Aaron Sorkin’s courtroom drama A Few Good Men returns to Broadway tonight, with Bradley Whitford facing off against Tom Blyth in the play’s first Broadway revival.
Previews begin October 8 at Lincoln Center Theater’s Vivian Beaumont Theater, ahead of an October 29 opening. The production brings Sorkin’s story of military loyalty, secrecy and the price of telling the truth back to the stage where it premiered in 1989, this time under the direction of Michael Arden.
Whitford plays Colonel Nathan Jessep, the commanding officer whose authority comes under scrutiny after two Marines are accused of murder. Blyth, making his Broadway debut, plays Daniel Kaffee, the young Navy lawyer assigned to defend them. Krysta Rodriguez takes the role of JoAnne Galloway, the officer who pushes the case beyond an easy resolution.
For Whitford, the revival is also a return to familiar ground. Before becoming known for The West Wing, he served as an understudy and replacement for Kaffee in the original Broadway production. Now he returns on the other side of the argument, as Jessep.
The 1989 play became an even bigger popular phenomenon through Sorkin’s 1992 film adaptation starring Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson and Demi Moore. The new production gives audiences a chance to encounter the material as live theater rather than as a collection of famous movie exchanges.
Arden, whose Broadway directing credits include Maybe Happy Ending, leads the revival. The story turns on a deceptively straightforward question: what happens when following orders becomes a defense for wrongdoing?
A Few Good Men is scheduled to run at the Vivian Beaumont Theater, 150 West 65th Street, through January 10, 2027. For performance details, see the Broadway League listing.
