For our performance, Shahrouk and I attended a performance of the Broadway musical The Last Ship at the Neil Simon Theatre. The text of the play was written by John Logan and Brian Yorkey, and the musical score was composed by famed musician Sting. The story centers on the recently unemployed shipbuilders of the English town of Wallsend, and their fight to build one last ship. The major plot line sees protagonist Gideon Fletcher return to Wallsend after running away fifteen years prior and attempt to rekindle his relationship with his girlfriend Meg Dawson, whom he left behind. Wallsend was Sting’s real-life hometown, and the musical was inspired in part by his childhood.
Shahrouk and I felt Sting’s score was the production’s best quality. The music evoked real emotion from the audience, and was most effective at adding depth to the plot and characters. The real pain of love was demonstrated through the ballads “August Winds,” “When We Dance,” and “It’s Not the Same Moon.” Emotional conflict was shown through “Island of Souls,” “Dead Man’s Boots,” and “Ghost Story.” And the shipbuilders’ struggle and determination was conveyed to the audience through the upbeat “We’ve Got Now’t Else” and the powerful “Underground River” and “The Last Ship.” The soundtrack can be found on the internet and I suggest listening to some of these numbers.
The plot left us a bit disappointed. Two major storylines were featured (Gideon’s quest to find himself and reclaim Meg; and the shipbuilders’ struggles with unemployment and their determination in building the titular ship) but they did not mesh well together. The story felt disjointed, and a lack of adequate characterization did not serve to remedy this. Whatever the reason may be, plot issues or otherwise, The Last Ship had unusually poor attendance for a new Broadway musical. The poor ticket sales led to the production’s early closure. While attendance increased after composer Sting stepped in to the cast, the show still closed to further avoid losing money. Despite some shortcomings, Shahrouk and I are glad we saw this musical while we had the opportunity.
, and consisted of an ensemble of five hilarious actors: Arnie Burton as Representative Mark Foley, Sean Dugan as Senator Larry Craig, Tom Galantich as Governor Mark Sanford, Nate Smith as the infamous NY Representative Anthony Weiner, and Saturday Night Live star Rachel Dratch as the women who were “victims” of the scandals (and also as Barbara Walters during a rather interesting interview).
Tail! Spin! holds true to the off broadway culture. It was performed in a small theater for a relatively small audience. Its has an obscene focus: the topic of sex scandals, which is something that occasionally appears headlined in the media. It attracted a specific demographic (mostly older, senior adults), as noticed by the audience that night. Nonetheless, our little trio of 18 year olds thoroughly enjoyed the show. It was performed on a mostly empty stage, except for several chairs and a podium that appeared every now and then. The actors, stage lighting, and sound effects did an adept job at creating various settings and scenarios: be it a court room, TV interview, press interview, or even a bathroom.
ctor would switch from a politician, to an interviewer, to a child talking to a 40 year old man on Facebook with sheer ease. Most outstanding had to be Rachel Dratch, who would switch from a seductive and enticing woman to a loving and considerate wife at the snap of a finger (
Tail! Spin! does a great job at presenting the obscure theme of political sex scandals in an intriguingly humorous and surprising way. At the end of the show, the three of us could not help but find ourselves in a slight amazement. A general sense of shock came over us as we thought “Did they really say that?” Are our elected politicians, voted to represent us in our government, capable of such raunchy acts? We could not help but chuckle (and shake our heads in shame) at the lengths they went to cover themselves, the ludicrous excuses, and random bouts of memory loss.
