Tracee Ellis Ross is focusing on the small details that bring her joy, like the click of a curling iron or the taste of olives. This new awareness ties into her current role, as she makes her Broadway debut in ‘Every Brilliant Thing.’ The play, starting Tuesday, is both uplifting and explores the topic of depression.
The narrative follows a character who creates a list of things that make life worth living for a depressed mother, such as ducklings, spaghetti Bolognese, and public dancing. An item near the top of the list is peeling off a sheet of wallpaper in one intact piece. ‘You start to notice things that you never thought of before,’ Ross explains. ‘That’s what’s beautiful about this piece: It changes how you see the world.’
Engaging the Audience
Ross takes on a role previously held by Daniel Radcliffe and Mariska Hargitay. Although it’s a solo show, audience members join in by reading from scraps of paper or doing tasks like pretending to drive a car or crafting a sock puppet. Ross interacts with the audience, selecting participants based on both warmth and reluctance.
Customizing the Performance
Written by Duncan Macmillan with Jonny Donahoe, ‘Every Brilliant Thing’ allows Ross room to ad-lib, incorporating personal touches that reflect her life. Macmillan notes, ‘The list has to feel authentic.’ Changes are made to align parallel with the performer’s age and background, including personal preferences such as favorite cereal or childhood crushes.
Ross delivers a 70-minute performance without breaks, engaging directly with the audience. She memorized a 40-page script in a three-week rehearsal period. ‘It felt like I was swallowing a whale,’ she shares. Her training at Brown University and The William Esper Studio prepared her as she followed a career path including roles on ‘black-ish’ and ‘Girlfriends.’
Fulfilling a Broadway Dream
Broadway had always been a target for Ross, and ‘Every Brilliant Thing’ fits her desire to connect with audiences on meaningful subjects. ‘It’s about something many people struggle with, but it’s told through what makes life worth living,’ she says.
Avoiding watching predecessors Radcliffe and Hargitay, she notes, ‘Once I see someone else’s performance, it’s hard for me to get it out of my head.’ When asked for more personal brilliance, Ross, one of five siblings, mentions a knowing look shared among her brothers and sisters as an example of life’s small joys.