Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Sting and director Joe Mantello will be part of an Oct. 20 TimesTalk to discuss the new Broadway musical The Last Ship, which opens on Broadway Oct. 26 at the Neil Simon Theatre.

Directed by Tony winner Mantello (Casa Valentina, Wicked), The Last Ship arrived on Broadway in September following a Chicago world-premiere engagement earlier this summer.

New York Times chief pop music critic Jon Pareles will lead the sold-out 6:30 PM discussion between the two collaborators, which will also be live streamed at TimesTalks.com.

The new musical has a score by Sting, with a book by Tony winner John Logan (Red) and Pulitzer Prize winner Brian Yorkey (If/Then, Next to Normal). Choreography is by Olivier Award winner and Tony nominee Steven Hoggett (Rocky, Once).

The principal cast features Michael Esper, Rachel Tucker, Jimmy Nail, Fred Applegate, Aaron Lazar, Sally Ann Triplett and Collin Kelly-Sordelet.

The Last Ship ensemble includes Eric Anderson, Ethan Applegate, Craig Bennett, Dawn Cantwell, Jeremy Davis, Bradley Dean, Alyssa DiPalma, Colby Foytik, David Michael Garry, Timothy Gulan, Shawna M. Hamic, Rich Hebert, Leah Hocking, Todd A. Horman, Sarah Hunt, Jamie Jackson, Sean Jenness, Drew McVety, Johnny Newcomb, Matthew Stocke, Cullen Titmus and Jeremy Woodard.

The Last Ship, according to producers, "is set in the English seaside town of Wallsend, a close-knit community where life has always revolved around the local shipyard and the hardworking men construct magnificent vessels with tremendous pride. But Gideon Fletcher dreams of a different future. He sets out to travel the world, leaving his life and his love behind. When Gideon returns home many years later, he finds the shipyard's future in grave danger and his childhood sweetheart engaged to someone else. This love triangle ignites just as the men and women of Wallsend take their future into their own hands and build a towering representation of the shared dream that defines their existence. And in the end Gideon comes to understand that he had indeed left behind more than he could have ever imagined."

The production has set and costume design by Tony nominee David Zinn, lighting design by Tony winner Christopher Akerlind and sound design by Tony winner Brian Ronan. Musical direction, orchestrations and arrangements are by Rob Mathes. Casting is by Telsey + Company/Craig Burns, CSA.

Producers are Jeffrey Seller, Kathryn Schenker, Kevin McCollum, Sander Jacobs, James L. Nederlander, Roy Furman, Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss.

Visit Ticketmaster.com. Visit TheLastShipBroadway.com. The Neil Simon Theatre is located at 250 West 52 Street.

(c) Playbill by Adam Hetrick