Tracee Ellis Ross Calls Her EVERY BRILLIANT THING Broadway Debut a ‘Full Circle’ Experience

Tracee Ellis Ross will soon be making her Broadway debut in Every Brilliant Thing, following in the footsteps of Daniel Radcliffe and Mariska Hargitay as the sole actor at the center of the play.

During a visit to The Tonight Show, she spoke to Jimmy Fallon about her involvement in the project, which she calls a “full circle” experience, given that one of her early theatergoing experiences was another famed solo production. “I think one of the first Broadway shows I saw was Whoopi Goldberg in the ’80s. I saw the one-woman show in the theater… and so, here I am doing this solo show.”

Ross went on to explain that Goldberg’s play, The Whoopi Monologues, led to a moment of clarity for the actress, who was already practicing for a career in the performing arts from the comfort of her home. “It was one of the first moments that I saw a person on a stage do something that I did in my own bedroom,” she shared. “It was an extraordinary moment where you realized that you can turn a life and creativity out of who you are.

Ross will begin performances in Every Brilliant Thing on Tuesday, July 7, 2026, and play through Sunday, August 9, 2026 at the Hudson Theatre. Coincidentally, her run in the play coincides with Lincoln Center Theater’s new reimagining of The Whoopi Monologues, which opens on Monday, July 13 at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater.