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Single tickets are on sale today for Pioneer Theatre Company's regional premiere of Sting's "The Last Ship," the first production of the musical since it closed on Broadway in January 2015.

The musical has a Tony-nominated score, with a book by John Logan ("Red") and Brian Yorkey ("Next to Normal" and "If/Then"), and is directed by PTC artistic director Karen Azenberg. It opens Sept. 16, with the run continuing through Oct. 1.

"I'm so excited to come to Salt Lake and see this new version of my play, which I love," said Sting in a phone interview.

"The Last Ship" was inspired by Sting's history growing up in the northeastern British shipyard town of Wallsend. The musical tells the story of Gideon Fletcher, who at his father's death returns to the shipyard town where he was raised. There he re-encounters Meg, the woman he left behind, and grapples with his past and the town's dying shipbuilding industry.

The cast features Bryant Martin and Ruthie Stephens as Gideon Fletcher and Meg Dawson, with Broadway veteran John Jellison (whose credits include "Phantom Of The Opera," "Caroline Or Change," "Anything Goes" and Paul Simon's "The Capeman"), as the town's parish priest.

Tickets range from $40-$62, (K-12 students half-price Monday and Tuesday), and are available at 801-581-6961 or pioneertheatre.org.

Weekday shows begin at 7 p.m. — that's a half-hour earlier start time for the University of Utah-based professional theater — with Friday and Saturday shows at 7:30 p.m., and 2 p.m. Saturday matinees.

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'The Last Ship'

The musical, with music and lyrics by Sting, and a book by John Logan and Brian Yorkey, plays Sept. 16-Oct. 1 at Pioneer Theatre Company, 300 S. 1400 East, University of Utah campus. Tickets are $40-$62, available at 801-581-6961 or pioneertheatre.org.