Tracee Ellis Ross has discovered joy in simple pleasures: the click of a curling iron or the taste of olives. This shift in focus aligns with her latest role. Ross debuts on Broadway in the play ‘Every Brilliant Thing,’ which combines happiness with the serious theme of depression.
The play centers on a narrator who creates a list to show a depressed mother that life has meaning. Items on the list include small joys like ducklings, spaghetti Bolognese, and public dancing. Number 999,996 is ‘Peeling off a sheet of wallpaper in one intact piece.’
“What is incredible when you start doing this is that you really do start to notice things that you never thought of before,” says Ross. “They’re everywhere and that’s why this piece is so beautiful: It changes the way you see the world.”
Ross takes over a role previously performed by Daniel Radcliffe and Mariska Hargitay. Although it’s a solo performance, audience members play a part. Some will read from scraps of paper, while others will play pretend roles, such as a driver or the narrator’s parent.
‘Every Brilliant Thing,’ written by Duncan Macmillan with Jonny Donahoe, allows for ad-libbing. The list evolves to include personal and authentic details relevant to each performer. For example, Daniel Radcliffe included capes, while Ross may choose tutus. Macmillan explains, The list has to feel authentic to them. What they would have found brilliant at different stages of their life, that’s changed from person to person.
The production lasts 70 minutes, during which Ross performs continuously, interacting with the crowd and delivering a lengthy monologue memorized in just three weeks. ‘It felt like I was swallowing a whale and learning how to digest it through my fingers and through my body and through my voice and through my heart,’ she describes.
Ross studied acting at Brown University and The William Esper Studio, with theater, film, and TV roles, including parts in ‘black-ish’ and ‘Girlfriends.’ Broadway has been a career goal. She’s drawn to ‘Every Brilliant Thing’ because it addresses significant themes in a hopeful manner.
‘It’s a story that is about something real that so much of us are struggling with, but yet it is told through the lens of the lifeline of what makes life worth living — just everything that could be on a bucket list for me,’ she shares.
She didn’t watch Radcliffe or Hargitay’s performances to stay true to her interpretation. Reflecting on personal brilliant moments, she cites a unique connection with her siblings: That moment when you and your siblings glance at each other because you know exactly what’s happening and only the five of us know but nobody else does.
Leave a Reply