A stretch of the Jackson Street bridge between Empire Drive and Acker Street, north of Pennsylvania Avenue in St. Paul was closed on Friday until repairs can be made to the bridge piers, the Ramsey County Public Works department announced.

The closure is expected to last about three months. The county decided to close the bridge “out of an abundance of caution” following a routine inspection and consultation with St. Paul.

The two-lane, 1930s-era bridge carries an estimated 3,500 vehicles a day. The bridge has been under load restrictions and the county has plans for reconstruction of the bridge in 2028. The county public works department will consult with bridge experts next week to determine repairs needed until the reconstruction occurs. More information will be coming.

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Every revolution starts with a rebellion. And you could say that the sound and style of musical theater in the 21st century was indelibly shaped by composer Stephen Sondheim’s rejection of the old order.

Although mentored by Oscar Hammerstein II — the lyricist half of the duo that last revolutionized the art form, Rodgers and Hammerstein — Sondheim took things in totally unexpected directions during the last few decades of the 1900s. He eschewed a devotion to earworm melodies and absorbing stories in favor of delving deeper into the psychological makeup of his characters, often going to darker places than Broadway ever had.

When he created “Passion” in 1994, Sondheim returned to terrain he’d seldom visited since he wrote the lyrics for “West Side Story” in 1957: focusing upon a single, central love story. But not like the almost mystical, magnetic bond between that show’s Tony and Maria. No, “Passion” is about the kind of obsessive love that can result in restraining orders. It looks at love as if it’s a kind of mental illness.

So “Passion” is troubling, but when done well, it can be an intense and ultimately rewarding work. And the production of it being presented by Theater Latte Da is, indeed, very well done.

The company’s new artistic director, Justin Lucero, closes his first season in the post by directing a show that’s never less than captivating throughout its intermission-less 100 minutes, one built upon exceptionally strong performances and a dream-like design scheme that makes the action seem as if wavering between reality and delusion, memory and bracing present.

Inspired by an Italian film and rooted in a 19th-century novel, “Passion” tells the story of an army captain engaged in a torrid affair who’s transferred to a remote outpost where he encounters his commanding officer’s cousin, a tortured woman who falls hard for him and casts propriety aside in passionately pursuing a relationship with him. Torn between the two women, we observe the captain growing increasingly vexed as he wrestles with his needs and what he wants from love.

The chief catalyst in the success of Latte Da’s production is the gripping performance of Erin Capello as Fosca, the obsessed woman. Capello demonstrated during the company’s 2023 production of “Next to Normal” that she can take a character with mental illness and make her extraordinarily sympathetic, but Fosca has no pretensions of passing as stable. She’s astoundingly vulnerable while also infuriatingly manipulative, and Capello makes it so you can’t take your eyes off her. Or your ears, for she has a magnificently expressive voice.

Far more guarded is Dylan Frederick’s portrayal of the captain, who could let us see more of the psychological processing that Sondheim so valued in his characters. Frederick’s at his most engaging in his exchanges with Isa Condo-Olvera as a mistress rooted in reality. And Bradley Greenwald does fine things with another conflicted character, the doctor who seems to drive the captain into Fosca’s arms.

Jason Hansen leads a five-piece onstage band that brings out all the tension in Sondheim’s songs. And Paul Whitaker’s simple yet fascinating set and mood-shaping lighting scheme add to the impression that Latte Da has triumphed again in its imaginative approach to the modern musical.

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Theater Latte Da’s ‘Passion’

When: Through July 13
Where: Ritz Theater, 345 13th Ave. N.E., Mpls.
Tickets: $75.75-$11.75, available at theaterlatteda.org
Capsule: A dark and discomfiting musical gets a passionate production.

Every revolution starts with a rebellion. And you could say that the sound and style of musical theater in the 21st century was indelibly shaped by composer Stephen Sondheim’s rejection of the old order.

Although mentored by Oscar Hammerstein II — the lyricist half of the duo that last revolutionized the art form, Rodgers and Hammerstein — Sondheim took things in totally unexpected directions during the last few decades of the 1900s. He eschewed a devotion to earworm melodies and absorbing stories in favor of delving deeper into the psychological makeup of his characters, often going to darker places than Broadway ever had.

When he created “Passion” in 1994, Sondheim returned to terrain he’d seldom visited since he wrote the lyrics for “West Side Story” in 1957: focusing upon a single, central love story. But not like the almost mystical, magnetic bond between that show’s Tony and Maria. No, “Passion” is about the kind of obsessive love that can result in restraining orders. It looks at love as if it’s a kind of mental illness.

So “Passion” is troubling, but when done well, it can be an intense and ultimately rewarding work. And the production of it being presented by Theater Latte Da is, indeed, very well done.

The company’s new artistic director, Justin Lucero, closes his first season in the post by directing a show that’s never less than captivating throughout its intermission-less 100 minutes, one built upon exceptionally strong performances and a dream-like design scheme that makes the action seem as if wavering between reality and delusion, memory and bracing present.

Inspired by an Italian film and rooted in a 19th-century novel, “Passion” tells the story of an army captain engaged in a torrid affair who’s transferred to a remote outpost where he encounters his commanding officer’s cousin, a tortured woman who falls hard for him and casts propriety aside in passionately pursuing a relationship with him. Torn between the two women, we observe the captain growing increasingly vexed as he wrestles with his needs and what he wants from love.

The chief catalyst in the success of Latte Da’s production is the gripping performance of Erin Capello as Fosca, the obsessed woman. Capello demonstrated during the company’s 2023 production of “Next to Normal” that she can take a character with mental illness and make her extraordinarily sympathetic, but Fosca has no pretensions of passing as stable. She’s astoundingly vulnerable while also infuriatingly manipulative, and Capello makes it so you can’t take your eyes off her. Or your ears, for she has a magnificently expressive voice.

Far more guarded is Dylan Frederick’s portrayal of the captain, who could let us see more of the psychological processing that Sondheim so valued in his characters. Frederick’s at his most engaging in his exchanges with Isa Condo-Olvera as a mistress rooted in reality. And Bradley Greenwald does fine things with another conflicted character, the doctor who seems to drive the captain into Fosca’s arms.

Jason Hansen leads a five-piece onstage band that brings out all the tension in Sondheim’s songs. And Paul Whitaker’s simple yet fascinating set and mood-shaping lighting scheme add to the impression that Latte Da has triumphed again in its imaginative approach to the modern musical.

Related Articles

Theater review: The Hmong women are tough and funny in Jungle Theater’s powerful ‘Sixpack’

Review: Great script meets expert acting in Park Square’s ‘Between Riverside and Crazy’  

Theater review: History Theatre’s ‘Whoa, Nellie!’ tunefully tackles issues of gender and fame

Review: The jukebox musical reaches its zenith with ‘& Juliet’

Theology gets a snarky, irreverent shake-up in Six Points’ ‘An Act of God’

Theater Latte Da’s ‘Passion’

When: Through July 13
Where: Ritz Theater, 345 13th Ave. N.E., Mpls.
Tickets: $75.75-$11.75, available at theaterlatteda.org
Capsule: A dark and discomfiting musical gets a passionate production.

By YESICA FISCH

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli forces stopped a Gaza-bound aid boat and detained Greta Thunberg and other activists who were on board early Monday, enforcing a longstanding blockade of the Palestinian territory that has been tightened during the war with Hamas.

The activists had set out to protest Israel’s ongoing military campaign in the Gaza Strip, which is among the deadliest and most destructive since World War II, and its restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid, both of which have put the territory of some 2 million Palestinians at risk of famine.

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, which had organized the voyage, said the activists were “kidnapped by Israeli forces” while trying to deliver desperately needed aid to the territory.

“The ship was unlawfully boarded, its unarmed civilian crew abducted, and its life-saving cargo—including baby formula, food and medical supplies—confiscated,” it said in a statement.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry cast the voyage as a public relations stunt, saying in a post on X that “the ‘selfie yacht’ of the ‘celebrities’ is safely making its way to the shores of Israel.”

It said the passengers would return to their home countries and the aid would be delivered to Gaza through established channels. It later circulated footage of what appeared to be Israeli military personnel handing out sandwiches and water to the activists, who were wearing orange life vests.

A weeklong voyage

Thunberg, a climate campaigner, was among 12 activists aboard the Madleen, which set sail from Sicily a week ago. Along the way, it had stopped on Thursday to rescue four migrants who had jumped overboard to avoid being detained by the Libyan coast guard.

“I urge all my friends, family and comrades to put pressure on the Swedish government to release me and the others as soon as possible,” Thunberg said in a pre-recorded message released after the ship was halted.

Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament who is of Palestinian descent, was also among the volunteers on board. She has been barred from entering Israel because of her opposition to Israeli policies toward the Palestinians.

After a 2½-month total blockade aimed at pressuring Hamas, Israel started allowing some basic aid into Gaza last month, but humanitarian workers and experts have warned of famine unless the blockade is lifted and Israel ends its military offensive.

An attempt last month by Freedom Flotilla to reach Gaza by sea failed after another of the group’s vessels was attacked by two drones while sailing in international waters off Malta. The group blamed Israel for the attack, which damaged the front section of the ship.

An 18-year blockade

Israel and Egypt have imposed varying degrees of blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized power from rival Palestinian forces in 2007. Israel says the blockade is needed to prevent Hamas from importing arms, while critics say it amounts to collective punishment of Gaza’s Palestinian population.

Israel sealed Gaza off from all aid in the early days of the war ignited by the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, but later relented under U.S. pressure. In early March, shortly before Israel ended a ceasefire with Hamas, the country again blocked all imports, including food, fuel and medicine.

Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the Oct. 7 attack and abducted 251 hostages, more than half of whom have since been released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Hamas is still holding 55 hostages, more than half of them believed to be dead.

Israel’s military campaign has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which has said women and children make up most of the dead. It doesn’t say whether those killed are civilians or combatants.

The war has destroyed vast areas of Gaza and displaced around 90% of the territory’s population, leaving people there almost completely dependent on international aid.

Efforts to broker another truce have been deadlocked for months. Hamas says it will only release the remaining hostages in exchange for a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal, while Israel has vowed to continue the war until all the captives are returned and Hamas is defeated or disarmed and exiled.

___

Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

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