December 14, 2014

Life in Pictures: Sting, on Broadway for the First Time in 20 Years

By Rebecca Milzoff

Photo: Kevin Mazur/New York Magazine

“Well, we opened in October,” says Sting, 63, about The Last Ship, the musical he co-wrote and, through January 24, will star in. “And like most of the new musicals on Broadway, we were struggling with ticket sales. And very quickly the producers came to me and said, ‘There’s one thing to do.’ And I said, ‘What’s that?’ ‘You have to go into the play.’ I said no way — I don’t want to. I wrote this for my dear friend Jimmy Nail. ‘Nope, you’ve gotta do it.’ I said they had to ask Jimmy, and Jimmy was wonderfully magnanimous and said, ‘Yep, it’s the right thing to do.’ ‘Well, okay.’ ”

*This article appears in the December 15, 2014 issue of New York Magazine.

December 9, 2014, 9:43 a.m. I do the Financial Times crossword every day. It’s a cryptic crossword, not a direct-clue: The clue is hidden, and you have to figure out what it is. It’s very English: Nothing means what it says.

December 9, 2014, 9:43 a.m. I do the Financial Times crossword every day. It’s a cryptic crossword, not a direct-clue: The clue is hidden, and you have to figure out what it is. It’s very English: Nothing means what it says.

10:10 a.m. Well, the English don’t often brush their teeth, so I thought I’d make an effort [laughs]. The shirt has a red dragon. It was expensive, but it’s just a T-shirt. And I’m very proud of our red bathroom.

10:10 a.m. Well, the English don’t often brush their teeth, so I thought I’d make an effort [laughs]. The shirt has a red dragon. It was expensive, but it’s just a T-shirt. And I’m very proud of our red bathroom.

12:00 p.m. I normally walk to the theater — I love that walk — but because I have a cold, I took a car. That’s my dresser, Sarah. It’s a very intimate thing to dress and undress with someone like that. I’ve been here only two days!

12:00 p.m. I normally walk to the theater — I love that walk — but because I have a cold, I took a car. That’s my dresser, Sarah. It’s a very intimate thing to dress and undress with someone like that. I’ve been here only two days!

1:01 p.m. The sole dress rehearsal: That’s the scene when Jackie finally goes along with the scheme of building one last ship. Some of the lines are pertinent to the real-life drama around the play.

1:01 p.m. The sole dress rehearsal: That’s the scene when Jackie finally goes along with the scheme of building one last ship. Some of the lines are pertinent to the real-life drama around the play.

3:45 p.m. Our director’s in Chicago, and he can’t come back till next week; I was getting notes from our assistant director, good ones, from my first day. Which was pretty good but needed some tightening up.

3:45 p.m. Our director’s in Chicago, and he can’t come back till next week; I was getting notes from our assistant director, good ones, from my first day. Which was pretty good but needed some tightening up.

5:00 p.m. Home for late lunch with Jimmy Nail: I bring something different to the role, as well as learning a lot from what Jimmy did. Last night, I was in the costume and he was out, and I said, “This is a very strange reversal.”

5:00 p.m. Home for late lunch with Jimmy Nail: I bring something different to the role, as well as learning a lot from what Jimmy did. Last night, I was in the costume and he was out, and I said, “This is a very strange reversal.”

5:30 p.m. Preshow break: Playing slowly is soothing; you learn harmony and find ideas. I work on Chopin, and you wouldn’t want to hear me. Working on the score, I was mainly playing guitar.

5:30 p.m. Preshow break: Playing slowly is soothing; you learn harmony and find ideas. I work on Chopin, and you wouldn’t want to hear me. Working on the score, I was mainly playing guitar.

5:40 p.m. Just before heading back to the theater: It’s like living next to the Pyramids, you know? I’m on the 16th floor, which is high enough to feel above everything but low enough to shout at people in the street if you need to.

5:40 p.m. Just before heading back to the theater: It’s like living next to the Pyramids, you know? I’m on the 16th floor, which is high enough to feel above everything but low enough to shout at people in the street if you need to.

5:59 p.m. When I was doing The Threepenny Opera, in the ’80s, I loved going to work in the same place every day — something I’m not used to. Very normalizing. Radley Haynes, the doorman here, is a lovely character.

5:59 p.m. When I was doing The Threepenny Opera, in the ’80s, I loved going to work in the same place every day — something I’m not used to. Very normalizing. Radley Haynes, the doorman here, is a lovely character.

6:06 p.m. I’ve known Hugh Jackman for a long time — I did a song for Kate & Leopold, and we’ve spent time together with our families in Australia and in New York. It says “Chookas” — Australian theater slang for “good luck.”

6:06 p.m. I’ve known Hugh Jackman for a long time — I did a song for Kate & Leopold, and we’ve spent time together with our families in Australia and in New York. It says “Chookas” — Australian theater slang for “good luck.”

6:10 p.m. I always look bespoke in whatever I’m wearing! Y’know, I don’t spend much time in any dressing room — I put my clothes on and I’m outta there. I’m in the pit, the greenroom; I roam around.

6:10 p.m. I always look bespoke in whatever I’m wearing! Y’know, I don’t spend much time in any dressing room — I put my clothes on and I’m outta there. I’m in the pit, the greenroom; I roam around.

9:40 p.m. Curtain call: Some flowers were thrown at me, I think? They may have been for Rachel [Tucker, one of the stars], but I picked them up anyway.

9:40 p.m. Curtain call: Some flowers were thrown at me, I think? They may have been for Rachel [Tucker, one of the stars], but I picked them up anyway.

10:55 p.m. The party was thrown by my friend Ron Perelman at Le Bilboquet. I don’t think I had nerves; the cast seemed happy, and the audience seemed happy, so I was happy. And I had a nice gin.

10:55 p.m. The party was thrown by my friend Ron Perelman at Le Bilboquet. I don’t think I had nerves; the cast seemed happy, and the audience seemed happy, so I was happy. And I had a nice gin.

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