A Few Good Men (play)
A Few Good Men is a play by Aaron Sorkin, first produced on Broadway by David Brown in 1989. It tells the story of military lawyers at a court-martial who uncover a high-level conspiracy in the course of defending their clients, two United States Marines accused of murder.
It opened on Broadway at the Music Box Theatre in New York on November 15, 1989, in a production directed by Don Scardino, with Tom Hulce as LTJG Kaffee, Megan Gallagher as LCDR Joanne Galloway, and Stephen Lang as Col. Jessep. Michael O'Hare replaced Lang as Jessep later in the run.
Sorkin adapted his work into a screenplay for the 1992 film of the same name.
Summary
The play takes place after the death of US Marine Private Santiago as the result of an ill-advised, and extrajudicial, punishment labeled a "Code Red" at a US naval base in Guantánamo Bay. Private Downey and Lance Corporal Dawson are the two Marines put on trial for the murder of Santiago.The two men are assigned a lawyer, US Navy Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee. Kaffee is an unmotivated lawyer who goes into his cases looking for a plea bargain and the shortest sentence. He seems to be following that path until US Navy Lieutenant Commander Jo Galloway makes an appearance in Guantanamo Bay. Kaffee and Galloway do not see eye to eye as she believes this is a serious case of misconduct while Kaffee cannot be bothered to find out anything more than the bare facts. He even goes as far as trying to drop the case.
Santiago had reported witnessing a guard illegally fire his gun at night while off the base, and, therefore, the "Code Red" was nothing more than retaliation for reporting the shooting: it seemed to be a clear-cut case of two men trying to cover up a mistake and eliminate a loose end. In the course of investigating, Galloway and Kaffee learn that Santiago's effort had been substandard for a Marine stationed at Guantanamo. After Galloway finally convinces Kaffee to make an effort, they spend much of the play prodding information from both men—they will not give information without a clear question—revealing that they had been ordered to discipline Santiago, but it had gone wrong due to an unknown medical condition suffered by Santiago.
This all leads up to the climax as Kaffee finally has all the information he needs. Kaffee goes for the two head men at the camp, Col. Jessep and 2nd Lt. Kendrick. Kaffee puts Jessep in a corner, first establishing that all orders must be followed to the letter, then questioning Jessups' statement that Santiago was in danger: if all orders are followed, and Jessup ordered Santiago not to be touched, then how could he be in danger? Finally, Jessep explodes with rage and yells, "You can't handle the truth!" This leaves the courtroom stunned and Jessep being charged with the murder of Private Santiago and escorted out of the courtroom. But this was not the end as Dawson and Downey were found not guilty of murder but were dishonorably discharged for conduct unbecoming a Marine.
Characters
Daniel A. Kaffee - The main lawyer who defends both Dawson and Downey. He starts as a plea-bargain-happy lawyer and, with help from Joanne Galloway, he develops into a lawyer who is willing to fight for his clients.Pfc. Louden Downey - one of the two men accused of the murder of Santiago. He is the quiet member of the two soldiers and lets Cpl. Dawson do the talking for him.
LCDR Joanne Galloway - a hardworking and determined lawyer who finds and brings light to the murder case.
Capt. Isaac Whitaker - the commanding officer in Washington. He sends Galloway to Guantanamo Bay.
Lt. Jack Ross - the lawyer who oversees prosecuting Dawson and Downey.
Capt. Matthew A. Markinson - worked with Jessep and suggested moving Santiago.
Lt. Col. Nathan R. Jessep - the commanding officer in Guantanamo Bay. He ordered the "Code Red" of Private Santiago.
LCpl. Harold W. Dawson - one of the two men accused of the murder of Private Santiago.
1Lt Jonathan James Kendrick - Santiago's platoon commander.
Play
Sorkin got the idea for the play from a phone conversation with his sister Deborah, who had graduated from Boston University Law School and was serving a three-year stint with the Navy Judge Advocate General's Corps. She was going to Guantanamo Bay Naval Base to defend a group of Marines who had come close to killing a fellow Marine in a hazing ordered by a superior officer. Sorkin took that information and wrote much of his story on cocktail napkins during the first act of the musical La Cage aux Folles while bartending at the Palace Theatre on Broadway.Several former Navy JAG lawyers have been proposed as the model for the character of Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee, USN, JAG Corps. These include Donald Marcari, David Iglesias, and Walter Bansley III. The court martial was Macari's first big court case. However, in a statement released by his spokeswoman, Sorkin said, "The character of Dan Kaffee in A Few Good Men is entirely fictional and was not inspired by any particular individual."
Once Sorkin completed a draft, his theatrical agent sent it to producer David Brown, who wanted the film rights. Sorkin sold Brown the rights, getting Brown to agree to also produce A Few Good Men as a play.
Premieres
A Few Good Men had its world premiere at the Heritage Repertory Theatre at the University of Virginia's Department of Drama on September 19, 1989. It then transferred to the Kennedy Center.The original Broadway stage production opened at the Music Box Theatre in New York on November 15, 1989, in a production directed by Don Scardino, designed by Ben Edwards, and with music by John Gromada. It starred Tom Hulce as LTJG Kaffee; Megan Gallagher as LCDR JoAnne Galloway; Clark Gregg as Lt. Jack Ross; Stephen Lang as Col. Jessep, and Robert Hogan as Capt. Matthew A. Markinson. Replacement actors included Timothy Busfield and Bradley Whitford as Lt. Jack Ross, Perry King, Michael O'Hare, and Ron Perlman as Jessep, and Pamela Blair as Galloway. Joshua Malina also appeared. Malina went on to reprise his role in the movie adaption.
The production ran for 497 performances.
Other performances
A Spanish-language production titled Hombres de Honor opened on January 10, 1991, at the Ferré Performing Arts Center in Puerto Rico, starring Cordelia González and Rafo Muñiz, directed by Pablo Cabrera.A national touring company performed through 1992 with Michael O'Keefe as LTJG Kaffee, Alyson Reed as LCDR Galloway, and Paul Winfield as the judge.
In January 1993 A Few Good Men had its premiere in German language at the Volkstheater, Vienna, Austria. In the following years this production went on tour and was shown all over Germany, Switzerland and Austria.
A revival of the play starring Rob Lowe in the role of LTJG Kaffee, Suranne Jones as LCDR Galloway, and John Barrowman as Capt. Ross opened at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, London, in late August 2005 for preview showings followed by a three-month run in early September 2005. The stage show was directed by David Esbjornson.
In 2006, the Hudson Shakespeare Company of New Jersey staged a production as part of their second stage for modern shows. The tour was presented in city courtrooms, directed by Jon Ciccarelli and featured notable New York City actors such as Jon Crefeld as LTJG Kaffee and Charles J. Roby as Col. Jessup.
Jensen Ackles appeared as LTJG Kaffee alongside Lou Diamond Phillips as Col. Jessep in a production of the play at the Casa Mañana Theatre, in Fort Worth, Texas, June 5–10, 2007.
It has also been performed in London, Oxford, and Portsmouth by amateur groups.
A Hungarian production of the play was performed at Madách Szinház, Budapest. It was directed by Imre Kerényi, starring Sándor Czvetkó, Éva Kerekes, and Gábor Koncz.
By the Book Theatre produced the play November 25, 2014, to December 6, 2014 at the McManus Studio Theatre, London, Ontario. The production won 4 Brickenden Awards including Outstanding Drama.
June 30, 2016, marked the opening of the Warehouse Studio Theatre production at The Noho Arts Center under the direction of Tony Pauletto and starring K. C. Clyde as Kaffee alongside Dennis LaValle as Jessup and Sarah Klein as Galloway.
In March 2016, NBC announced its intent to broadcast a live television production of A Few Good Men, starring Alec Baldwin as Col. Jessup, in the second quarter of 2018, with a teleplay adapted by Sorkin from his original script. The broadcast would be executive produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, and patterned upon NBC's ongoing series of live Broadway musicals. However, NBC has yet to announce an airdate. Variety reported that the availability of Sorkin, Zadan, and Meron may have had an impact, noting that Sorkin had to represent his 2017 film Molly's Game during awards season, while Zadan and Meron were committed to other projects being produced by NBC in lieu of Bye Bye Birdie, which had been delayed multiple times in order to accommodate Jennifer Lopez's other projects. Zadan died on August 20, 2018, at the age of 69.