Chris Jones spent some time in the rehearsal room of "The Last Ship," which is about to open its pre-Broadway tryout here in Chicago. Here are interviews with Sting, Joe Mantello and John Logan. I was most happy to read that Sting is willing to cut and add songs on a whim -- and a lot of the album is not included in the actual show.
Cool article. I hope it does well and I personally root extra hard for original shows. Plus, my wife is a major Sting fan so it would make her happy if it is a success.
I wasn't impressed. I'm excited for the show and Rachel Tucker on Broadway, but I thought the performance was just alright. This was the performance that should have been given to Kelli O'Hara.
"I saw Pavarotti play Rodolfo on stage and with his girth I thought he was about to eat the whole table at the Cafe Momus." - Dollypop
I'm also very excited for this. It seems like he really cares about taking the time to work out the kinks and making it the best show it can be.
I was sort of underwhelmed by the Tony performance, but I just don't think that the title song is the strongest of the songs from the album. I wish he had done "Show Some Respect" or "Shipyard" instead. I loved the way they were done on the PBS concert special, and I think one of those would have had a bigger impact on people since they were the songs that got me excited about the show. I guess maybe they were too long to perform tonight.
"This was the performance that should have been given to Kelli O'Hara."
That statement makes no sense. Nothing was taken away from O'Hara or Bridges. Producers have to pay for their performances to be included, and the producers of Bridges chose not to. Probably a good idea if that money was spent on getting the OBCR done; that will be much more important to the show having a life beyond this short run.
"It does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are 20 gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket, nor breaks my leg."
-- Thomas Jefferson
Do not see this catching on. Remember Sideshow? Great score but a hard sell. This may be in the same category . This is a show that will need raves to succeed even with Sting's name attached to it.
"Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It's an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It's a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.”
~ Muhammad Ali
Regardless, I enjoyed the song and am looking forward to the show. I have the album he produced. I guess you could call it a concept album(?) and I enjoyed the songs.
Broadway in Chicago just announced that they are selling $25.00 day of show tickets for the whole engagement. Ticket sales must be really bad, because I don't ever remember them doing this for any other Pre-Broadway engagement shows in Chicago. I had to pay full price for my tix to "The Addams Family". Would have much rather paid just $25.00...
It will be a tough sell no matter how good the music is.
This may simply be an expensive vanity project for Sting. Time will tell.
Bridges had a quality score and 2 great leads in addition to name recognition of a bestseller & movie . It did not help. The Last Ship has Sting's name and nothing else.