The fall of America has never felt this good. I, like millions of other Americans, have watched in horror as our democracy continues to be systematically torn apart by Donald Trump, MAGA, and the fascist sycophants who have taken over our courts, government, and democratic processes. This craven and violent nightmare feels unstoppable in its cruel march into the darkness of corruption, hatred, and nihilism. For me, it all felt so hopeless. And then I saw Murdoch: The Final Interview.
These are the freedom fighters that I, and many others, have been hoping to see as democracy collapses around us. Murdoch: The Final Interview may not be the most elegant, mesmerizing, or uplifting production on Broadway right now, but it is, I believe, the most important and most powerful given this moment in our American experience. As we all frantically ask ourselves How could this happen in the United States, the folks behind this off-Broadway production offer a compelling story that analyzes and contextualizes the role Rupert Murdoch and Fox News played in turning America into a purposefully divided rage machine fueled by hate-filled people.
This one-man show, directed by Christopher Scott and starring Jamie Jackson, delves into the origin story of Rupert Murdoch, harking back to his days as a child in Australia seeking the attention of his father, a prominent journalist and newspaper executive. The structure of the play follows a reporter whom Murdoch finds uncomfortably familiar–and for good reason (which we won’t spoil here). As the back-and-forth volley of intense questions and answers takes the audience on a wild journey through Murdoch’s development as a young man at Oxford and later as a power-wielding tycoon, we learn how this horrible genius learned to manipulate the most powerful and base instinct of mankind: our boundless capacity for rage towards “others”.
America, like the rest of the world, has been unmoored by the attention economy that leverages rage as its chief mechanism to deliver ROI and maximum arbitrage gains across digital media. Murdoch’s ability to infuse populism throughout the world by purchasing lawmakers, laws, and institutions that shape the perspectives of entire cultures has been stupefying to witness. As we learn from Murdoch: The Final Interview, this societal calamity took decades of effort and help from equally ghoulish characters like Roger Ailes and smarmy politicians we’re too familiar with, namely Ronald Reagan (Murdoch became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1985, and Reagan’s FCC deregulated restrictions preventing the monopolization of TV stations and newspapers) and Bill Clinton (who signed the disastrous Telecommunications Act of 1996 into law, fueling media consolidation). Murdoch understood the power of money to corrupt and wielded it ruthlessly.
This play creatively details Murdoch’s cynical march toward global dominance, from his despotic British tabloids, which included hacking and manipulating a missing 13-year-old girl’s phone messages in 2002, to the infamous $787.5 million settlement for defamation resulting from false claims about the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Watching a theatrical highlight reel of Murdoch’s evil life and business operations would wear down any audience, but Scott and Jackson skillfully employ maximum storytelling creativity in this rather minimalist production. A large video screen background transitions the shifts in place and tone, allowing Jackson to interact with other characters he deftly plays throughout the story. Jackson’s versatility as an actor alone is worth seeing, but this show offers much more—including poignant Frankenstein references, a “Shit Bucket” that deserves a Best Performance by a Featured Actor Tony nomination, and cameos from a European behavioralist philosopher.
Rupert Murdoch, who is actually named Keith, after his father, would be a colorful and engaging Broadway villain if we weren’t living in the dystopian nightmare he helped to create and propagate in America. But not every American surrendered their critical thinking to the appeal of tribalism and dopamine-driven hostility toward media-manufactured groups of “others.” The show acknowledges the hypocrisy of how Fox News nurtured contempt for “elites” in America, including educators and scientists, while these same legions of angry American haters of the elite idolized a billionaire nepo-baby media mogul from Australia. As the saying goes, “Make it make sense.” And Murdoch: The Final Interview does just that.
Murdoch: The Final Interview isn’t a show we want to exist, but it is a show we must see for ourselves. Because the story is about us, too. And though the playwright’s identity remains a secret, which is probably wise considering these dangerous times, the show’s director and actor deserve praise not just for their artistic talents and vision, but for their personal courage. This play addresses real life in America and delivers an unflinching portrayal of Rupert Murdoch, Fox News, and a country that has been hijacked by manipulative billionaires who gorge themselves on wealth as our society violently consumes itself from within. Jackson and Scott are American heroes. They have risen to the occasion. And so can you, by going to see this show at Theater 555. It’s entertaining. It’s educational. And it’s brave. Other than voting, it may be the most patriotic act you can perform, especially at a time when so many of us feel helpless.
