PHOTO BY JACOB WALSH JCC CenterStage Artistic Director Ralph Meranto plans to erect a giant tent on the JCC s tennis courts that will act as the facility s theater for the summer and fall. Normally at this time of year, Ralph Meranto, the artistic director at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Rochester’s CenterStage, would be focused on planning upcoming productions for his 300-seat theater. But these aren’t normal times. Instead, Meranto has been busy securing permits from the Town of Henrietta to erect a giant tent on the center’s outdoor tennis courts, under which he plans to stage shows this summer and fall.
PHOTO BY ANNETTE DRAGON Stephanie and Jeff Suida in Constellations, presented virtually by Out of Pocket, Inc. “Constellations,” written by Nick Payne, mostly operates on a gimmick: Roland and Marianne meet each other, date, break up, get back together. Sometimes. The play jumps through parallel universes where a beat gets played out in several different, usually contradictory, ways. Because the Out of Pocket, Inc production is staged in our universe that is, the one with the pandemic it is physically performed and recorded (by Anthony Carter) at the MuCCC, but streams on ShowTix4U through March 6. The limited laughter and applause for actors (and real-life married couple) Jeff and Stephanie Siuda, was a reminder of the realities of theater in the age of COVID.