We never know why some shows stay open and others close, but The Last Ship, the Broadway musical with music and lyrics by Sting, will close on January 24, 2014 after 29 previews and 105 regular performances.
The show had a Tony Award-winning creative team, and USA Today reviewer Elysa Gardner named it the Best Musical of 2014, proclaiming that with his first score for musical theater, “Sting reaffirmed his melodic and storytelling gifts” and with his collaborators, “crafted a show that moves and, in the end, surprises us.”
Sting made the unusual leap to star in the production in an effort to boost ticket sales, and although it did, the effort could not reverse the financial losses.
Journalists and the show’s producers are scratching their heads over what didn’t work during a time of record Broadway ticket sales. Some cite the musical’s themes of an estranged father and son, tormented ex-lovers, and economic stagnation and unemployment as challenging for the average Broadway audience. Others wonder whether a marketing campaign that emphasized the central love story over the shipbuilding community’s economic plight would have changed the course.
The good news is Great Performances aired the intimate concert show Sting: The Last Ship, before the production moved to Broadway. Those who will not get a chance to see the show can see Sting and some of the original cast perform his highly praised score, including longing ballads and sharp-tongued duets, on the full episode here.
What makes or breaks a Broadway show? What were the strengths and weaknesses of The Last Ship in the Broadway market? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Read more on the show’s closing in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Hollywood Reporter.
