James Graham’s play “Ink,” which opened Wednesday at MTC’s Samuel J. Friedman Theatre after a run in London, depicts the young Rupert Murdoch (Bertie Carvel) as he buys the failing Sun tabloid in 1969 and hires Larry Lamb (Jonny Lee Miller) to turn it around.
If you don’t already appreciate “Citizen Kane,” the unnecessary first act of “Ink” will make you marvel at Orson Welles’ economy and wit. Kane’s creation of a tabloid is fun, insightful and, most important, Welles tells the story quickly. Graham, on the other hand, shows Lamb handpicking each staff member, and each portrait of these hardened journos is a cliché.