Theater Review by JK Clarke . . . .
It seems oddly disconcerting this year that there are two significant Off-Broadway productions that confront eroding global standards of journalism. But the fact that both MCC’s excellent musical The Connector (which ended a six-week run on Sunday) and J.T. Roger’s new play, Corruption—now playing through April 14 at Lincoln Center’s Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater—are confronting the issue in a very serious manner should tell us something (that we probably all already intuit) about the divisive and damaging erosion of the Fifth Estate.
Based on Tom Watson and Martin Hickman’s 2012 book, Dial M for Murdoch: News Corporation and the Corruption of Britain, Corruption tells the story of Parliament member Tom Watson’s efforts to expose the UK’s 2011 phone hacking scandal, which revealed that over 11,000 British citizens, most notably politicians, royals, and celebrities, were victimized by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation (which owned the vast majority of tabloid newspapers in the UK) and its tabloid subsidiary News International, when their private phone conversations and messages were hacked and exposed at the company’s behest and used as fodder for blackmail and harassment.
Structured in an almost reverse All the President’s Men fashion—in which the government uncovers illegal activities by the press this time—the play pits Watson (a convincing Toby Stephens), no angel himself, against News International’s ruthless CEO Rebekah Brooks (played to perfection in look and temperament by Saffron Burrows). Brooks is portrayed here as a force of evil on par with Snow White’s stepmother. Prince Harry, in his memoir Spare, labels Brooks, “an infected pustule on the ass of humanity.” But if this “queen” were to look in that “mirror mirror on the wall” she wouldn’t see mere beauty, but God herself.
Brooks, like many in similar circumstances, has gone so mad with power that she breezily justifies broken laws or human rights violations with a wave of the hand, asserting that she’s doing it for the good of the people. When angrily confronted by former Prime Minister Gordon Brown over the illegal acquisition of his cystic fibrosis-afflicted son’s medical records, Brooks alarmingly retorts: “If . . . we were in possession of these medical records and we choose to publish them, we would be entirely within our rights. Because you are a public figure.” Even Rupert’s son, James Murdoch, News Corp CEO, is cowed by Brooks, correctly assuming that his father will take her side over his when push comes to shove.
Terrified of his impending ruin, already set in motion, Watson clumsily and somewhat reluctantly gathers a coterie of politicians, lawyers and investigative journalists (from other papers, obviously) to build a case against News International, eventually uncovering even more scandal and corruption than they had initially suspected (including the voicemail hacking of a missing/murdered schoolgirl, Missy Dowler, leading to further anguish of her devastated parents).
Corruption follows a predictable “David versus Goliath” plotline, with the predatory corporate behemoth eventually being incriminated and disgraced. Despite a potentially straightforward story, the play suffers from excessively expository dialog at the play’s opening; and threads of tangential stories drop in and out of focus, almost distractingly. Finally, we’re told in an unnecessary epilogue, that the underdogs’ triumph is largely just a pyrrhic victory—Brooks is reinstated to a powerful position in News Corp only a few years later and the company’s valuation continues to grow to this day.
Director Bartlett Sher wrangles the unwieldy but well-written script admirably, but a more succinct production would likely have been more impactful. Cast members play multiple roles, but are often indistinguishable from previous characters, as Jennifer Moeller’s realistic and effective costumes also reflect the homogeneity of the upper-crust members of the UK’s politics and media community.
The production benefits hugely from Michael Yeargan’s set, along with 59 Projections’ video, replete with a circle of TV monitors above the stage, as one might see in a newsroom, as well as a large, curved backdrop screen that projects still more images to maintain external narrative. The stage itself, however, is merely a handful of modern tables and chairs distractingly rearranged (usually in some sort of horseshoe shape) by stagehands. Terrific performances (in multiple roles) by Michael Siberry, T. Ryder Smith, K. Todd Freeman and, notably, Dylan Baker bolster the play so effectively that despite a need to trim, there’s hardly a dull moment.
It’s clear that Corruption is meant, in part, to be an instructive warning to American audiences, but anyone who’s scrolled through just about any online news media site knows that ship has already sailed. American news journalism has been, from its earliest days, controlled by politically motivated bullies like William Randolph Hearst; but the imperative of journalistic integrity has long been paramount for most reporters. Now, however, the economic vitality of those institutions relies on clicks inspired by sensational headlines and the corruption exposed in Corruption is, today, just the price of doing business.
Corruption. Through April 14 at Lincoln Center’s Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater (150 West 65th Street at Columbus Avenue and Lincoln Center Plaza). Two hours 40 minutes, with one intermission. www.lct.org
Photos: T. Charles Erickson
