A Few Good Men review – Aaron Sorkin’s legal drama makes unwelcome return to stage
Vivian Beaumont theater, New York City Unconvincing performances and an ill-fitting big stage make a retooled version of the classic courtroom drama feel like a missed opportunity Given the current state of the US military brass, it makes some sense that audiences would want to drift back to an older, nobler idea of the armed services, in which bad actors exist but are rooted out by the good guys in uniform. That…
Key points
- The Broadway revival of Aaron Sorkin's A Few Good Men is at the Vivian Beaumont theater in New York City.
- Critic says the production is lurching and awkward, with unconvincing lead performances.
- Bradley Whitford is called direly miscast as the menacing Colonel Jessep.
A Broadway revival of Aaron Sorkin's 1989 courtroom drama A Few Good Men is running at Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont theater in New York City, directed by Michael Arden. The play follows a cocky military attorney defending two young marines who followed an illegal order with fatal results.
The Guardian's review calls the production starchy and listless, saying it never finds a proper sense of scale. It says audiences seeking the story would do better to watch the 1992 film.
Stage and performances
The review says the Beaumont's large stage swallows the play's rapid dialogue, making it quiet and tinny. Tom Blyth plays lawyer Daniel Kaffee but struggles to convey legal acumen, while Krysta Rodriguez lacks gravitas as attorney Joanne Galloway.
Bradley Whitford is described as direly miscast as Colonel Jessep, a role that should radiate menace. The review says he totters with legs wide apart and half mumbles, half growls his lines.
You can’t handle the truth!
— Colonel Jessep in the 1992 film
Smaller roles stand out
The review praises actors in smaller parts, including Nick Blaemire as a wise-cracking second-chair lawyer, Thom Sesma as a conflicted lieutenant colonel and Michael Oberholtzer as the lead prosecutor. It says they make Sorkin's ornate language sound casual and credible.
The production runs at the Vivian Beaumont theater until 10 January 2027.
