Broadway Loses Its Faith in Sting: Singer’s The Last Ship to Close Early

The Last Ship will have its last performance on Broadway later this month, as the New York Times reports that Sting’s musical is headed for closure. In an email obtained by the Times two of the show’s producers wrote: “We have been bewildered and saddened by our inability to sustain an audience for this musical that we deeply love.” The show will end its run Jan. 24.

This news comes after Sting, who wrote the show’s music and lyrics, tried to help save the show about shipbuilders by joining the cast himself in December. According to the Times, the show was selling better following the addition of Sting, though not spectacularly, and would start losing substantial sums again once he departed.

In their email the producers explained that “Sting’s herculean participation on stage since December 9th has lengthened our run, filled the theater with enthusiastic audiences and helped to burnish ‘The Last Ship’ in the canon of beautiful, original new musicals.”

The musical has an autobiographical bent for Sting and takes place in his hometown of Wallsend.

This article originally appeared at EW.com