‘The Last Ship’ Theater Review: Sting Takes a Cruise to Nowhere

At its best, Sting’s score is pre-Sondheim. But it’s good pre-Sondheim. Too bad John Logan and Brian Yorkey’s book about a boat doesn’t float

Everybody on stage in “The Last Ship” is pissed off at somebody. The young hero Gideon is angry with his father for keeping him stuck in Newgate, England, and his father is angry at Gideon for refusing to carry on the family tradition of being a ship builder, and girlfriend Meg is angry that Gideon’s leaving her to travel the world. Meanwhile, during the next 15 years (it’s a fast-moving musical), the townspeople are angry because the ship builder, Mr. Newlands, has closed shop, putting them out of work; and they flat-out reject his new job of reclaiming and repurposing industrial assets.

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