The Last Ship Reviews

Anonymous from Chicago, Illinois

GOOD MUSIC BUT FALLS SHORT.

Sting fans will enjoy the music but the story falls short. Slow paced and does not connect with the audience. Cast does well with what they are given.

Shirley from Chicago, Illinois

NEEDS TO FIX A FEW THINGS

The first act is slow, and confusing. We had a lot of discussion at intermission about this. As written, a bunch of people are going to build a ship with no money, no plans, and no goal once this ship is built. At least give us a character who holds up a plan he drew and wants to see actually be built. And another character who has an idea of what they will do with the ship. Are all the parts of this ship (with no schematic) just laying around? The characters are very and yelling constantly. The "drama" is high, I guess, but feels forced. The central love story concerns a guy who hooks up with a girl, who gets pregnant. They are 15, and he takes off to explore the world. Fifteen years later he returns to find he has a son, and says he wants the woman back and loves her oh so much. But fifteen years with no phone call, no postcard, no inquiry to friends about her? If you want us to believe this was more than a hookup, than we need a scene when he leaves at 15 that at least conveys he

Shirley from Chicago, Illinois

PART 2

...that he is in love, is torn, but has to go because his situation is too horrible. Some moving speech is needed. After Act 1, you are just seeing this guy as some jerk. I was fearing the girl would actually want to be with him. Act 2 tries to at least make us believe he really had a crush on her in high school, but it is too little, too late. Late in the play, Gideon says his father used to hit him. I need that upfront. The father hit him, I guess, but it was more like a slap, and he just seemed like a brat running away. We need a like-able kid, who is so abused he leaves the girl he loves just to escape . Then I will care about whether they will or won't get back together. On the bright side, the actors are solid and talented. The music is pure Sting. The priest is especially outstanding. The scene with father and son in a jail cell was well done.

Ben from Longwood, FL

NOT HORRIBLE...BUT NEEDS CONSIDERABLE WORK.

Let's start with the good stuff. The music is beautiful...think "Billy Elliot" meets "Once"...with chord progressions and syncopation that make it immediately recognizable as Sting's handiwork. Well performed and well sung. Nice sets. "Shipyard" is an outstanding number. But the book is a bit of a mess. Two intertwining stories and neither one is particularly compelling. The love triangle is occasionally cringe-worthy, and the main character is not particularly likeable. The other story is something of a socialist parable, and while such plays may have worked when Bertold Brecht composed them in early 20th century Europe, it's not something that's going to connect to a modern American audience...even to a left-wing moonbat like myself. I found myself sympathizing with the arguments of the bourgeois managers, which I'm sure was not the playwright's intent. I wanted to like this more than I actually did. Hope the team can bring it together before the Broadway premiere.

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