The Last Ship Closing January 24th- Page 2

[JayG 2]

Posted: 1/6/15 at 11:09am

Great news! Now bring in CATS!!

And if anyone doesn't get this as being a completely facetious statement, put on your t-shirt with the yellow eyes and line up for you tickets to Cats.

(Sad that I would even have to point that out.)

[JayG 2]

Posted: 1/6/15 at 11:09am

Great news! Now bring in CATS!!

And if anyone doesn't get this as being a completely facetious statement, put on your t-shirt with the yellow eyes and line up for you tickets to Cats.

(Sad that I would even have to point that out.)

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 1/6/15 at 11:22am

If Cats goes in, it will die a quick merciful death. Than again, it could break the Simon musical jinx. Add Last Ship to that list.

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 1/6/15 at 11:25am

This one really breaks my heart. It's been a long time since a musical really touched me deep enough to revisit it again and again.

[Kad]

Posted: 1/6/15 at 11:53am

Death of the original musical on Broadway, etc. etc., as if the majority of the greatest musicals were not based on things plays by Shaw, Wilder and Shakespeare, stories by Aleichem and Runyon, true(-ish) stories of Gypsy Rose Lee or the signing of the Declaration of Indepedence, or films by a range of people from Bergman to John Waters. And as if Book of Mormon wasn't raking in the bucks and Next to Normal and In the Heights weren't critically lauded, Pulitzer and Tony-noticed successes.

For what it's worth, I thought The Last Ship, while not totally bad, was one of the least involving pieces of theatre I've seen. I wasn't bored, but I didn't care. And no fault of the cast, who I thought were uniformly excellent but weighted down by the illogical and grey material.

[Fantod]

Posted: 1/6/15 at 12:07pm

Sad that so many actors, musicians, and stagehands will lose their jobs. I hope an original musical will be able to be a hit on Broadway soon.

[Kad]

Posted: 1/6/15 at 12:16pm

The fact it is original did not make it close sooner.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 1/6/15 at 1:11pm

(Sad that I would even have to point that out.)

Sad that you chose to point that out. Very deliberately, meticulously and unnecessarily preemptively. You didn't have to.

Liza's Headband & Matt, stop trolling.

I wasn't trolling, but I will amend my original statement. I thought it wasn't very good. Some thought it was good, but obviously lots of people feel otherwise.

I do think this obsession with a musical being "original" is weird. They have always been a very small minority and originality still does not guarantee quality. Yes, the last "original" musical that recouped was Book of Mormon (though Hedwig technically received its first Broadway production and could fit the brief as well). Before that was Next to Normal and In the Heights. If/Then is still running. And none of this is really indicative of anything other than nothing has changed. Nearly every single one of the most respected and beloved musicals in the history of the genre are still adaptations. So what?

[Kad]

Posted: 1/6/15 at 1:36pm

For the record, from 1950-1970, only 6 Best Musical winners were not adapted from previous works. Of those six, 1776 and Fiorello! are each based on historical figures and events, if one feels like that is a "strike" against their originality.

From 2000-the present, 5 Best Musical winners were not adapted from previous works. I am including Contact, though arguments could be made against its inclusion.

[Dave13]

Posted: 1/6/15 at 2:14pm

"For what it's worth, I thought The Last Ship, while not totally bad, was one of the least involving pieces of theatre I've seen. I wasn't bored, but I didn't care. And no fault of the cast, who I thought were uniformly excellent but weighted down by the illogical and grey material."

I agree with this 100%. I saw it on January 3. I thought it was a good show, good story line, good music and etc. However, it wasn't engaging to me. It was simply dull. The highlight of the show was watching Sting's performance. Something was lacking for me. I just couldn't get into it enough to care about the characters. I couldn't see myself seeing it again, other than to see Sting perform.

Updated On: 1/6/15 at 02:14 PM

[Dave13]

Posted: 1/6/15 at 2:19pm

Also, I am not buying into the fact that it was an original had anything to do with its demise.

The show had potential, but it simply didn't catch on. If it was a better show, it would have done well.

[South Fl Marc]

Posted: 1/6/15 at 2:47pm

I'm sorry to see it go. I really liked it. I certainly think it's better than a lot of shows that have lasted forever on Broadway.

[JayG 2]

Posted: 1/6/15 at 5:27pm

When we talk about original shows today, we are talking about musicals with original scores. Junkbox musicals have taken over the 21st Century - which is the death knell of the ORIGINAL musical.

And I found The Last Ship to be the most heartfelt, involving, and emotionally moving show I have seen in a long, long time. Its failure says nothing about its quality, but more about today's audiences.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 1/6/15 at 5:31pm

Hit the nail on the head there .

[15minutecall]

Posted: 1/6/15 at 5:37pm

JayG2, I liked Last Ship's score very much but I wouldn't necessarily use it as a club with which to beat jukebox musicals. After all, Sting did include 3 songs from his back catalog.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 1/6/15 at 5:45pm

When we talk about original shows today, we are talking about musicals with original scores.

Who is "we"? This is the first time that qualifying statement has been made in the discussion.

Junkbox musicals have taken over the 21st Century - which is the death knell of the ORIGINAL musical.

They haven't, so it's not. Especially if we apply your definition of an original musical. Every year we have successful musicals with original scores. We all know that.

Its failure says nothing about its quality, but more about today's audiences.

It says people didn't want to see this musical. Just like they didn't want to see First Date, Soul Doctor, Big Fish, Bridges of Madison County, Rocky, Bullets Over Broadway or Holler If Ya Hear Me.

After all, Sting did include 3 songs from his back catalog.

Shhh...they are hoping the magical "we" have forgotten that part!

Updated On: 1/6/15 at 05:45 PM

[Kad]

Posted: 1/6/15 at 6:17pm

Musicals have interpolated pre-existing popular music since Show Boat. And they flop just as often as "original musicals."

[Hackasaurus_Rex]

Posted: 1/6/15 at 6:30pm

Thank you Kad for all your posts on this topic.

Posted: 1/6/15 at 9:00pm

[In a recent AP piece, "The Last Ship" producer Jeffrey] Seller noted that "Porgy and Bess" opened at the same theater -- then the Alvin Theatre -- in 1935 and also lasted just a few months. "It was a flop. Do you remember any other shows from that season?"

Why, yes I do. Not only was it the year of "Idiot's Delight" starring both Lunt and Fontanne, but it was also the year of two Rodgers and Hart hits, "On Your Toes" and "Jumbo." And it was the season that Katharine Cornell starred in the first Broadway revival of Shaw's "Saint Joan." But thanks for asking.

Broadway abandons Sting’s "Last Ship"

[Fantod]

Posted: 1/6/15 at 9:08pm

If the whole "original musical" thing is aimed at me, I didn't say that the show flopped because it was original, just that I hope a completely original musical will succeed soon.

[Kad]

Posted: 1/6/15 at 9:18pm

One will because one always does.

[rjm516]

Posted: 1/9/15 at 11:56pm

I finally saw it tonight. I thought it was beautiful! The first act blew me away. The second kind of sucked (none of the good songs until the end, and boring) but still, overall, I thought it was so lovely. Sting was fantastic!

(Worst audience ever in the mezz, btw. Some nonstop talking and plastic bag fussing.)

[haterobics]

Posted: 1/10/15 at 12:39am

Going to tomorrow's matinee. If I hang out a bit, is it Last Ship's or Jersey Boys's turn to sing tonight?

[EthelMae]

Posted: 1/10/15 at 5:51pm

Not to go off topic but I agree about recent audiences attending the theatre- lately I find talkers, paper rattlers and my favorite-people rummaging thru their bags/pocket books-what are they looking for????

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 1/10/15 at 5:55pm

Some class?