Wednesday, May 20, 2026

Theater: John Logan Will Try a Different Take on “The Last Ship” at Berkeley Rep with “Swept Away,” Music by the Avett Brothers

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Hmmmm…

Just a few short years ago, John Logan wrote the revised script for Sting’s musical, “The Last Ship,” which sailed on Broadway then went out for refitting in other versions in the UK, Los Angeles, and Toronto.

Now Logan has written another seafaring musical called “Swept Away,” not be confused with Lina Wertmuller’s famed movie from the 1970s. This “Swept Away” will open January 9th at Berkeley Rep, starring John Gallagher Jr. and Stark Sands. Michael Mayer is directing.

Here’s the description:

“Swept Away” is set in 1888, off the coast of New Bedford, MA. When a violent storm sinks their whaling ship, the four surviving souls — a young man in search of adventure, his older brother who has sworn to protect him, a captain at the end of a long career at sea, and a worldly first mate who has fallen from grace — each face a reckoning: How far will I go to stay alive? And can I live with the consequences?

Doesn’t this sound like “The Last Ship” moved from Newcastle, England to the Massachusetts coast?

Here’s the song “Swept Away,” from 2007.

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Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman is the founder and editor-in-chief of Showbiz411. He wrote the FOX411 column on FoxNews.com from 1999 to 2009 and previously edited Fame magazine and wrote the "Intelligencer" column at New York magazine. His bylines have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the New York Daily News, the New York Post, Vogue, Details, and the Miami Herald. He is a voting member of the Critics Choice Awards (Film and Television branches), and his movie reviews are tracked by Rotten Tomatoes. is articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. With D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, he co-produced the 2002 documentary "Only the Strong Survive," which screened at Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival.

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