Coming to Detroit: The Last Ship

Detroiters, get excited, because something and someone amazing is heading to Detroit. Sting’s acclaimed musical, THE LAST SHIP, starring and featuring original music and lyrics by the 17-time Grammy Award®-winner, will be coming to the Detroit Opera House and I am fangirling hard. I grew up listening to Sting (thanks to my parents), and cannot wait for The Last Ship to land in Detroit.

Tickets to The Last Ship will go on sale Friday, November 29 for the premiere Detroit engagement at the Detroit Opera House.

Tickets start at $35 and can be purchased online at broadwayindetroit.com or ticketmaster.com, and by phone at 800-982-2787. Tickets may also be purchased at the Detroit Opera House and Fisher Theatre box offices.

The limited one-week engagement of THE LAST SHIP will begin performances on April 22 and play through April 26 at the Detroit Opera House.

Sting will star as shipyard foreman, “Jackie White,” and will perform the role at every performance. Additional casting will be announced at a later date.

For more information on the production and a video sneak peek, please visit thelastshipmusical.co.uk

THE LAST SHIP, inspired by Sting’s 1991 album “The Soul Cages” and his own childhood experiences, tells the story of a community amid the demise of the shipbuilding industry in Tyne and Wear, with the closure of the Swan Hunter shipyard.

When a sailor named Gideon Fletcher returns home after seventeen years at sea, tensions between past and future flare in both his family and his town. The local shipyard, around which the community has always revolved, is closing and no one knows what will come next, only that a half-built ship towers over the terraces. With the engine fired and pistons in motion, picket lines are drawn as foreman Jackie White (Sting) and his wife Peggy fight to hold their community together in the face of the gathering storm.

This personal, political and passionate new musical from 17-time Grammy Award®-winner Sting, is an epic account of a family, a community and a great act of defiance. THE LAST SHIP features an original, Tony®-nominated score with music and lyrics by Sting as well as a few of his best-loved songs; Island of Souls, All This Time and When We Dance.  It is the proud story of when the last ship sails.

The musical is directed by Lorne Campbell, previously artistic director of Northern Stage theatre in Newcastle and recently appointed as artistic director of National Theatre of Wales and has set design by the Tony Award-winning 59 Productions, the team behind the video design for the 2012 London Olympic Games.

THE LAST SHIP has a new book by Lorne Campbell and is based on the original book by John Logan and Brian Yorkey, orchestrations by Rob Mathes, musical direction by Richard John, costume design by Molly Einchcomb, movement direction by Lucy Hind, lighting design by Matt Daw and sound design by Sebastian Frost.

THE LAST SHIP is produced by Karl Sydow.
Composer, singer-songwriter, actor, author, and activist Sting was born in Newcastle, England before moving to London in 1977 to form The Police with Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers. The band released five studio albums, earned six GRAMMY Awards® and two Brits, and was inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003.

As one of the world’s most distinctive solo artists, Sting has received an additional 11 GRAMMY Awards®, two Brits, a Golden Globe, an Emmy, four Oscar nominations (including 2017’s nomination for “The Empty Chair” from JIM: THE JAMES FOLEY STORY), a Tony® nomination, Billboard Magazine’s Century Award, and MusiCares 2004 Person of the Year.  In 2003, he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for his myriad of contributions to music. Also a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, he has received the Kennedy Center Honors, The American Music Award of Merit and The Polar Music Prize. Sting has been awarded Honorary Doctorates of Music by the University of Northumbria (1992), Berklee College of Music (1994), University of Newcastle upon Tyne (2006) and Brown University at its 250th Commencement ceremony (2018).

Throughout his illustrious career, he has sold close to 100 million albums from his combined work with The Police and as a solo artist.

Following his critically-acclaimed album, 57th & 9th, his first rock/pop collection in over a decade, Sting and reggae icon, Shaggy released a collaborative, island-influenced album, entitled 44/876, drawing from the many surprising connections at the heart of their music. Their chart-topping release debuted at #1 in Germany and Top 10 in the UK. It spent over 20 weeks atop Billboard’s Reggae Album chart in the US, earned Gold certifications in Poland and France and received the GRAMMY Award® for Best Reggae Album.

Earlier this year, Sting, managed by The Cherrytree Music Company, was honored at the BMI Pop Awards for his enduring hit single “Every Breath You Take,” which has become the Most Performed Song, with 15 million radio plays, from BMI’s catalog of over 14 million musical works.

On May 24, a new album entitled My Songs, featuring contemporary interpretations of his most celebrated hits, was released and followed by a world tour of the same name. Sting’s ‘My Songs’ World Tour is a rollicking, dynamic show featuring his most beloved songs spanning the 17-time GRAMMY Award® winner’s prolific career with The Police and as a solo artist.

The special edition release of Sting’s critically-acclaimed album, My Songs will be released November 8 and includes a bonus CD with new live recordings from the My Songs World Tour.  At the same time, a digital album titled My Songs: Live containing 11 new live recordings also captured along the My Songs World Tour will be released on November 8.

Next year, Sting will headline a Las Vegas residency, “My Songs,” set to open at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace Friday, May 22, 2020. Accompanied by his touring band, the show will present a compendium of Sting’s songs with dynamic, visual references to some of his most iconic videos and inspirations.

Sting’s support for human rights organizations such as the Rainforest Fund, Amnesty International, and Live Aid mirrors his art in its universal outreach.  Along with wife Trudie Styler, Sting founded the Rainforest Fund in 1989 to protect both the world’s rainforests and the indigenous people living there.  Together they have held 18 benefit concerts to raise funds and awareness for our planet’s endangered resources. Since its inception, the Rainforest Fund has expanded to a network of interconnected organizations working in more than 20 countries over three continents. http://www.sting.com

Performance times for THE LAST SHIP appearing April 22-26, 2020 at the Detroit Opera House, located at 1526 Broadway St., in Detroit are:
·         Wednesday – Saturday evening performances at 8:00 p.m.
·         Sunday evening performance at 7:30 p.m.
·         Saturday & Sunday matinees at 2:00 p.m.
·         Thursday matinee at 1:00 p.m.
·         Special open captioned and audio described performance on Friday, April 24 at 8:00 p.m.

Tickets for THE LAST SHIP start at $35 (includes facility fee) and will go on sale Friday, November 29. Tickets can be purchased online at broadwayindetroit.com or ticketmaster.com, and by phone at 800-982-2787. Tickets may also be purchased at the Detroit Opera House and Fisher Theatre box offices.