Sting's 'The Last Ship' to set sail at Metropolitan Opera House in 2026 with Shaggy joining the cast

Record ID: 2272842

  • Title: Sting's 'The Last Ship' to set sail at Metropolitan Opera House in 2026 with Shaggy joining the cast
  • Date: 13th November 2025
  • Summary: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (NOVEMBER 12, 2025) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) MUSICIAN STING SAYING: (ON SHAGGY JOINING THE SHOW) “I didn’t have to twist his arm at all. I just thought he'd be so perfect in the play in this particular role, playing a Jamaican ferryman. And he's a fantastic performer. Just to bring that energy to the show, of mischief and fun. Great
  • Embargoed:
  • Keywords: met opera house musical peformance stage sting the last ship
  • Location: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
  • City: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
  • Country: US
  • Topics: Arts/Culture/Entertainment,North America,Theatre
  • Reuters ID: LVA007183813112025RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:Sting is bringing his beloved musical "The Last Ship" back to the stage in New York.
    This time, the production will set sail at the Metropolitan Opera House for a limited run from June 9 to 14, 2026.
    "Privileged," is how Sting described the experience. "But not entitled. I don't think this is my entitlement at all. I've had to work to get here, but I've also been very lucky," he added.
    The musician said that while attending a show at the theater in 1997, he envisioned telling the story on the stage.
    "I thought if I was going to do 'The Last Ship,' I'd want it to have the scale of the shipyard that I was actually born next to. And of course, in a little theater, you can't really do that. At The Met, you can, and I must have manifested something in the universe because here I am. So I feel blessed," said Sting.
    "The Last Ship" first played on Broadway in 2014 and opened to mixed reviews, with Sting winning praise for his foot-stomping, melodic score. However, critics found the story about a shipbuilder's son who returns home after 15 years to a town hit by recession and a former girlfriend who has moved on, tangled.
    Again, he'll take on the role of Jackie White, the foreman of the closed shipyard in the town of Wallsend, with his touring partner and Jamaican singer Shaggy joining him on stage.
    "I just thought he'd be so perfect in the play in this particular role, playing a Jamaican ferryman. And he's a fantastic performer. Just to bring that energy to the show, of mischief and fun. Great, he's a great singer."
    An expanded edition of the album "The Last Ship" will be released on December 5.
    (Production: Hussein Al Waalie, Alicia Powell)
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