A musical inspired by Sting's early years on Tyneside has been given a Broadway opening date. The Royal Navy's new toy, HMS Queen Elizabeth, will not join the fleet until 2020 but a significant theatrical vessel has just left port and has a berth on Broadway in the autumn. Sting's musical, The Last Ship, is nearing the end of an encouraging run at the Bank of America Theatre in Chicago. This is the try-out, the equivalent of the sea trials. Far better to get a show watertight than launch it on Broadway's rough seas where a shark-like critic can send it to the bottom, Titanic-style. That has been the costly fate of many a new musical, in Britain and the States. And while Chicago is hardly 'the sticks', it is some way from the New York street where theatrical success shines most brightly. The Last Ship, which has been a labour of love for Sting, closes next weekend at the Bank of America Theatre...
