For its newly announced 2025/2026 season, St. Paul’s Park Square Theatre will celebrate its 50th year with four new productions, three of which “explore the magic and mayhem of life in the theater, onstage, backstage and everywhere in between.”

Tickets for the full season are priced from $257 to $165, with three-show packages priced from $194 to $125. Discounts are available for seniors. See parksquaretheatre.org for details.

The lineup includes:

“It’s Only a Play” (Sep. 24-Oct. 19): This comedy by Terrence McNally follows the opening night of a new theater. Wealthy producer Julia Budder hosts a lavish Manhattan party. Downstairs, celebrities are arriving, but upstairs, the playwright, director, leading lady and other insiders anxiously await the first reviews.

“R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps: Phantom of the Auditorium” (Nov. 21-Dec. 14): Based on the popular spooky book series, this musical tells the story of Brooke and her best friend Zeke, who land the leads in their middle school’s new musical. They’re thrilled, until strange things start happening around the theater. Whispers of an old legend resurface, warning that the play might be cursed.

“A Chorus Line” (May 15-June 14): With music by Marvin Hamlisch and lyrics by Edward Kleban, “A Chorus Line” captures the spirit, energy and raw tension of a Broadway ensemble audition. As hopeful dancers compete for a coveted spot in the chorus, they reveal the personal stories, ambitions and struggles that have shaped their lives.

“The Butler Did It” (July 17-Aug. 16, 2026): This world premiere by Jefferey Hatcher follows a school for butlers that caters to the fabulously rich. There’s a perfectly planned murder, a perfectly pulled off theft and the butler did it. But which one and how and why?

Park Square started in 1975 with 70 seats and has grown to a multi-stage, 550-seat professional theater. In August 2020, Park Square and SteppingStone Theatre for Youth announced they were becoming partners due to pre-pandemic debt issues. SteppingStone later moved into Park Square’s home in the historic Hamm Building in downtown St. Paul.

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By JAKE OFFENHARTZ

NEW YORK (AP) — New York University said it would deny a diploma to a student who used a graduation speech to condemn Israel’s attacks on Palestinians and what he described as U.S. “complicity in this genocide.”

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Logan Rozos’s speech Wednesday for graduating students of NYU’s Gallatin School sparked waves of condemnation from pro-Israel groups, who demanded the university take aggressive disciplinary action against him.

In a statement, NYU spokesperson John Beckman apologized for the speech and accused the student of misusing his platform “to express his personal and one-sided political views.”

“He lied about the speech he was going to deliver and violated the commitment he made to comply with our rules,” Beckman added. “The University is withholding his diploma while we pursue disciplinary actions.”

Universities across the country have faced tremendous pressure to crack down on pro-Palestinian speech or risk funding cuts from President Donald Trump’s administration, which has equated criticism of Israel with antisemitism.

But NYU, which is attended by Trump’s son, Barron, has largely avoided the president’s ire so far.

Rozos, an actor and member of the Gallatin Theater Troupe, was selected by fellow students to give the liberal art program’s address. He said he felt a moral and political obligation to speak to the audience about what he called the atrocities in Palestine.

“The genocide currently occurring is supported politically and militarily by the United States, is paid for by our tax dollars and has been livestreamed to our phones for the past 18 months,” he said.

The speech drew loud cheers from the crowd, along with a standing ovation from some graduating students.

But as video of the speech spread online, it was roundly denounced by pro-Israel groups, who accused NYU of creating an unsafe environment for Jewish students.

“No student — especially Jewish students — should have to sit through politicized rhetoric that promotes harmful lies about Israel during such a personal milestone,” the Anti-Defamation League said in a statement.

The group #EndJewHatred suggested the speech — which did not mention Jewish people — would meet the university’s newly-expanded definition of antisemitism, which includes certain criticism of Israel.

An emailed inquiry to Rozos was not returned.

As pro-Palestinian rallies roiled campuses across the country last spring, the 2024 commencement season was was marked by tensions and cancellations, and strict limits on what students could say.

With billions of dollars of funding at risk from the Trump administration, the stakes for universities are even higher this year, some faculty said.

“They are bending over backward to crack down on speech that runs counter to what the current administration in Washington espouses,” said Andrew Ross, a professor of social and cultural analysis at NYU.

“Myself and many of my colleagues are frankly appalled at the decision that’s being made to deny a student speaker his diploma,” Ross added. “This is a very good example of an administration falling down on the job.”

By JAKE OFFENHARTZ

NEW YORK (AP) — New York University said it would deny a diploma to a student who used a graduation speech to condemn Israel’s attacks on Palestinians and what he described as U.S. “complicity in this genocide.”

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FACT FOCUS: Trump claims the US is the only country with birthright citizenship. It’s not

Logan Rozos’s speech Wednesday for graduating students of NYU’s Gallatin School sparked waves of condemnation from pro-Israel groups, who demanded the university take aggressive disciplinary action against him.

In a statement, NYU spokesperson John Beckman apologized for the speech and accused the student of misusing his platform “to express his personal and one-sided political views.”

“He lied about the speech he was going to deliver and violated the commitment he made to comply with our rules,” Beckman added. “The University is withholding his diploma while we pursue disciplinary actions.”

Universities across the country have faced tremendous pressure to crack down on pro-Palestinian speech or risk funding cuts from President Donald Trump’s administration, which has equated criticism of Israel with antisemitism.

But NYU, which is attended by Trump’s son, Barron, has largely avoided the president’s ire so far.

Rozos, an actor and member of the Gallatin Theater Troupe, was selected by fellow students to give the liberal art program’s address. He said he felt a moral and political obligation to speak to the audience about what he called the atrocities in Palestine.

“The genocide currently occurring is supported politically and militarily by the United States, is paid for by our tax dollars and has been livestreamed to our phones for the past 18 months,” he said.

The speech drew loud cheers from the crowd, along with a standing ovation from some graduating students.

But as video of the speech spread online, it was roundly denounced by pro-Israel groups, who accused NYU of creating an unsafe environment for Jewish students.

“No student — especially Jewish students — should have to sit through politicized rhetoric that promotes harmful lies about Israel during such a personal milestone,” the Anti-Defamation League said in a statement.

The group #EndJewHatred suggested the speech — which did not mention Jewish people — would meet the university’s newly-expanded definition of antisemitism, which includes certain criticism of Israel.

An emailed inquiry to Rozos was not returned.

As pro-Palestinian rallies roiled campuses across the country last spring, the 2024 commencement season was was marked by tensions and cancellations, and strict limits on what students could say.

With billions of dollars of funding at risk from the Trump administration, the stakes for universities are even higher this year, some faculty said.

“They are bending over backward to crack down on speech that runs counter to what the current administration in Washington espouses,” said Andrew Ross, a professor of social and cultural analysis at NYU.

“Myself and many of my colleagues are frankly appalled at the decision that’s being made to deny a student speaker his diploma,” Ross added. “This is a very good example of an administration falling down on the job.”

The Falcon Heights City Council voted Wednesday to create temporary paid parking zones during the Minnesota State Fair.

The pay-by-mobile parking program will turn select city streets east of Snelling Avenue into paid parking zones, providing around 1,000 parking spots near the Fairgrounds, for a fee, according to a news release from the city.

The program, which has a one-year agreement with ParkMobile, will charge a flat fee of $25 per day for vehicles to park between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. during the 12 days of the Fair. As part of the program, the city will also hire trained ambassadors to give directions, answer questions and enforce parking.

The affected streets north of Larpenteur Avenue include: Asbury, Arona, Simpson, Pascal, Holton, Albert, Ruggles and Crawford.

Affected avenues to the south of Larpenteur include: California, Idaho and Iowa.

“Pay-by-mobile parking provides an excellent solution to promote safety for our Falcon Heights residents and the hundreds of thousands of visitors we welcome to our city during the Minnesota State Fair,” said Falcon Heights Mayor Randy Gustafson in the release.

If you’re determined to find free parking and your go-to street now has a fee, Falcon Heights City Administrator Jack Linehan suggests trying the free park-and-ride options the Minnesota State Fair offers.

As for residents who live on streets that are designated as a parking zone, they will receive one free parking pass delivered by mail starting in July with the option to request additional passes. The city estimates around 600 properties will be eligible for these passes.

Attendees will be able to pay online via website, app or automated pay-by-phone line and enforcement will be tied to the vehicle’s license plate. Should drivers fail to pay, parking violations will set them back $100 from Aug. 15 to Sept. 15, which is double the normal rate of $50, Linehan said.

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Falcon Heights will receive an estimated 80% of the parking fees, which the city anticipates could range from $100,000 to $200,000, Linehan said. The city will use its proceeds to support the ambassador program, cover fair costs and invest in its roads and infrastructure.

“We heard from our residents during this process on how we could improve the plan, and we believe the version adopted by the City Council will meet the needs of our community,” Gustafson said in the release.

Temporary parking zone signs will be installed before the start of the Fair and removed after Labor Day.