Sting is a music man for all seasons.
The rock star of stars opened his Broadway musical, “The Last Ship,” back in October 2014.
Now it will have its first New York revival at the famed Metropolitan Opera House next June for nine performances.
First, the show will tour Europe to Paris and Amsterdam, and to Brisbane, Australia.
Sting will star in the show as Jackie White, the chief of the shipyard in Wallsend, Newcastle, England, the setting for “The Last Ship.”
Included in the large and new cast is longtime Sting pal, Shaggy.
The announcement was just made at the Met, where Sting appeared after canceling two concerts in Florida after picking up a bug. At 74, and in top physical shape, even Sting — whose real name is Gordon Sumner — is human, as it turns out.
At the Met this afternoon, Sting sat center stage, flanked by his concert master and pianist Rob Mathes, and famed guitarist Dominic Miller. It was just them and just us, about two dozen people including press and a couple of lucky fans.
What a pleasure to hear Sting’s butterscotch voice, which hasn’t lost a note, singing unadorned in the Met. He performed a few songs from his Tony winning score including the now classic title song, plus the lovely Richard Rodgers-ish “The Night the Pugilish Learned How to Dance” and the effortlessly melodic “What Say You Meg?”
The new version of “The Last Ship” comes with an all new cast, as I said, with Shaggy playing the Ferryman. Reggae meets Northern England Celtic music. It’s going to be great. There’s also a whole new set although I loved the ship from the Broadway show. I’m told the book has been updated, too.
Sting is sold out around the world with his 3.0 tour, he doesn’t have to perform in “The Last Ship.” But he loves bringing the world of his rough childhood to audiences. He said today, “I didn’t know what would happen to me.” He got a scholarship, launched himself into jazz, and then, of course the world. “I knew,” he said, “I didn’t want to stay in the shipyard.”
