Center Theatre Group Provides Union Ticket Offer for 'The Last Ship'
CENTER THEATRE GROUP OFFERS TICKET SPECIAL TO UNION MEMBERS FOR “THE LAST SHIP” STARRING STING AT AHMANSON
Union Members Can Claim $49 Tickets on January 17 and 24
“The Last Ship” Will Play at the Ahmanson Theatre January 14 through February 16
Center Theatre Group salutes local union members with an exclusive ticket offer to Sting’s acclaimed musical, “The Last Ship,” starring and featuring original music and lyrics by 17-time Grammy Award® winner Sting. Set in the shipbuilding town where he was born and raised, the production showcases the strength and resilience of those working in the labor industry. To honor their contributions, members of all creative and labor unions can purchase $49 tickets (regularly $90 – $120) to attend a performance on Friday, January 17 or Friday, January 24. “The Last Ship” will run at the Ahmanson Theatre January 14 through February 16, 2020.
Union members can purchase their tickets in advance at CenterTheatreGroup.org using promo code UNION or they may purchase tickets in-person at the Center Theatre Group Box Office. Union members must show their Union ID (or equivalent) at the Box Office when picking up their tickets.
Sting will star as shipyard foreman, Jackie White, and will perform the role at every performance. Additional casting will be announced at a later date.
“The Last Ship,” inspired by Sting’s 1991 album “The Soul Cages” and his own childhood experiences, tells the story of a community amid the demise of the shipbuilding industry in Tyne and Wear, with the closure of the Swan Hunter shipyard.
When a sailor named Gideon Fletcher returns home after 17 years at sea, tensions between past and future flare in both his family and his town. The local shipyard, around which the community has always revolved, is closing and no one knows what will come next, only that a half-built ship towers over the terraces. With the engine fired and pistons in motion, picket lines are drawn as foreman Jackie White (Sting) and his wife Peggy fight to hold their community together in the face of the gathering storm.
This personal, political and passionate musical from Sting, is an epic account of a family, a community and a great act of defiance. “The Last Ship” features an original, Tony®-nominated score with music and lyrics by Sting as well as a few of his best-loved songs; “Island of Souls,” “All This Time” and “When We Dance.” It is the proud story of when the last ship sails.
The musical is directed by Lorne Campbell, previously artistic director of Northern Stage in Newcastle and recently appointed as artistic director of National Theatre Wales, and has set design by the Tony Award-winning 59 Productions, the team behind the video design for the 2012 London Olympic Games.
“The Last Ship” has a new book by Lorne Campbell and is based on the original book by John Logan and Brian Yorkey, orchestrations by Rob Mathes, musical direction by Richard John, costume design by Molly Einchcomb, movement direction by Lucy Hind, lighting design by Matt Daw and sound design by Sebastian Frost. “The Last Ship” is produced by Karl Sydow.
Composer, singer-songwriter, actor, author and activist Sting was born in Newcastle, England before moving to London in 1977 to form The Police with Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers. The band released five studio albums, earned six Grammy Awards® and two Brits, and was inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003.
As one of the world’s most distinctive solo artists, Sting has received an additional 11 Grammy Awards®, two Brits, a Golden Globe, an Emmy, four Oscar nominations, a Tony nomination, Billboard Magazine’s Century Award and MusiCares 2004 Person of the Year. In 2003, he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for his myriad of contributions to music. Also a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, he has received the Kennedy Center Honors, The American Music Award of Merit and The Polar Music Prize. Sting has been awarded Honorary Doctorates of Music by the University of Northumbria (1992), Berklee College of Music (1994), University of Newcastle upon Tyne (2006) and Brown University at its 250th Commencement ceremony (2018).
Throughout his illustrious career, Sting has sold 100 million albums from his combined work with The Police and as a solo artist.
Following his critically acclaimed album, “57th & 9th,” his first rock/pop collection in over a decade, Sting and reggae icon, Shaggy released a collaborative, island-influenced album, entitled “44/876,” drawing from the many surprising connections at the heart of their music. With its title referencing their home country codes, “44/876” first and foremost honors the duo’s mutual love for Jamaica: Shaggy’s homeland, and the place where Sting penned such classics as The Police’s “Every Breath You Take.” Their chart-topping release debuted at #1 in Germany and Top 10 in the UK. It spent over 20 weeks atop Billboard’s Reggae Album chart in the US, earned Gold certifications in Poland and France and received the Grammy Award® for Best Reggae Album.
The duo recently reunited to release a new, festive reggae song entitled “Silent Night (Christmas is Coming)” available on all streaming and digital platforms. https://smarturl.it/StingSilentNight
Earlier this year, Sting was honored at the BMI Pop Awards for his enduring hit single “Every Breath You Take,” which has become the Most Performed Song, with 15 million radio plays, from BMI’s catalog of over 14 million musical works.
On May 24, a new album entitled “My Songs,” featuring contemporary interpretations of his most celebrated hits, was released and followed by a world tour of the same name, which will resume next summer in Europe. Sting’s ‘My Songs’ World Tour is a dynamic and exuberant show featuring his most beloved songs spanning the 17-time Grammy Award® winner’s prolific career with The Police and as a solo artist.
The special edition release of Sting’s album, “My Songs” was released November 8 and includes a bonus CD with new live recordings from the My Songs World Tour. At the same time, a digital album titled “My Songs: Live” containing 11 new live recordings also captured along the ‘My Songs’ World Tour is also available.
Next year, Sting will headline a Las Vegas residency, “My Songs,” set to open at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace Friday, May 22, 2020. The show will present a compendium of Sting’s songs with dynamic, visual references to some of his most iconic videos and inspirations.
Sting’s support for human rights organizations such as the Rainforest Fund, Amnesty International, and Live Aid mirrors his art in its universal outreach. Along with wife Trudie Styler, Sting founded the Rainforest Fund in 1989 to protect both the world’s rainforests and the indigenous people living there. Together they have held 19 benefit concerts to raise funds and awareness for our planet’s endangered resources. Since its inception, the Rainforest Fund has expanded to a network of interconnected organizations working in more than 20 countries over three continents.
Sting is managed by the Cherrytree Music Company. www.sting.com; www.cherrytreemusiccompany.com
For more information on the production and a video sneak peek, please visit thelastshipmusical.com.
Center Theatre Group, one of the nation’s preeminent arts and cultural organizations, is Los Angeles’ leading nonprofit theatre company, which, under the leadership of Artistic Director Michael Ritchie, Managing Director Meghan Pressman and Producing Director Douglas C. Baker, programs seasons at the 736-seat Mark Taper Forum and 1600 to 2100-seat Ahmanson Theatre at The Music Center in Downtown Los Angeles, and the 317-seat Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City. In addition to presenting and producing the broadest range of theatrical entertainment in the country, Center Theatre Group is one of the nation’s leading producers of ambitious new works through commissions and world premiere productions and a leader in interactive community engagement and education programs that reach across generations, demographics and circumstance to serve Los Angeles.
General tickets for “The Last Ship” are available online at CenterTheatreGroup.org, by calling Audience Services at (213) 972-4400 or in person at the Center Theatre Group Box Office (at the Ahmanson Theatre at The Music Center in Downtown Los Angeles). Tickets range from $35 – $199 (ticket prices are subject to change). The Ahmanson Theatre is located at The Music Center, 135 N. Grand Avenue in Downtown L.A. 90012.
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December 17, 2019