Murdoch: The Final Interview ★★★

“I would like to be remembered, if I am remembered at all, as being a catalyst for change in the world, change for good.”

— Rupert Murdoch, in an interview with The Independent, 2006

Given the chasm between how media mogul Rupert Murdoch sees himself and how much of the world regards him, is it any wonder he’s proven to be catnip to actors and writers in recent years? In 2018 Brian Cox began his thunderous reign as Logan Roy, a fictional version of the titan, in Jesse Armstrong’s HBO hit series Succession. The following year saw two well- regarded non-fictionalized depictions of Murdoch: Malcolm McDowell in the Oscar-winning Bombshell, and Bertie Carvel who reprised his Olivier-honored performance on Broadway in James Graham’s Ink, for which he also won a deserved Tony Award.

Now Off-Broadway at Theater555, we have Murdoch: The Final Interview, a multimedia solo show starring an inexhaustible Jamie Jackson as the now 94-year-old Murdoch defends his legacy in front of a live audience. Lest that sound wholly tiresome, Jackson also portrays the interviewer, Chodrum Trepur, as well as Rupert’s father Keith, his mother Elisabeth, Vladimir Lenin, JFK, and Austrian-British economist and philosopher Friedrich Hayek, among many others both famous and infamous.

But that’s not all. Adding to that panoply of colorful characters are impressive wide-screen visuals (designed by Andy Evan Cohen), a clever set with unexpected props (created by Peter R. Feuchtwanger), and a hilariously deadpan assistant stage manager (Sam Vartholomeous) moving things about, all directed at an impressive gallop by director Christopher Scott to ensure that the show is never dull.

Murdoch: The Final Interview makes an interesting theatrical bookend to Ink, which takes place in 1969 London and depicts how a young, ruthless Rupert Murdoch bought struggling newspaper The Sun and turned its fortunes around. Where Ink captures the beginning of Murdoch’s empire-building, Murdoch: The Final Interview positions him at its end.

What makes this new play particularly intriguing is that it is credited to an “Unnamed Source”. Having an unknown author of an Off-Broadway play actually creates two immediate mysteries:

Who is this playwright?
Why does this playwright feel it’s necessary to remain anonymous?

Murdoch: The Final Interview doesn’t answer either question, as most of the material presented is in the public domain and doesn’t appear to reveal anything overly private or slanderous.

Thus a third question arises: With so many lauded depictions of Murdoch already in the culture, what new light does this play shed, and why is it popping up now?

That question, too, remains unanswered.

To be fair and balanced — to co-opt the absurd but effective marketing description created by former Fox News CEO Roger Ailes, not Murdoch, as Fox News was being positioned as an alternate to the so-called liberal media — Murdoch: The Final Interview is a well-researched affair, and it’s obvious that everyone involved in the production is passionate about their respective contributions. And Jackson, who’s mainly known for playing supporting roles in Broadway musicals (such as Judge Turpin in the most recent revival of Sweeney Todd), here gets to flex far more acting muscles and does so wonderfully. It’s a tour-de-force performance.

Perhaps the show exists to make its audiences confront the possibility that the seemingly upside-down world we’re all currently living in is inevitable given that the people who crave power — including Murdoch — are likely the very ones to whom control shouldn’t be given. As Murdoch says early in this play: “Idealism dies at power’s birth.” If, as he once hoped, Murdoch is remembered as a catalyst for change, this briskly theatrical portrait reminds us that Murdoch’s legacy is less a gentle epilogue than a full-throttle, unrequested, ongoing encore.