The Canadian premiere of Sting's Broadway musical The Last Ship runs February 9–March 24 at Toronto’s Princess of Wales Theatre. Opening is scheduled for February 19.
Directed by Lorne Campbell, Sting plays the role of shipyard foreman Jackie White, the part the Grammy-winning musician played on Broadway for a limited engagement in December 2014.
He is joined by Frances McNamee as Meg Dawson, Oliver Savile as Gideon Fletcher, Jackie Morrison as Peggy White, Marc Akinfolarin as Adrian Sanderson, Joe Caffrey as Billy Thompson, Orla Gormley as Mrs. Dees, Annie Grace as Baroness Tynedale, Sean Kearns as Freddy Newlands and Old Joe, Sophie Reid as Ellen Dawson, Jade Sophia Vertannes as Young Meg, Kevin Wathen as Davey Harrison, and Barney Wilkinson as Young Gideon.
Rounding out the cast are Philip Childs, Susan Fay, Rebecca Gilhooley, Tom Parsons, and James William-Pattison.
This new production of The Last Ship played an acclaimed 12-week U.K. and Ireland tour, following a sell-out run at Newcastle’s Northern Stage.
Sting said in an earlier statement, “It was a joy to see the show’s journey from the rehearsal room to the stage this year—first in my hometown of Newcastle then around the U.K. and Ireland. It was also extremely moving to witness the incredible audience response in each city we visited. It will be hugely exciting and a personal privilege for me to perform in the show in Toronto and I’m looking forward to The Last Ship continuing its journey there next year.”
Producer David Mirvish added, “The Last Ship is a personal, powerful story of a community attempting to come to grips with societal and economic changes that will tear apart the very fabric that kept that community together. What makes it especially powerful and very moving is its point of view. It is written from a very personal place by a son of that community—the acclaimed singer/songwriter Sting.”
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Inspired by Sting’s 1991 album The Soul Cages and his own childhood experiences, the musical 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.
The production features a new book by Campbell (the original book is 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, set design by 59 Productions, and sound design by Seb Frost. Other members of the creative team include dramaturg Selma Dimitrijevic, associate director Jake Smith, associate movement director James Berkery, casting director Jenkins McShane Casting, and associate musical director Sam Sommerfeld. Karl Sydow and Kathryn Schenker produce.
