Unleashed! Comedy Improv
Saturday, August 13, September 10, October 15 and November 12 at 7:30pm | JCC Lounge
Tickets are available at the door, in advance, by calling 585-461-2000 x 235 or here online ».

The Lady with All the Answers
A Comedy by David Rambo
September 10 – 25, 2011

Regional Debut!
For over 50 years, twin sister rivals Dear Abby and Ann Landers ruled the advice column world, answering countless letters about love, sex, religion and the proper way to hang toilet paper. On a life-changing night in 1975, Ann Landers shares insight into the wise, funny, no-nonsense woman whose daily dialogue with America helped shape the social and sexual landscapes of the last half-century.
“Warmhearted, highly entertaining and moving.” – Chicago Tribune
Starring Susan Hopkins (Rose) as Ann Landers
Directed by Ralph Meranto

92YLive Continues with an all new line up for Fall 2011.
Don’t miss these exciting broadcasts!

All Seats General Admission
Advance Sale: $8 Member $10 Non Member
Purchase Tickets at the JCC Main Desk or by calling 585-461-2000

Barbara Walters with Dr. Gail Saltz
Tuesday, September 13, 8:00pm
Over the course of her career, Barbara Walters hasinterviewed a wide range of statesmen and stars. After 25 years as co-host and chief correspondent for 20/20, Waltersleft the show in 2004 to begin a new phase in herextraordinary career. She remains an active member of the news division and is well known for her “BarbaraWaltersSpecials.” She joined ABC Newsin 1976 as the first woman ever to co-host the network news. She is the author of the best-seller Audition: A Memoir.

Psychiatrist,psychoanalyst, columnist, bestselling author and television commentator Dr. Gail Saltz will interview Walters as part of her series “Strength of Mind with Dr. Gail Saltz.” This series explores how people find success, real happiness and the ability to deal with life’s problems.

Paula Deen with Dr. Gail Saltz
Tuesday, October 11, 8:00pm
The Emmy Award winning Food Network television star and author talks about her Georgia upbringing, family traditions and the evolution of her business empire,which began as a small catering company in Savannah. Deen is the author of many best-selling cookbooks and a new volume, Paula Deen’s Southern Cooking Bible. Psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, columnist, best-selling author and television commentator Dr. Gail Saltz will interview Deen as part of her series “Strength of Mind with Dr. Gail Saltz.” This series explores how people find success, real happiness and the ability to deal with life’s problems.

Iranium
John R. Bolton, Ethan Bronner, Richard Perle, Nazie Eftekhari and Alex Traiman
Monday, November 7, 7:30pm
Join a panel of influential and provocative names to discuss the threat of a nuclear Iran, featuring clips from the critically acclaimed documentary Iranium. The documentary is a stinging indictment of the current Iranian regime and highlights revolutionary efforts within Iran to topple the government.

John R. Bolton is a former US Ambassador to the United Nations. Richard Perle is a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and served as chairman of the Defense Policy Board during the Bush administration. Alex Traiman is the director of Iranium and a professional journalist covering breaking events and analysis in the Middle East. Richard Green is the executive director of the Clarion Fund, the nonprofit organization that produced and distributed Iranium as well as other documentary films on threats to international security. Nazie Eftekhari is the director for the Iran Democratic Union. Ethan Bronner is the Jerusalem bureau chief for The New York Times.

Stephen Breyer: Making Our Democracy Work
Linda Greenhouse, moderator
Sunday, December 11, 7:30pm
Stephen Breyer, associate justice of the United States Supreme Court, gives an insider ’s perspective on the court as an American institution today and its shaping of our future. Breyer talks about what the court must do to maintain public confidence and interpret the Constitution in a way that works in practice, and discusses the relationship between the court and the president, Congress, administrative agencies and the states—along with the role each plays in our democracy

Stories from the Fringe:
Women Rabbis Revealed!
by Ronda Spinak and Rabbi Lynne A. Kern
October 27 – 30, 2011
Directed by Linda Starkweather

East Coast Debut!
Based on oral interviews with 18 women rabbis, Stories from the Fringe is a humorous and heartfelt look at the lives of these extraordinary women and their searches for God, love…and a fabulous pair of shoes.
From the struggles of the first ordained women rabbis 40 years ago trying to find their place in a traditionally male dominated role, to funny and touching revelations on such universal topics as dating, infertility, tattoos, gay rights, and even homicide, hear these women’s stories in their own words.
Developed by the Women’s Jewish Theatre of Los Angeles and presented by special arrangement with the authors

I Do, I Do!
Music by Harvey Schmidt
Book and Lyrics by Tom Jones
Based on The Fourposter by Jan de Hartog
December 3 – 18, 2011
Plus a special performance New Years Eve at 9 pm

You’ll fall in love with I DO, I DO! This classic musical about love and marriage gets a modern make-over in a fresh, new production. Written by the authors of The Fantasticks, songs include “My Cup Runneth Over,” “Love Isn’t Everything,” “When the Kids Get Married” and a beautiful and timeless score that will make you laugh, cry and nod in knowing agreement. For better and for worse…it’s the perfect show for anyone that’s ever been in love.
“At once amusing, astonishingly touching and truly endearing.” – New York Post
Directed by Matthew Ames
Music Direction by Jim Schmitt
Choreography by Meggins Kelley

Hollywood Sings!
Written and Conceived by Linda and Sandy Foster
January 1 – 15, 2012
Special opening night performance New Years Eve at 6 pm

All New!
From “Over the Rainbow” to “Under the Sea”, enjoy your favorite songs from the American cinema as the 9th installment of our beloved American Songbook series goes Hollywood. We’ll explore the history of motion pictures through the popular songs that have come to define every generation of movie-goer. Lead by Linda Foster and featuring Laura Jean Smillie-Diekmann and a talented ensemble of musical theatre performers, this series gets bigger and better every year. With an added weekend to accommodate its growing popularity and a special opening night performance on New Year’s Eve, Hollywood Sings! will have you dancing in the aisles.
Directed by Ralph Meranto
Musical Direction by Kevin Lieb

Regional Debut:
Imagining Madoff
By Deborah Margolin
March 10 – 25, 2012

Ripped from the headlines!
Did Bernie Madoff really imagine he could get away with orchestrating the biggest ponzi-scheme in history?
How much did his family and employees know about the deceit? How were some of the best and brightest minds in the world blind to his actions?

This shocking new play by Obie Award-winning dramatist, Deborah Margolin explores imagined conversations with the quietly bold and privately crass Madoff, his executive secretary and a renowned author/Holocaust survivor who becomes one of his most notable victims. Imagining Madoff is a poetic examination of the meaning of morality and the power of blind trust.

“Imagining Madoff” is one play you must see. It is by far the best theatre around, a gripping bravura effort. – Register-Star

“Studded with dreams, parables, Talmudic quotations and dirty jokes that reverberate with meaning, Margolin’s mature and intriguing script is a far cry from the shallow re-creations of cable docudramas drawn from public records and overly concerned with real events.” – Jewish Daily Forward

Presented by special arrangement with the author.
Directed by Brian Coughlin

Parade
Music and Lyrics by Jason Robert Brown
Book by Alfred Uhry
May 5 – 20, 2012
1998 Tony Award Winner for Best Musical Score and Best Book.

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

Confessions of a Cockeyed Optimist
Written and Conceived by Laura Jean Smillie-Diekmann
May 31 – June 3, 2012
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.”

Faces of Jewish Rochester, 5767
Welcome to The Faces of Jewish Rochester project website, created to help promote the photographing of as many Jewish people living in the Rochester, New York metropolitan area during the Jewish year of 5767 as possible.
In collaboration with the Jewish Community Center of Greater Rochester, New York, this project's objective to photograph as many individuals as members of groups as possible in an attempt to create a representative sample of Rochester's 22,000 Jews.

back to top »