Sting's 'Last Ship' to close Jan. 24

In the end, Sting could not quite save his Ship.

Producers decided Monday night that the Broadway musical The Last Ship, for which Sting wrote music and lyrics, would close Jan. 24, after his final performance in the show.

Sting had stepped into the cast of Ship in December in order to help revive sagging ticket sales. The plan worked, initially; grosses for the week ending Dec. 14 exceeded those for any previous week since the production launched in September.

But despite good notices, advance ticket sales for later this winter did not improve as much as it had been hoped they would.

In a note addressed to colleagues, producers Jeffrey Seller and Kathryn Schenker wrote, "We have been bewildered and saddened by our inability to sustain an audience for this musical that we deeply love. There are no easy explanations."