Sting to Join the Cast of His Musical ‘The Last Ship’ Starting Dec. 9

Mike Pont/FilmMagic(NEW YORK) — The idea was floated earlier this month, but now it’s a reality: Sting will join the cast of his Broadway musical The Last Ship, in an effort to help boost ticket sales.

The news was confirmed on Sting’s website: he’ll take on the role of Jackie White, the foreman of a British shipyard, in the musical. His run starts December 9, and he’ll do eight shows a week through January 10.

The New York Times reports that in his role as White, he’ll be in “about 40%” of the show. Despite decent reviews, The New York Times reports that the show has been losing $75,000 per week since it opened September 29.

Sting told the newspaper because he’s been working on the show for so long, he “knows all the lines and lyrics after all these years,” so it’s not as though he’s unprepared. He also told the Times he’d bare his butt “in Macy’s, if it will help our show.”

Jeffrey Seller, lead producer of The Last Ship, tells The New York Times the show needs “a boost…some ammo.”  He says he asked Sting to join the cast, with an eye towards keeping momentum going long enough so that the show can win a Tony award in June.

Sting can’t remain in the show indefinitely, however: he’s scheduled to resume his tour with Paul Simon January 30 in New Zealand.

A week ago at a red carpet event, when asked if he’d be appearing in The Last Ship, Sting said, “Don’t think I need to be at the moment.” Obviously, that has changed. He also told reporters, regarding the show’s good reviews versus its lagging ticket sales, “We fight a battle every night and we win that battle hands down in the theater, and that word of mouth is great. But it’s a challenge, y’know. It’s not an easy world, Broadway, it’s tough. But I’m having the time of my life, I’ll tell ya!”

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