We’re only a month into the new theater season, and already we’ve got Tony contenders.
From Chicago comes word — and reviews — that “The Last Ship,” a new musical by Sting, is much better than anyone expected. When I first heard about this one I thought, “A show about the death of the shipbuilding industry in Wallsend, England? Zzzzzz.” And then I heard Sting perform the title song on the Tonys. It was one of those gritty, muted, sad Sting tunes. Perfectly fine for an album — but a whole score like that?
As it turns out “The Last Ship,” which opens at the Neil Simon Theatre in October, is in, well, shipshape. Hedy Weiss, in the Chicago Sun-Times, went so far as to pronounce it a “true masterwork,” praising Sting’s “beautiful, fluid melodies” and “poetic” lyrics.
Chris Jones of the Chicago Tribune wasn’t quite so gaga, but he, too, found much to admire in Sting’s score, with songs, Jones wrote, as complex as Kurt Weill and as tuneful as Lionel Bart. (My ship has sails that are made of . . . food, glorious food!)
Jones’ reservation about the show — and it is not to be dismissed — is that the main character, Gideon (Sting’s alter ego), is not yet fully developed. Gideon is, I gather, a cipher. That needs to be fixed. I don’t think “Hello, Dolly!” would have run as long as it did had Dolly Levi been a void.
I dispatched a spy to Chicago to check up on the show. Her name, as I can now reveal, is Susan Haskins, whom you may know as my co-host on “Theater Talk.” Susan’s no pushover — she’s been known to hurl her pen and clipboard at me on the set when I’m being annoying — but she, too, thinks “The Last Ship” has the makings of a hit.
Here’s what she wrote to me right after she saw the show:
“It’s already good, with a strong score. Chris Jones is spot-on about the changes needed. The lead, Michael Esper, is very sexy and appealing . . . but Jones is right, he needs more back story. But that’s a book issue that can be solved.”
She concluded: “There are many strong numbers and performances. Lots of Tony potential, not to mention next year’s Grammy-winning cast album. Audience gave it a heartfelt standing ovation.”
Good work, Susan. I bet Sting’s going to come on “Theater Talk” in the fall!
My spies in the show say book writer John Logan is taking Jones’ and Haskins’ advice. He’s already come up with scenes fleshing out the main character. And Sting is behaving like an old- fashioned Broadway composer. Which is to say he’s holed up in his hotel suite, writing new songs to go with Logan’s new material.
Another production to keep your eye on is “Side Show,” which got a rave from Peter Marks in the Washington Post. I’ll be writing about that one next week. Happy Fourth of July.