In an attempt to boost ticket sales, singer Sting is slated to join the cast of his Broadway musical "The Last Ship" December, New York Times reported Sunday.

The rock icon's theatre show cost US$15 million to produce. This is the first Broadway show he has penned, which has been inspired by his ship-building childhood hometown in northeast England.

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Sting is expected to appear on stage Dec. 9, for eight performances a week. His performance will end Jan. 10.

The show debuted Oct. 26 with mixed reviews, although Sting's songs received critical praise. However, the show is also a money-loser, bleeding US$75,000 a week since it started on its preview show Sept. 29.

Sting is set to appear as the shipyard foreman Jackie White, who is currently played by British singer-actor Jimmy Nail.

The Times reported that Nail is very much happy to give way for Sting to take over his role.

"I've been working on this show for five years and been at every rehearsal, every performance, so it's not like I've flown in from Planet Rock Star to save the day," Sting told in an interview with New York Times on Sunday.

The show's producer, Jeffrey Seller, revealed that he had requested for Sting to make a performance to keep the show running well until the Tony awards in June.

Seller did not hide his desire that he wanted the show to grab the Tony Award for best musical, theatre's highest honor.

"Our goal is to win the Tony" Seller said to Times.

"We need a boost, we need to break through, we need some ammo," Seller added, referring to the show's superstar songwriter.

Sting's most recent Broadway stint was in the Broadway adaptation of Kurt Weill's "The Threepenny Opera," which enjoyed a brief run as "3 Penny Opera."

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