Sting will star in a newly adapted version of his musical “The Last Ship” for a limited engagement at the Met Opera House.
Photo by Mark Senior
Sting will star in a newly adapted version of his musical “The Last Ship” for a limited engagement at the Metropolitan Opera House from June 9 to 14. Sting will play Jackie White, the shipyard foreman at the center of the story — the same role he later stepped into during the musical’s original Broadway run in 2014 in an effort to boost ticket sales. Inspired by Sting’s childhood in the British shipbuilding town of Wallsend, “The Last Ship” follows a community of shipbuilders in northeast England facing the closure of their shipyard. The original Broadway production received mixed reviews and struggled at the box office, though Sting’s folk-Celtic score was noted for its sincerity and ambition. Since then, the musical has undergone substantial revisions. Shaggy, Sting’s longtime collaborator, will co-star as the Ferryman, and the production will feature a company of 48 artists, musicians and choristers. The Met engagement follows international runs in Amsterdam, Paris and Brisbane.
‘Cats: The Jellicle Ball’ to headline NYC Pride March
“Cats: The Jellicle Ball” will kick off the 2026 NYC Pride March on June 28 with a live performance from the Broadway revival, bringing the show’s ballroom-inspired reimagining of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical directly into one of the city’s largest annual LGBTQ+ celebrations. The appearance will cap a monthlong Pride celebration for the nine-time Tony-nominated revival, whose Broadway run has been widely noted for transforming “Cats” through the language, style and competitive rituals of Black and Latino queer ballroom culture. Other events include a June 15 screening of the landmark documentary “Paris Is Burning” hosted by ballroom pioneer and “Cats” cast member Junior LaBeija, who appeared in the film.
Revised ‘The Fantasticks’ to play Broadway
“The Fantasticks,” which opened Off-Broadway in 1960 and ran for 42 years, will arrive on Broadway for the first time this fall in a revised, contemporary version that reimagines the Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt classic as a same-sex romance. The production will be presented by Second Stage Theater at its Broadway home, the Hayes Theater, as part of the company’s 2026-27 season. The new version changes the musical’s original setup — a boy and a girl whose two fathers secretly scheme to make them fall in love — into a story about two boys and their two mothers. Christopher Gattelli (“Newsies”) will direct and choreograph the production, which begins previews Oct. 22.
‘West Side Story’ returns to Paper Mill Playhouse
Paper Mill Playhouse’s current production of “West Side Story,” the classic musical about star-crossed lovers and rival New York street gangs, arrives at an intriguing moment, with the Public Theater simultaneously presenting its source material, “Romeo and Juliet,” at Shakespeare in the Park.
West Side StoryPhoto by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade
It also marks a return to familiar territory for Paper Mill, which mounted a similar, traditional revival of “West Side Story” a decade ago. Directed by Mark S. Hoebee, Paper Mill’s artistic director, the production has the advantages that “West Side Story” demands: scale, sweep, a large cast, a full orchestra and Jerome Robbins’ original choreography.
Those virtues stand in especially welcome contrast with Ivo van Hove’s experimental Broadway revival, which opened shortly before the pandemic shutdown and did not reopen. That production stripped away Robbins’ choreography, removed “I Feel Pretty” and the “Somewhere” ballet, eliminated the intermission and overwhelmed the musical with video imagery and a harsher contemporary concept.
Paper Mill’s “West Side Story” is enjoyable if not exceptional. The youthful cast brings energy and commitment, but the performances are acceptable at best, and there are moments when the company still seems to be getting the hang of Robbins’ famously demanding choreography.
Watching “West Side Story” now, alongside “Romeo and Juliet” in Central Park, raises an appealing possibility: why not bring the musical itself to the Delacorte as part of Shakespeare in the Park? Another natural home would be Lincoln Center Theater, which could stage the musical on the very site of the former San Juan Hill/Lincoln Square neighborhood that helped inspire “West Side Story.”