It’s hard not to avoid the feeling that Lincoln Center Theater should be doing something more important with its flagship venue than a revival of A Few Good Men. Sure, Aaron Sorkin’s play is a solid military courtroom drama, although it pales in comparison to The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial. The author’s stock has certainly risen since the drama’s 1989 Broadway premiere and the hit 1992 film version starring Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson (among others in a stellar cast) has firmly cemented the title in the public consciousness. And yet the truth, if Lincoln Center Theater can handle it, is that this production feels like a safe money grab.
As money grabs go, however, it’s not bad. Directed by Michael Arden, a director more experienced with musicals (Maybe Happy Ending, Parade) than straight plays, it’s a generally solid production, even if it strains at times to fill the vast Beaumont stage. But those who’ve seen the film or the original production at the much more intimate Music Box are likely to make comparisons that won’t be favorable.
To jog your memories, the play concerns the court-martial of two Marines on trial for the murder of one of their fellow soldiers at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The death was caused by a “Code Red,” a form of hazing that went bad. Daniel Kaffee (Tom Blyth, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds), a laid-back JAG lawyer who specializes in plea bargains, has been assigned to the case, much to the consternation of Joanne Gallagher (Krysta Rodriguez, Smash, First Date), a higher-ranking Internal Affairs attorney who wants to give the men a real defense. Complicating the efforts of the team, which also includes Daniel’s associate Sam Weinberg (Nick Blaemire), is the military hierarchy, particularly the base’s commander Colonel Jessup (Bradley Whitford, who appeared as a replacement in the original production).
[Read Melissa Rose Bernardo’s ★★★☆☆ review here.]
The talky drama remains engrossing, thanks to the memorably drawn characters and Sorkin’s by now well-established gift for fast-paced, urgent dialogue leavened with quippy one-liners. But this rendition somehow fails to galvanize, lacking the intimacy of the 1989 production and the memorable star power of the film. Ironically, the performances of much of the supporting cast outshine the leads. Blyth, admirably not revealing a trace of his British origins in his turn as the all-American Danny, never seems comfortable with his character’s breezy flippancy, only becoming impressive in the play’s later sections when he assumes greater gravitas. Rodriguez tries hard but mainly seems miscast, indulging in too much comic shtick and failing to convey Joanne’s steeliness.
Whitford has the toughest task, competing not only with Nicholson’s iconic turn in the movie but also Stephen Lang’s brilliant portrayal in the original. The actor delivers a solid performance but lacks the imposing physicality or sufficiently macho presence — he usually excels at conveying sensitivity and vulnerability — to make Jessup appropriately terrifying. Presumably in an effort not to copy Nicholson, he doesn’t bellow the iconic line “You can’t handle the truth!” in the climactic courtroom exchange, but his subsequent rant about the country needing people like him to keep it safe doesn’t land with the same impact.
Faring much better are Blaemire, scoring laughs as the engaging Sam who’s dealing with a newborn baby; Lavel Schley, formidably steely as one of the accused Marines; Michael Oberholtzer (Take Me Out), sympathetic as the prosecuting attorney; John Zdorjeski, truly creepy as Jessup’s religious-minded underling (the actor would have had a thriving career in film noir); and Thom Sesma, heartbreaking as the conscious-stricken officer who blames himself for the victim’s death.
Sorkin has apparently tinkered with the script, but such new lines as Jessup commenting about Code Red, “I believe it’s an energy drink” aren’t exactly an improvement. Arden provides plenty of theatrical flourishes via various military rituals performed by members of the large ensemble, while Dane Laffrey’s utilitarian set design is dominated by the giant U.S. and Marine Corps flags on the theater’s walls. Their oversized nature only emphasizes the way the small-scale play strains to live up to its expansive surroundings.
A Few Good Men opened October 29, 2026, at the Vivian Beaumont Theater and runs through January 10, 2027. Tickets and information: lct.org
