Susan Granger’s review of “The Last Ship” (Neil Simon Theatre – 2014/15 season)
Can Sting’s wistfully haunting score save this dreary, mournful musical? That’s the question.
Inspired by Sting’s childhood memories in northeast England, it’s set in Newcastle’s close-knit, seafaring Wallsend neighborhood, where young Gideon Fletcher (Collin Kelly-Sordelet) refuses to step into the well-worn boots of his father (Jamie Jackson) and become an apprentice shipbuilder. Instead, he bids farewell to his forlorn girl-friend Meg (Dawn Cantwell) and heads off to find his fortune as a merchant seaman. The prodigal son doesn’t return until his father’s funeral – 15 years later – only to discover that the local shipyard is closing and that Meg (Rachel Tucker) not only bore him a son, Tom (Collin Kelly-Sordelet), but has also – in the meantime – found an ardent, dependable suitor, Arthur (Aaron Lazar), who wants to settle down with her. Encouraged by the terminally-ill parish priest, Father O’Brien (Fred Applegate), who dips into the church’s building fund to finance the ambitious project, grown Gideon (Michael Esper) joins the gruffly righteous foreman, Jackie White (Jimmy Nail), and his proud workers in their defiant determination to build one last ship and launch it on the River Tyne.
Although multi-talented Sting has written excellent music and melancholy lyrics about loss and letting go, the show’s bloated narrative is bogged down by John Logan and Brian Yorkey’s tediously ponderous book, filled with cardboard characters, uttering tiresome, clichéd dialogue. Director Joe Mantello’s testosterone-propelled staging is lively and polished but there’s far too much loud foot-stomping that Stephen Hoggett passes for rugged choreography, while the unemployed workers wallow at the local pub. Production designer David Zinn’s modestly symbolic sets, consisting of metallic scaffolding, are appropriate as are his costumes.
Bottom Line: Buy the concert version.