CenterStage Theatre
Since 1977, CenterStage has been the resident professional theatre company of the Rochester Jewish Community Center. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Ralph Meranto, CenterStage utilizes the finest local actors, directors, and set designers to present a 5-show subscription series of plays and musicals. CenterStage also produces our acclaimed SummerStage musical, featuring the best and brightest high school and college students, an annual play-reading series and other special events.
CenterStage exists to entertain, enlighten and educate the Greater Rochester community by providing quality theatre with quality theatrical productions that have universal appeal and are relevant to the Jewish experience. Great theatre is our passion.
CenterStage is a proud memeber of TheatreRocs.org: your central source for Rochester Theatre schedules and information.
For information, subscriptions and volunteer opportunities, call (585) 461-2000 x 235.
Tickets available at the JCC Main Desk whenever the JCC is open: (585) 461-2000 x 0 or online.
Parade, a New Musical
Music and Lyrics by Jason Robert Brown
Book by Alfred Uhry
Regional Debut!
Parade, the true story of Leo Frank, a Jewish factory manager accused of murdering 13-year old Mary Phagan in 1913 Atlanta, at last comes to Rochester. With a beautiful, evocative score by Broadway composer Jason Robert Brown (The Last Five Years, 13, Songs for a New World) and a powerful book by Alfred Uhry (Driving Miss Daisy) this highly acclaimed musical is at once a riveting murder mystery, a gripping courtroom drama, a moving love story, a profile in courage and a searing social commentary.
"Carries you through the gamut of emotion, and it stays with you long after you’ve left." – Washington Square News
Directed by Ralph Meranto
Music Direction by Brian Clickner
Choreography by Meggins Kelley
Location
Hart TheatreLaura Jean Smillie-Deikman in Confessions of a Cockeyed Optimist
Written and Conceived by Laura Jean Smillie-Diekmann
Directed by Ralph Meranto and Pamela Marsocci
Music Direction by Andy Pratt
World Premiere!
For the past nine years Laura Jean Smillie-Diekmann has been singing songs and telling musical stories from the American Songbook on the JCC stage. This season, she returns with the world premiere of her one-woman show. Using a tapestry of popular songs and Broadway classics, she'll tell some charming, insightful and surprising personal stories. An entertaining look at the meaning of "happily ever after."
Day & Time
Sunday, Jun 10Location
Hart TheatreBent
by Martin Sherman
This 1979 play about Nazi persecution of homosexual men has become the definitive play on the subject leading to increased awareness and research into this forgotten aspect of the holocaust.
This is a script-in-hand performance as part of Reader Theatre -- SummerFest.
Day & Time
Sunday, Jun 24Location
Hart TheatreNo Word for Me in Guyanese
by Wendy Graf
As if being an average American teenager isn't hard enough, try being a Muslim lesbian from Guyana coming of age in post-9/11 Queens. A new play that has taken L.A. and NYC by storm.
This is a script-in-hand performance as part of Reader Theatre -- SummerFest.
Day & Time
Sunday, Jul 1Location
Hart TheatreThe Zero Hour
by Madeline George
Rebecca's happy relationship with her girlfriend starts to unravel as Rebecca continues to hide her homosexuality. Meanwhile her work—writing a textbook for seventh graders about the Holocaust—bleeds into her personal life as visions of mysterious Nazis start visiting her on the subway.
This is a script-in-hand performance as part of Reader Theatre -- SummerFest.
Location
Hart TheatreSpring Awakening
Music by Duncan Sheik, Book and Lyrics by Steven Sater, Based on the play by Frank Wedekind
You can't ban curiosity...
Winner of 8 TONY Awards, including BEST MUSICAL, Spring Awakening celebrates the unforgettable journey from youth to adulthood with a power, poignancy, and passion that you will never forget. An electrifying coming of age tale that blends 19th century morality with modern music for an exhilarating celebration of youth and rebellion.
Location
Hart TheatreWorking
Music and Lyrics by Craig Carnelia, Stephen Schwartz, Nina Faso, Micki Grant, Mary Rodgers, James Taylor, and Susan Birkenhead
Based on the Book by Studs Terkel
A musical about jobs...and the people who do them. From the schoolteacher, waitress, and factory worker to the contractor, fireman, and housewife, the dreams, joys, and fears of anyone who has ever punched a clock finally get the attention they deserve in this extraordinary musical.
Location
Hart TheatreHandle with Care
A Comedy by Jason Odell Williams
Sometimes love arrives in the most unexpected package...
Hilarious circumstances bring together a young Israeli woman with little command of English and a young American man with little command of romance. When the sparks fly, will it be inevitable love or an international incident?
Day & Time
Monday, Dec 31Location
Hart TheatreBig Wigs
One night only!
Kasha Davis and Aggy Dune's high energy, Las Vegas-style show is the perfect way to usher in the New Year. Featuring dead-on impressions of Cher, Tina Turner, Celine Dion, Liza Minnelli, Madonna, Joan Rivers, Dolly Parton, Bette Midler and more, these "ladies" are certain to sell-out here as they do wherever they strut their stuff.
Location
Hart TheatreEncore! Broadway Favorites from the American Songbook
Featuring favorites from Rodgers and Hammerstein, Rogers and Hart, George and Ira Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, Leonard Bernstein, Lerner and Loewe, Stephen Sondheim, and more, the best of the best are celebrated in this 10th installment of Linda and Sandy Foster's Jewish-American composer series. Linda Foster, Laura Jean Smillie-Diekmann, Carl Del Buono, and more return to our stage for a joyous musical celebration of old and new Broadway favorites.
Location
Hart TheatreAugust: Osage County
A Dramatic Comedy by Tracy Letts (Superior Donuts)
Best Play Winner - 2008 Tony Award, Drama Desk Award, New York Drama Critics' Circle Award, and Pulitzer Prize
A hilarious and biting portrait of the dysfunctional American family at its finest and absolute worst. Featuring a foul-mouthed, pillpopping matriarch, three rival sisters, and a host of familial secrets, August: Osage County is an epic play in scope, breadth, and critical acclaim.
Location
Hart TheatreFunny Girl
Music by Jule Styne, Lyrics by Bob Merrill, Book by Osobel Lennart
Hello, Gorgeous!
"Life's candy and the sun's a ball of butter." With those magical lyrics, the meteoric rise of comedienne, vaudeville, radio, and movie star Fanny Brice busts onto the JCC stage. Featuring a beloved score of
classics including "I'm the Greatest Star," "Don't Rain on My Parade," and "People," the story of the woman who broke all the rules is certain to shine brightly.