"A Few Good Men," the Aaron Sorkin courtroom drama that later became the Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson film built around the line "you can't handle the truth," began Broadway previews on October 8 in the play's first Broadway revival since its original run launched Sorkin's career 37 years ago.
Lincoln Center Theater's production, staged at the Vivian Beaumont Theater, stars Bradley Whitford as Col. Nathan R. Jessep and Tom Blyth, making his Broadway debut, as Lt. Daniel Kaffee. The full cast also includes Krysta Rodriguez as Lt. Cmdr. JoAnne Galloway and Michael Oberholtzer as Capt. Jack Ross, with Tony winner Michael Arden directing.
Sorkin's play premiered on Broadway at the Music Box Theatre on November 2, 1989, produced by David Brown, before the 1992 film adaptation, directed by Rob Reiner, turned the story of a Marine court-martial into a cultural touchstone. Lincoln Center's staging is billed as the first time the play has returned to Broadway in the nearly four decades since.
The play follows Kaffee, a Navy lawyer, as he defends two Marines charged with murder after a hazing order at Guantanamo Bay goes wrong, building to a cross-examination of Jessep that became one of the most quoted courtroom scenes in American pop culture once the film version arrived three years after the play opened. Lincoln Center's casting leans on that history: Whitford, best known to television audiences for "The West Wing" and "Get Out," now plays the officer on the other side of the interrogation table from the role he originated.
Whitford has a personal history with the material: he appeared in the original 1989 Broadway cast as Lt. Jack Ross, the role now played opposite him by Oberholtzer. The creative team rounds out with scenic designer Dane Laffrey, costume designer Alejo Vietti, lighting designer Japhy Weideman and original music by Gabriel Mann.
The production is in previews now, with opening night set for October 29, when reviews from major outlets are expected to follow. The limited engagement is scheduled to run through January 10, 2027, giving Broadway audiences roughly three months to see Sorkin's breakout play back on the stage where, more than Hollywood's version of it, it first found an audience.
