Sting's 'The Last Ship' is headed for Broadway

[atreyu]

Sting himself is headed for Broadway:
http://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Br ... y-20141123

[CJ-Rochester]

Well that didn't last very long. The show will close Saturday, January 24. Not even having Sting himself staring in the show could save it.

http://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Br ... y-20150106

[kport]

From what I have read and heard, the music was quite well received, but the story was very thin, lacking in any real compelling passion or conjoined message. Perhaps it can be adapted and rewritten so that the score will have a better story to tell. I suspect that Sting knew the risks; that a good, neo-modern, folkie working-class Geordie song cycle needs to have more substance than a big name to fill a Broadway theatre.

Perhaps it should be reworked for the West End, where the subject matter may ring true more readily with an audience than it did on Broadway.

[kport]

The Last Ship set sail for perhaps the final time last Saturday - on Broadway, at least. This reviewer (I did check that is IS a review!) thinks there is a future for it, perhaps as a slimmed down version, for regional theatres.

Surely it won’t actually be the last. The music alone should win “The Last Ship” further launchings, whether full steam ahead in London or the big musical-loving cities of Europe, or slimmed down for American regional theaters.

http://www.post-gazette.com/ae/theater- ... 1501270155

[kport]

The Last Ship slipped its anchor in Broadway, but has hove to in Newcastle:

As it reaches its emotive conclusion, The Last Ship has shades of Billy Elliot, in the sense that it brings together a decidedly mainstream, popular artistic form with a strong political commitment. If the standing ovation given to the company (including Sting, who joined them onstage) on opening night is any measure, it is a winning combination.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/theatre/wha ... ul-launch/

[kport]

Quentin Letts weighs in with an acerbic review. I knew Quentin 20+ years ago; he is like this in life, too.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/ar ... -Ship.html

[Real Geordie]

I remember reading about the closure of the show on Broadway, and assumed that it had quietly been interred. A surprise therefore to see it has now been resurrected on home turf. Most of the reviews I have read to date are complimentary about the music, perhaps less so about the plotline. With Sting as the driving force that isn’t surprising. I intend to see it. I have always enjoyed the music of Sting (and The Police before that) and the clip below contains some poignant lyrics (older man/younger woman). Written for the show, it failed to make the cut, primarily due to a change in character development I understand.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rp4BAxY3C0

In the article from The Telegraph the comment is made “.... The impressive, surprisingly versatile shipyard set is transformed from moment to moment by the fabulous use of projected images (both still and moving). From sitting rooms, to the interior of a cathedral, to the skeleton of the great ship itself, the technical skill of the designers is truly amazing…..”

If, and when, Billy makes a comeback, I hope that any updating includes consideration of greater use of projected backdrops. Time has moved on, and however imaginative and practical the traditional set, I’m sure that enhancement is possible. The terraced streets of Easington, pit head winding wheel etc. - like.