Sting's Broadway musical The Last Ship, about unemployed builders who takeover a factory to build a new vessel, is to close after just three months. After mixed reviews, Sting himself took over the lead role in a bid to revive the ailing ticket sales. 

StingSting's apperance in The Last Ship couldn't help revive the flagging musical

However, despite his appearance having a "galvanizing impact", producers felt attendances would drop again once he left. The musical is set to close on January 24.

The news comes as somewhat of a surprise given Broadway theaters pulled in record breaking attendances and box office takings in 2014. A total of 13.1 million attended shows in New York last year, pulling in $1.36 billion. The weekend ending Sunday 28 was the biggest Christmas week in history and stalwarts Wicked, The Lion King and The Book of Mormon continued to pull in sold out crowd. Each of the musicals took more than $2.2 million for the New Year week.

More: Sting signs on to rescue flagging Broadway musical The Last Ship

Around 20 new shows are scheduled to open on Broadway in 2015, most notably a musical version of Jack Black's hit 2003 comedy movie School of Rock. Bizarrely, the show features original compositions by Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber and a script from Downton Abbey writer Julian Fellowes.

"It is a joy for me to return to my Jesus Christ Superstar roots," Lloyd Webber said in a statement, "When Deep Purple's Ian Gillan was recording Jesus for Tim Rice and me at London's Olympic Studios, Led Zeppelin was recording next door and a glimpse of a Stone or two was routine! School of Rock is hugely about how music can empower kids."

School of Rock opens for previews on November 6 at the Winter Garden theatre in New York.

More: check out our Sting picture gallery