Tracee Ellis Ross says isolating as it may be, mental health doesn’t have to be managed alone

In this exclusive interview, Tracee Ellis Ross opens up about making her Broadway debut in “Every Brilliant Thing.” 

If Tracee Ellis Ross hopes audiences leave her Broadway debut with anything, it’s the reminder that no one has to navigate mental health alone.

The 53-year-old actress is making her long-awaited Broadway debut in “Every Brilliant Thing,” the acclaimed one-person play about depression, grief, hope, and the small things in life that make it worth living.

“Mental health is something that can be so isolating and can have so much misunderstanding about what it is and what it looks like,” the “Black-ish” alum told theGrio in an interview last week.

“I think people don’t always know what people are going through, and people don’t always know what they’re going through, and that it’s not something they have to weather alone,” she continued. “I’m so grateful to be a part of telling a story that helps to share it in a way that is accessible, that is soft, that is human, that is warm and gentle, but also that is joyful.”

She added, “And that offers a hand of ‘you are not alone,’ and that there are places and people that can support you, that can help you, and I think this play really does that. I hope it does that.”

Written by Duncan Macmillan, “Every Brilliant Thing,” which opened on July 7 at the Hudson Theatre, follows an unnamed narrator who begins writing a list of everything that makes life worth living after their mother struggles with depression and attempts suicide. Told through audience participation, the production balances difficult conversations about mental health with humor, joy, and hope.

For the “Solo Traveling” star, the production has also been thoughtfully reimagined through the perspective of a Black woman, weaving Black cultural references and lived experiences into the story to deepen its themes. It’s run during Minority Mental Health Month only adds to the urgency of the conversations unfolding on stage.

While Ross said, “I’m using myself” to tell the story, she is also quick to point out that the narrator is not Tracee. Instead, the character has been reimagined as a Black woman, allowing references that might fit the original British narrator to be swapped for ones that feel more authentic to her version of the story. A British sandwich Ross had never even heard of before became, for instance, a baloney-and-yellow-mustard sandwich. There’s mention of a wet roller set. Pop culture references to Queen Latifah, “Living Single,” and Michael Jordan also help ground the production in a distinctly Black cultural experience.

“It was very important to me to bring Black cultural references into the show,” Ross noted. “I don’t take it lightly that as a Black woman telling this story about suicide and depression, that it was my job to really hold that subject matter in a way that it felt accessible and safe for us to explore to destigmatize, you know, mental health and those conversations and seeking help and asking for the help that you need.”

That mission extends beyond representation. Ross hopes audiences walk away recognizing both the inevitability of hardship and the possibility of hope.

“Life is not the easiest thing to do,” she noted. “It’s not a movie… There’s a line towards the end of the play, ‘if you’ve lived a long life and you somehow make it to the end without ever feeling crushingly depressed, you’re probably not paying attention.’”

She added, “At the same time, if you find yourself feeling like you’ve lost all hope. Please remember that the moment that you’re in won’t last forever.”

She described stepping into the role in a single word: “daunting.”

“Couldn’t have been a better match for me both in terms of the material itself. It’s such a beautiful piece of material, so incredibly written, and then at the same time, you know, taking on a one-person show, a Tony-nominated one-person show, as my first time on Broadway. Like you get into it, and you’re like, ‘What cliff did I just jump off?’” the “Girlfriends” star explained.

Thankfully, she said she has grown increasingly comfortable with both the material and the uncertainty of a show that changes every night, depending on the audience members helping tell the story.

“It’s been like coming home in a way,” she admitted.

Part of that feeling comes from the play’s format, which Ross said mirrors the way she naturally tells stories. It also comes from the material itself. While the play tackles depression and suicide, it does so through what she described as a “buoyant, life-affirming list that becomes the narrator’s lifeline,” reminding them that beauty still exists even in life’s darkest moments. That outlook isn’t all that different from Ross’ own. Every week, she sends a gratitude list to her group chat and invites them to share what they’re grateful for.

When asked what currently sits near the top of her own list of brilliant things, Ross didn’t hesitate: Performing the show. The simple joy of doing laundry. The chic hangers in her New York City apartment. Being back in New York and catching up with friends.

And, of course, the Black men of New York.

“Walking through the streets of New York, and just noticing all of the gorgeous Black men like just everywhere. It’s just like ungodly, and boy does it fill my well,” she said with a laugh.

“Every Brilliant Thing,” starring Ross, runs at the Hudson Theatre through August 9. For tickets and more info, head to EveryBrilliantThing.