Friday, September 23, 2016

The Last Ship at PTC

I've always been a big fan of Sting.  I've seen him in concert many times, including a concert at Red Rocks Amphitheater in Denver and then another one the very next night at the Maverik Center in SLC.  I was so excited when I learned that PTC would be opening the 2016-2017 season with The Last Ship, the Broadway musical with music and lyrics by Sting about the community he grew up in.  This year I decided to get a rush pass to PTC, which means that I can get a ticket to any show on any night 30 minutes before curtain if tickets are available.  I had planned to see The Last Ship last night because I thought it would be a nice way to celebrate making it though the week of parent teacher conferences.  Then I heard a rumor that Sting would be attending this performance.  I thought it would be amazing to see this show with Sting in the audience so I watched the availability of tickets all day.  There were fewer and fewer tickets available as the day went on and when it got down to the last few tickets I bit the bullet and just bought one!  I ended up sitting six rows behind him and he seemed visibly emotional when the audience would respond to something.  After the show, he got up on stage and, in an emotional speech, told the crowd how much he enjoyed the production and thanked us for being an amazing audience!  It was so fun!  I really loved the show!  In fact, I'm thinking of going to see it again since I have the rush pass.  Gideon Fletcher (Bryant Martin) wants to leave his hometown of Wallsend, England despite the fact that his father wants him to follow in his footsteps and work at the local shipyard.  When he leaves, he promises his girlfriend Meg (Ruthie Stephens) that he will come back for her.  After fifteen years, he returns when he learns of his father's death to discover that the shipyard has been closed and that he has a son.  It is a wonderful story about the power of community and the relationship between fathers and sons that is both funny and heartwarming.  I loved all of the music including "All This Time" and "When We Dance," which I was familiar with, and "If You Ever See Me Talking to a Sailor" and "We've Got Now't Else."  Both Martin and Stephens have amazing voices and give very powerful performances.  I loved the innovative choreography, especially when they are building the ship in "We've Got Now't Else."  The set design is extremely clever, transitioning from a dock, to a shipyard, to a pub, and then the ship itself very easily with the movement of large steel panels and grids.  Really, everything about this production is wonderful and I highly recommend this show, even without Sting in the audience, which runs through October 1.  Go here for tickets.

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