff Ross’ new Broadway show, I thought it was called “Take a Banana for a Ride,” and I wasn’t really sure what it meant — perhaps a riff on bananas and comedy — the second banana, slip on a banana peel kind of nod? Then I realized the title is actually “Take a Banana for the Ride.” The one-word change forced me to hear the phrase in my head. And I realized, it was the phrase of a concerned parent-figure telling you to pack a snack — don’t starve on the ride.
As Ross told me on the latest episode of “Broadway Press Day with Ruthie Fierberg,” that’s exactly it. Early in his career, when he would travel from New Jersey into New York City to try to make it onstage in standup venues, his grandfather would call after him, “Take a banana for the ride.”
“My grandfather was foundational to my life,” Ross said. “The show’s about some of the people who made me who I am, like my grandfather and my parents. But it’s kind of about all of us.”
