(The Plaza Live, Orlando FL) Jeff Ross is the name that has become synonymous with the brutal, yet cathartic, modern-day 'roast'. However, his show last night in Orlando offered up a significant departure from what the general public was likely expecting to see, but it was the type of show that I wish more comics would emulate in the future.
Ross' tour for 2024 -- cryptically called 'Jeff Ross: Take A Banana For The Ride' consisted of only 2 shows for the entire calendar year: October 26 in Tampa, then last night's October 27 show at The Plaza in Orlando. Attendees who may have been expecting a roast event similar to what was popularly done recently to Tom Brady and Justin Bieber, witnessed something much different and, in my opinion, something far more substantial and impactful instead.
Typically, during one of Ross' roasts, a featured guest sits centerstage while a panel of their closest friends and peers flank them on both ends, as each guest takes turns taking comedic jabs at the honored guest. As with a caricature drawing in which 1 artist will paint or draw your most prominent physical features onto a canvas or piece of paper, the roast is kind of like the verbal variant to this in which the subject's most prominent or noticeable career or professional attributes are individually called out by those on the panel one by one as the subject does their best to just take it on the chin.
In Ross' show last night, there was no panel. Jeff spent the 1st hour of the show providing a reflective autobiography on the events of his life that had brought him to this point in his life and career. Despite the more subdued and personal content that was shared, Jeff still managed to observe and poke fun in super-cringy fashion at almost all aspects of the life story he was sharing. Whereas with the televised roasts in which you'd laugh at the roastee as you curiously continued to watch to see if they would crack under the insane pressure of having had all aspects of their life discussed on stage for the entire world to see, with Sunday night's show I watched a man who I previously had the incorrect impression that he cared very little about anything, talk about very personal and emotional impacts to his life. These were the types of observances that may have lasted only a few seconds in one's life, but Jeff was able to recall these significant moments and express the profound impact it had on his life and career. He shared with us that his actual name was Jeffrey Lifschultz, and that the 'Ross' part was a tribute to his great-grandmother, Rosie, from Newark. At the earliest onset of his show, he spoke of how certain family members taught him right from wrong, and stated that comedy was his power.
He offered up a funny observational song speaking as to why one shouldn't 'mess with a Jew', but he utilized a much more colorful choice of verb there. While the song sounded light-hearted, there were very good callouts within it, which detailed accomplishments and societal contributions from fellow Jewish individuals. Onstage with Jeff during this time was a pianist and a violinist, and their musical accompaniment didn't end at the conclusion of this song; rather they remained for the duration of the show to provide some background sound as Jeff delivered a 90-minute rehearsed, but extremely heart-felt and sincere monologue. With accompanying video from Jeff's past being projected onto the screen behind him, Jeff spoke of ultra-personal events from his life, even reciting a love letter he found that was written from his father to his mother, then followed by a letter from his mother back to his father that was written during a hospital stay. Surprisingly, at the end of the 2nd letter, Jeff reflected on the message and asked if people still talked to each other like that anymore, as the message was filled with such a sweet and vulnerable transparency.
He shared that his grandpa Jack would often offer him a banana whenever they would say bye to one another, and even spoke of the ring that he adorned on his finger was formerly a part of a submarine that his grandfather had helped to take apart years ago.
Jeff made intention mention of the Meals on Wheels program, and called out all the caregivers in the audience that they should be proud of having taken care of someone.
There were several moments where Jeff spoke of the loss of 3 comic legends -- Norm Macdonald, Gilbert Gottfried, and Bob Saget -- with whom Jeff sentimentally reflected upon his close friendships with each. The collective loss of these gentlemen clearly had a profound impact on Jeff. It was also very clear that Jeff was deeply attached to previous pets that he once had.
In the final 20 minutes of tonight's show, Jeff brought things back to the 'roast'. He called for volunteers to join him onstage, and went up and down that group poking observational fun at all of them, which had the audience rolling in their seats with laughter.
I have clearly misjudged Jeff Ross all these years. I thought him to be brash, arrogant, and even cold. However, after witnessing tonight's performance, Jeff Ross is clearly very thoughtful, introspective, and deeply reflective of the impacts others have had on his life. Performance-wise, his comedic timing was very sharp and his jokes were well-delivered. There's a certain degree of brilliance that should be associated with a show like this. Somehow he managed to draw out the humor from even the darkest of life's moments, and was able to make those moments 'funny' as he shared with the audience, which I felt required a very special level of talent and awareness. This was one of the most sincere deliveries I've ever seen on a stage, which made this show very relatable on so many different levels. Although I believe that much of the audience was probably expecting a 90-minute superficial roast, I hope that they walked away with the appreciation of just how much emotional insight we were given into this comedic legend. Very seldom have I attended a show where I was able to walk away feeling that I actually learned anything substantial about the artist performing before me, but on this reflective night, I felt enlightened as to just how different a performer's persona on stage can be from their true off-stage self.
I do wish Mr. Ross all the best that he's going through, and sincerely hope that we continue to see him in central Florida for decades to come.
Bailey Guinigundo
Ross' tour for 2024 -- cryptically called 'Jeff Ross: Take A Banana For The Ride' consisted of only 2 shows for the entire calendar year: October 26 in Tampa, then last night's October 27 show at The Plaza in Orlando. Attendees who may have been expecting a roast event similar to what was popularly done recently to Tom Brady and Justin Bieber, witnessed something much different and, in my opinion, something far more substantial and impactful instead.
Typically, during one of Ross' roasts, a featured guest sits centerstage while a panel of their closest friends and peers flank them on both ends, as each guest takes turns taking comedic jabs at the honored guest. As with a caricature drawing in which 1 artist will paint or draw your most prominent physical features onto a canvas or piece of paper, the roast is kind of like the verbal variant to this in which the subject's most prominent or noticeable career or professional attributes are individually called out by those on the panel one by one as the subject does their best to just take it on the chin.
In Ross' show last night, there was no panel. Jeff spent the 1st hour of the show providing a reflective autobiography on the events of his life that had brought him to this point in his life and career. Despite the more subdued and personal content that was shared, Jeff still managed to observe and poke fun in super-cringy fashion at almost all aspects of the life story he was sharing. Whereas with the televised roasts in which you'd laugh at the roastee as you curiously continued to watch to see if they would crack under the insane pressure of having had all aspects of their life discussed on stage for the entire world to see, with Sunday night's show I watched a man who I previously had the incorrect impression that he cared very little about anything, talk about very personal and emotional impacts to his life. These were the types of observances that may have lasted only a few seconds in one's life, but Jeff was able to recall these significant moments and express the profound impact it had on his life and career. He shared with us that his actual name was Jeffrey Lifschultz, and that the 'Ross' part was a tribute to his great-grandmother, Rosie, from Newark. At the earliest onset of his show, he spoke of how certain family members taught him right from wrong, and stated that comedy was his power.
He offered up a funny observational song speaking as to why one shouldn't 'mess with a Jew', but he utilized a much more colorful choice of verb there. While the song sounded light-hearted, there were very good callouts within it, which detailed accomplishments and societal contributions from fellow Jewish individuals. Onstage with Jeff during this time was a pianist and a violinist, and their musical accompaniment didn't end at the conclusion of this song; rather they remained for the duration of the show to provide some background sound as Jeff delivered a 90-minute rehearsed, but extremely heart-felt and sincere monologue. With accompanying video from Jeff's past being projected onto the screen behind him, Jeff spoke of ultra-personal events from his life, even reciting a love letter he found that was written from his father to his mother, then followed by a letter from his mother back to his father that was written during a hospital stay. Surprisingly, at the end of the 2nd letter, Jeff reflected on the message and asked if people still talked to each other like that anymore, as the message was filled with such a sweet and vulnerable transparency.
He shared that his grandpa Jack would often offer him a banana whenever they would say bye to one another, and even spoke of the ring that he adorned on his finger was formerly a part of a submarine that his grandfather had helped to take apart years ago.
Jeff made intention mention of the Meals on Wheels program, and called out all the caregivers in the audience that they should be proud of having taken care of someone.
There were several moments where Jeff spoke of the loss of 3 comic legends -- Norm Macdonald, Gilbert Gottfried, and Bob Saget -- with whom Jeff sentimentally reflected upon his close friendships with each. The collective loss of these gentlemen clearly had a profound impact on Jeff. It was also very clear that Jeff was deeply attached to previous pets that he once had.
In the final 20 minutes of tonight's show, Jeff brought things back to the 'roast'. He called for volunteers to join him onstage, and went up and down that group poking observational fun at all of them, which had the audience rolling in their seats with laughter.
I have clearly misjudged Jeff Ross all these years. I thought him to be brash, arrogant, and even cold. However, after witnessing tonight's performance, Jeff Ross is clearly very thoughtful, introspective, and deeply reflective of the impacts others have had on his life. Performance-wise, his comedic timing was very sharp and his jokes were well-delivered. There's a certain degree of brilliance that should be associated with a show like this. Somehow he managed to draw out the humor from even the darkest of life's moments, and was able to make those moments 'funny' as he shared with the audience, which I felt required a very special level of talent and awareness. This was one of the most sincere deliveries I've ever seen on a stage, which made this show very relatable on so many different levels. Although I believe that much of the audience was probably expecting a 90-minute superficial roast, I hope that they walked away with the appreciation of just how much emotional insight we were given into this comedic legend. Very seldom have I attended a show where I was able to walk away feeling that I actually learned anything substantial about the artist performing before me, but on this reflective night, I felt enlightened as to just how different a performer's persona on stage can be from their true off-stage self.
I do wish Mr. Ross all the best that he's going through, and sincerely hope that we continue to see him in central Florida for decades to come.
Bailey Guinigundo
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