Singer Sting is joining the cast of the musical The Last Ship, which he also co-produced and wrote the music for, according to the New York Times Sunday.
It was announced to the performers of the show that the former Police singer will be replacing Jimmy Nail as the character Jackie White, the foreman of the shipyard the musical’s story revolves around, according to the Times.
It is unclear that this move was done to help The Last Ship gain popularity with a celebrity lead, however the musical has lost around $75,000 per week since performances began on Sept. 29 in New York, the Times reports.
Sting promises that joining the cast is not something he’s doing on a whim, even so far as to gaining Nail’s blessing for taking on the role.
“I’ve been working on this show for five years and been at every rehearsal, every performance, so it’s not like I’ve flown in from Planet Rock Star to save the day,” Sting said in an interview with the Times.
Sting will begin appearing in the show starting Dec. 9 up until Jan. 10, appearing in a total of eight performances.
As we reported, inspiration for The Last Ship came from Sting’s upbringing in an English shipbuilding town. The show’s songs also appear on Sting’s newest album of the same name.
Image courtesy of Roger Wong/INFphoto.com