Theater Latté Da Announces Tony Award-Winning Musical PASSION Opens in June
Monday, May 5, 2025 at 4:39PM
Performances begin June 4 and run thru July 13 at the Ritz Theater
Theater Latté Da's Justin Lucero will direct the rarely produced Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine masterwork PASSION - the shows first production to be presented in Minnesota in over 20 years. PASSION opens at the intimate Ritz Theater on June 7. Tickets are on sale now online at latteda.org or 612-339-3003.
Per Lucero, “Announcing PASSION to conclude our mainstage season is a momentous occasion, marking our return to the canon of Stephen Sondheim’s genius work. This stunning and rarely produced masterwork showcases a dramatic journey of love, desire, and obsession that will leave a profound impact on our audience.”
Set in 1860s Italy, a gripping, fiery love triangle ignites when a dashing army captain is transferred to a remote military outpost. Giorgio, already in a passionate, clandestine affair with Clara back home, enters the sights and heart of Fosca, a fragile woman who turns out to be capable of adoration and desire unlike anything he has ever known. This Best Musical Tony winner, one of Sondheim’s most unforgettable, is an exultantly dramatic journey of love, desire, and obsession.
Last seen in the Twin Cities in a 2004 production from the Minnesota Opera, PASSION marks Theater Latté Da’s mainstage 99th production, and a return to its signature staging of the work of Stephen Sondheim. Past Sondheim pieces produced by Latté Da include Merrily We Roll Along (2022), A Little Night Music (2019), Assassins (2018), Gypsy (2016 and 2006), Sweeney Todd (2015), Into the Woods (2015), Company (2012) and Sunday in the Park with George (2003).
PASSION is among three collaborations between Sondheim and librettist James Lapine, which also include Into the Woods and Sunday in the Park with George. The show premiered on Broadway in May 1994, receiving 10 Tony Award nominations and winning four including Best Musical, Original Score and Book.
The creative team for PASSION includes Justin Lucero (director), Jason Hansen (music direction and orchestrations), Emily Michaels King (movement direction), Paul Whitaker (scenic and lighting designer), Amber Brown (costume designer), Peter Morrow (sound designer), Madelaine Foster (properties designer), and Emma Gustafson (wig, makeup and hair designer). Shelby Reddig is the Production Stage Manager, and Joelle Coutu is the Assistant Stage Manager.
Single tickets start at $36, plus fees ranging from $5.50 to $6.75. Group, student and other discounts are also available.
In-person box office hours are Tuesday to Friday from 12-5:00pm and Saturday from 12-5:00pm when in performance. Post-show discussions, ASL/AD, Open Caption, and masks-required performances are available on select dates. Braille and large print programs, assistive listening devices, and high-capacity bariatric chairs are available at every performance.
Theater Latté Da’s 2024-2025 season is made possible in part by Ameriprise Financial, Elizabeth C. Quinlan Foundation, James B. Linsmayer Foundation, The MAP Fund, The McKnight Foundation, The Nara Fund, National Alliance for Musical Theatre, National Endowment for the Arts, RBC, Prospect Creek Foundation, The Ruth Easton Fund of the Edelstein Family Foundation, The Shubert Foundation; the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grants, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the The Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and numerous generous individual contributors.
