Tony Award-winning director Joe Mantello (Wicked, Other Desert Cities, The Normal Heart) directs the musical that will have an out-of-town premiere June 10-July 13, 2014, at Chicago's Bank of America Theatre. A theatre and exact dates for the fall 2014 Broadway arrival will be announced shortly.
The musical has music and lyrics by Grammy winner Sting with a book by Tony and Pulitzer Prize winner Yorkey (Next to Normal, If/Then) and Tony winner Logan (Red, I'll Eat You Last).
Casting has not been announced. The Last Ship will have choreography by Steven Hoggett (Once, Peter and the Starcatcher, American Idiot).
"The memories at the heart of The Last Ship have occupied my mind for most of my life," Sting said in a statement. "I was compelled to tell this story, and I've had the great fortune of collaborating with an enormously talented team."
Tony Award-winning producer Seller (Rent, In the Heights) added, "I can only produce a show that I fall in love with. The moment that I heard 'Shipyard,' which was the first song that Sting wrote for this show, I knew two things: that I was in love and that this extraordinary artist knew exactly how to write a Broadway musical." Here's how it's billed: "Life in the English seafaring town of Wallsend has always revolved around the local shipyard, where the hardworking men of this close-knit community construct magnificent vessels with tremendous pride. But Gideon Fletcher dreams of a different future. He sets out to travel the world, leaving his life and his love behind. When Gideon returns home fourteen years later, he finds the shipyard’s future in grave danger and his childhood sweetheart engaged to someone else. As the men of Wallsend take their fate into their own hands and build a towering representation of the shared dream that has defined their existence, Gideon realizes that he left behind more than he could have ever imagined."
As previously reported, Sting's upcoming album of the same title features music from the production. It will be released Sept. 24. Sting is also set to perform a ten-concert engagement at the Public Theater this fall as a benefit for the downtown company. Tickets and further information on the benefit concerts are available by clicking here.
Group tickets for the Chicago world premiere of The Last Ship are now on sale. Individual tickets will go on sale at a later date. Visit BroadwayInChicago.com.
