Corruption | 2hrs 40mins. One intermission. | Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater | 150 West 65th Street | 212-239-6200
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Truth is on the line in Corruption, a recent-history play which dramatizes the News International phone hacking scandal that briefly threatened Rupert Murdoch’s empire, shut down one paper, and resulted in a pitiful handful of arrests and prison sentences. J.T. Rogers’s spin on verity is basic: the good guys believe in it, and the bad guys think it’s a commodity to be manipulated for profit. As a top Murdoch lawyer explains, “[T]he world that you are fighting for no longer exists. Government, privacy, truth: these are malleable now. To be changed, or discarded, as those above us see fit.” Not exactly news, but noted.
As a reporter (sorta), I therefore feel the burden of honesty: produced by Lincoln Center Theater, Corruption has a strong, versatile cast and worthy message, but a great play it is not. Rogers—a Tony winner for Oslo, also heavily researched—spoon-feeds the audience too much obvious exposition while starving his characters of nuance and vitality. This is the story of sometimes bumbling MP Tom Watson (Toby Stephens) taking down ice-cold media queen Rebekah Brooks (Saffron Burrows). He’s a blokey Saint George in a........