Sting's partially autobiographical new musical The Last Ship, an homage to the shipbuilders of the rocker's childhood home, began previews last week at Chicago's Bank of America Theater in preparation for an official June 25 opening. The show is scheduled to move to Broadway in the fall. Showbiz411's Roger Friedman anticipates that once "tweaked and polished in this out of town run, the show will be a formidable masterwork when it comes to Broadway."
I suppose a sailor spends most of his life on "out of town runs," but the Windy City doesn't feel that way to Sting. "I've been playing in Chicago since 1979," he says, referring to his music career with The Police and as a solo artist, "and it's never struck me as being 'out-of-town'--it's struck me always as being 'town.' So here we are." It's a sentiment millions of Chicagoans would be sure to appreciate.
Directed by two-time Tony Award winner Joe Mantello (Casa Valentina, Wicked), The Last Ship stars Michael Esper (American Idiot), Rachel Tucker (We Will Rock You) and English TV star and singer-songwriter Jimmy Nail ("Ain't No Doubt"), along with veteran actor Fred Applegate (The Producers, Young Frankenstein, La Cage aux Folles) as a saucy local priest.
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