| The revised version of The Last Ship starring Sting | |
| Posted by: dbg 12:12 am EST 02/03/20 | |
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| Saw Sting in The Last Ship today at the Ahmanson in Los Angeles. I had loved the original Broadway production and think Sting's score is one of the best of this century so far. While the cast in L.A. sings the score with great power, some of the revisions in the book didn't improve on what was there before. Gone are the characters of Arthur, originally played by Aaron Lazar, who helped Meg bring up Young Gideon, her son born when older Gideon left the shipbuilding town to pursue life as a sailor, and the priest, played originally by Fred Applegate, who had a strong influence on the townspeople. Also, Meg's child is no longer Young Gideon but a girl named Ellen, who really didn't have much to do. I don't think the book holds up as well in this version as in the other, but the score is still stirring and often moving, and Sting had two powerful dramatic scenes in Act II. I also remember in the version at the Neil Simon a long gorgeous piece of music, almost an orchestral suite, played as the audience was leaving, but that was gone, too, in the current production. I enjoyed today's performance very much, but really didn't think the revisions added anything to the overall quality of what I've always thought was a very underrated musical. | |
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