‘The Last Ship’ Returns
REVIEW: THE LAST SHIP
BY RYAN M. LUÉVANO
Like a ship lost at sea, the Sting musical, The Last Ship has resurfaced at the Ahmanson Theater in Los Angeles following a UK national tour and a brief run in Toronto. The musical opened on Broadway in 2014 and ran for 105 performances. Now five years later the show has been reworked with an updated book by the show’s director Lorne Cambell, and is taking a voyage around the US on its first national tour.
The musical was inspired by Sting’s 1991 album The Soul Cages as well as Sting’s own childhood experiences. The story that emerged from this is about a community of ship builders in the North East England town of Wallsend who are facing the closure of the town’s shipyard and the ultimate demise of the shipbuilding industry. Much like the tail end of the Broadway run, audiences can see Sting himself appear in the show as the character Jackie White.
Similar to the massive steal ship described in the musical, The Last Ship the musical is a hefty show. It boasts a cast of twenty, and a sumptuous set design by 59 Productions with an impressive cinematic sensibility. The main physical set is composed of a metal scaffolding and staircases that meet center stage at an angle focusing the attention to that area. There is giant screen behind all of this that projects the sky, ocean waves crashing and images of the town. A scrim is also utilized to create realist vignettes—the use of projections in this show is stunning, these high-tech techniques only serve to highlight the narrative never distract.
Also adding to the show’s heft is a two hour and forty-five-minute running time (including intermission). Then the question becomes: once you’re aboard The Last Ship are you comfortable with the lengthy journey, or are you longing to jump ship? My answer leans toward the latter. It’s surprising that in the reworking of the book of this musical there were no significant cuts made to offset the running time and streamline dramatic momentum.
Based on a cursory comparison of the Broadway version and this one, three songs were cut, three new songs were added and lots one songs were moved around like puzzle pieces. The main culprit for the show’s drifting state is the first act that sags in the middle dragging its feet to its act one finale—more needs to happen in the first act to keep our attention. However, even the second act tends to move sluggishly towards a ho-hum conclusion. It doesn’t help that from song to song the score is mostly one-note featuring variations of the same English, Gaelic and sea shanty style folk music.
What makes this show most exciting is the tremendous cast that brings these characters to life and finds moments to shimmer in the music. The first standout is Sophie Reid who plays the 17-year-old daughter of Meg Dawson. Reid’s performance is chock full of fire and teenage angst; she soars brilliantly in the song “All this Time” at the beginning at Act Two. Frances McNamee as Meg is tough as nails and is given many opportunities to display her vocal prowess—“If You Ever See Me Talking to A Sailor” and “August Winds” are some of her finest moments. Oliver Saile is no stranger to a leading man role, he plays Giedon Fletcher with a manly swagger that is only further demonstrated by his sweet voice in any of this numbers.
The Last Ship is a grand show that successfully conjures a world and characters of this seaside town, but once the allure of this milieu wanes the ship begins to sink, and audiences are left floating at sea searching for a story to keep them from going under.
TICKETS AND MORE INFORMATION
The Last Ship
Where: Ahmanson Theatre, 135 N. Grand Ave. L.A.
When: 8 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sundays; ends February 16 (call for exceptions)
Tickets: $35-$199 (subject to change)
Information: (213) 972-4400 or www.centertheatregroup.org
Running time: 2 hours, 45 minutes (including intermission)
