Pigs Eye Theatre - A Few Good Men: 'A Few Good Men' dissects military justice

A Few Good Men By Aaron Sorkin	Directed by Zach Curtis
May 23 - June 7, 2003 at Cedar Riverside People's Center

'A Few Good Men' dissects military justice

by Lisa Brock
Special to the Minneapolis Star Tribune

May 27th, 2003

When Aaron Sorkin's "A Few Good Men" opened on Broadway in 1989, it was an engrossing, well-crafted whodunit that revolved around some relatively arcane issues: the military presence at Guantanamo Bay, the conflict between civil defense and civil rights, the meaning of honor. But today, the debate that takes place onstage is mirrored in our national consciousness, and "A Few Good Men" takes on a heightened sense of urgency, as demonstrated in Pigs Eye Theatre's timely production of this military courtroom drama.

The play revolves around the murder trial of two Marines accused of killing a third during a hazing. Lt. Daniel Kaffee, the Navy-appointed defense lawyer, has made his reputation on plea bargains and makes it clear from the beginning that he is more interested in winning on the softball field than arguing in court. Yet spurred on by an insistent lieutenant commander to seek justice for his clients, he begins to uncover a conspiracy that challenges the very notion of military honor and the chain of command. The play culminates in a battle of wills between Kaffee and Nathan Jessup, the ambitious Marine lieutenant colonel in charge of the Guantanamo Bay base.

Sorkin, perhaps best known as the writer for the TV series "The West Wing," communicates the issues of this play with his trademark sharp-edged dialogue and revealing juxtapositions of characters and scenes. Director Zach Curtis follows suit by keeping this spare production focused on the central debate. One scene moves briskly into another as the action shifts in time and locale. A staccato pace, stark lighting and a ubiquitous soundscape of marching chants all combine to evoke a powerful sense of the almost claustrophobic military mind-set that the play explores.

Michael Lee gleefully captures Kaffee's careless cynicism about his job, and does a credible job of conveying the lawyer's transformation during the course of the play. He is nicely counterbalanced by Stacia Rice, whose Lt. Cmdr. Joanne Galloway is full of righteous indignation and steely resolve. Rice, the only woman in the show, skillfully tempers Galloway's comically ramrod sense of duty with a genuine desire for justice.

Alex Cole is testosterone in action as the domineering Nathan Jessup, who allows his adherence to the Marine code of unit-corps-God-country to blind him to his own immorality. Other standouts in the cast include Steve Lattery, who creates a multidimensional portrait as a lance corporal palpably searching for the meaning of honor, and Mike Postle in a delightfully earnest comic turn as a witness at the trial.

This is an able and compelling production that may send a few chills down your spine as it explores the dynamic between the military and the society that it is charged with defending.

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