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A Few Good Men
By Aaron Sorkin
Directed by Michael Menendian
At Raven Theatre
6157 N. Clark
Chicago, IL
Call 773-338-2177, tickets $25
Thursdays thru Saturdays at 8 PM
Sundays at 3 PM
Running time 2 hrs with intermission
Through January 28, 2006
A Few Good Men marches to its own beat
Raven Theatre, know for doing American plays with large ensembles, is back with Aaron Sorkin’s cautionary tale of military abuse. It is tough to compete with the film version of A Few Good Men with Kevin Bacon, Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson and Demie Moore but director Michael Menendian has just done that. His mounting of A Few Good Men packs a wallop. We get the flavor of being a Marine with sprinkles of military cadence marching songs, drum rolls, large American flags complete with authentic Marine and Navy uniforms.
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Aaron Sorkin’s well crafted story deals with a court-martial of two enlisted men charged with murder of a fellow slacker marine during a “Code Red,” (a kind of hazing that unofficially teaches recruits to tow the line.) We meet a young Navy lawyer, Daniel Kaffee (Jose Antonio Garcia) coasting through his service playing softball and plea-bargaining his cases. When he is assigned a major case with the defendants already confessing their guilt he meets a zealot Navy attorney, Lt. Cmdr. Joanne Galloway (Melisa Nedell) whose instincts tell her that the two grunts are scapegoats for Marine brass.
The play unfolds as a court room drama filled with mystery where the Marine code, national defense and the need for discipline overshadow the plight of a young soldier who simply was unable physically perform his duties.
This is the play with the famous: “You can take the truth...” speech delivered by the crazy Marine Lt. Col. Nathan Jessp (Chuck Spencer) and Jack Nicholson in the film. The ensemble of 16 actors deftly convey the military manors with impeccable accuracy. This swiftly paced show will keep you engaged and on the edge of your seat if you have never seen the play or the film. I have seen this piece several times and I’m still impressed with Sorkin’s writing, characters and the power of his warning. This show is quite relevant today.
I liked Jose Antonio Garcia’s Lt. Kaffee as he nailed the flippant young lawyer whose sense of right eventually leads him to risk everything to do the right thing. Chuck Spencer is strong as the self-righteous Marine commander and Melissa Nedell was fine as Joanne Galloway. The ensemble marched, saluted stood at attention, sat up right and did all the little things well trained marines do. Tucker Curtis’ booming voice convinced me that he was a Marine.
Raven Theatre’s A Few Good Men will not make anyone forget the film but it does stand on its own as a worthy show. Kudos to the cast and crew for tackling and delivering a very tough show. This cautionary tale still carries an important message.
Recommended
Tom Williams
Tom99@chicagocritic.com for comments
Chicago Stage Talk Radio Show
This show eligible for a C.S.T. Non-Equity Theatre Award
October 28, 2005
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