Sting is confident Detroit audiences will see a familiar reflection in his stage musical "The Last Ship," which is headed to the Detroit Opera House next spring.

He spoke with the Free Press on Monday during an afternoon swing through the venue, where he performed acoustic selections from the musical for an audience of about 150 theater subscribers and media members. Part love story, part domestic drama, part social discourse, "The Last Ship" premiered in 2014, following Sting's album of the same name.

The production, which has been retooled since its Broadway run, is based on Sting's childhood in a declining shipbuilding town in the north of England. The rock singer-writer and former Police front man earned a pair of Tony nominations for the play's music, which he composed.

"Like my town was known for shipbuilding, Detroit was known for the building of cars. Your identity is bound up with what you make — and when that is threatened, everything is threatened psychologically," he said. "My town went into decline. I know Detroit has been up and down, and it seems to be having a bit of a renaissance at the moment. But there’s still dangers of plants closing … and so it’s a constant worry."

Sting will play the role of yard foreman Jackie White during the musical's Detroit run April 22-26. Public tickets will go on sale Nov. 29.

The musical has received generally positive reviews, and Sting said he has watched as grown men cry in the audience.

He recounted a trip to Toronto in January, where he performed songs from the musical for workers at General Motors' Oshawa plant in Canada soon after company executives announced they'd be moving production to Mexico. He'd been invited by the plant's union head.

The concert was "a grenade tossed at GM," the Toronto Star reported at the time.

In May, GM announced it would invest $170 million to transition the facility into new operations.

"The (workers) saw their story being told on the stage, and I also exposed my actors to what they were portraying. It was very moving," Sting said Monday. "The press were there, the TV were there, and then suddenly GM got cold feet and said 'OK, maybe we won’t shut the plant.' So that was very interesting and heartening for that to happen."

Come back to the Free Press for more coverage of Sting and "The Last Ship" ahead of the Detroit run.

Contact Detroit Free Press music writer Brian McCollum: 313-223-4450 or bmccollum@freepress.com.

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