With the Democrats sweeping the midterms and declaring “America is back,” Aaron Sorkin’s A Few Good Men, performed in 1989 and made into a superb titular film in 1992, starring Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson deserves revisiting. At the heart of the exciting courtroom drama unfolds the theme of following orders, regardless of their legality. Furthermore, what does it take to stop the type of corrupt culture that promotes following illegal orders into criminal acts?

The answer is, “a few good men.” Thus, for wickedness and corruption to flourish, good people do nothing to stop it. Sorkin’s early work with its trenchant themes, prescient and applicable for us today, has been given an update at Lincoln Center’s Vivian Beaumont and runs through January 10, 2027.

For the Marines in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and indeed for military units everywhere, following orders is an imperative, presuming the orders are lawful. However, the oath that LCpl Harold W. Dawson (Lavel Schley) and PFC Louden Downey (Collin Kelly-Sordelt) uphold to “Unit, Corps, God, Country” which involves a “Code Red” gets them tried for murder. When they followed orders, PFC William T. Santiago dies. The question remains whether or not they poisoned him to get revenge, or Santiago died accidentally as they followed orders to train him with an illegal “Code Red,” which they should have disobeyed. Especially in the military, illegal orders must not be obeyed as the military abides by their oath not to a man, but to the law, i.e. the Constitution.

Interestingly, the commanding officers of the JAG Corp (Judge Advocate General’s Corps) responsible for military justice, bypass the highly competent Internal Affairs LCDR Joanne Galloway (Krysta Rodrguez) as Dawson and Downey’s defense attorney. This fact, clues in the cover-up and network of men “turning a blind eye to justice” to protect LtCol Nathan R. Jessep (Bradley Whitford), who runs his base as his own private loyalty compound.

If Galloway, a highly organized, efficient advocate defends the men, her prior MO suggests she will leave no stone unturned to achieve justice. Possibly, this will involve a lengthy trial and negative publicity for the defendants, their officers and the base. Also, it may wreck Jessup’s chances at a plum promotion, since he most probably will land the position of Director of Operations for the National Security Council after his imminent retirement.

With Jessup in mind, JAG officers assign the case to LTJG Daniel Kaffee (Tom Blyth), a cavalier, unserious, trial novice with a penchant to defend soldiers using plea bargains and quick fixes with bravado. He avoids the inside of a courtroom, having never tried a case. Furthermore, he makes it known he joined the military to pay off his student loans. Thus, his ego permits him to do his job, but he has fun playing sports with the other JAG officers more, and obeys the rules not incurring a court-martial. Tom Blyth inhabits the evolving Kaffee believably.

Sorkin structured his information-dense and complex play to gradually uncover the underlying corruption of the men at the top. Thus, without giving key information, Sorkin builds his arc of development layer by layer, withholding details and creating suspense. Importantly, the playwright with nuance dicloses the egos, the ambitions, the feelings of inferiority and the shame of various characters. The excellent lead actors (Blyth, Rodriguez, Whitford, Michael Oberholtzer as prosecuting attorney Jack Ross and malevolent John Zdrojeski as 1stLt Jonathan Kendrick) pinpoint the internal flaws and interpersonal conflicts among the individuals.

As the various characters become enlightened and the villains panicked, the audience remains engaged. Invested with the questions of justice and accountability, the passed over Galloway provokes Kaffee’s pride and ambition to realize the case deserves more than a guilty plea. Meanwhile, his client Dawson refuses an admission of guilt falling back on the “following orders” defense (used at the Nuremberg trials by Nazis). With the forceful Galloway taking Downey’s defense after manipulating his relative, Galloway and LTJG Sam Weinberg (Nick Blaemire), Kaffee pursues true justice. However,, as happens in a morally corrupt social network, the officials will trap the “small fry” while the “big fish” swim free to create more havoc. The parallels to the present are thematically, horrifically clear.

As antagonists, Kaffee and Galloway continually spar. Rodriguez’s Galloway struggles to be heard amongst the men and proves she is more than one of them. First, they argue about whether the case goes to tria,l with Kaffee’s friend Sam counseling him. Then, at a turning point, Kaffee decides to come on board and they consider how best to provide a viable defense. Identifying crucial information via Galloway’s questions and expertise, it appears they’ve succeeded until at the last minute, their successes blow up with an unsalvageable failure by Galloway. Because the mistake forces Kaffee to rethink his approach, he eventually discovers an unimpeachable line of inquiry.

Kaffee and Jessup’s conflict of egos threads throughout becoming the linchpin of how Kaffee decides he will defend the men in a courtroom. The final turning point arrives when Kaffee must stand alone risking his career and future to confront the only witness who can free the men since Maj Matthew Markinson (Thom Sesma) commits suicide. But that involves getting Jessup to testify against himself.

Clearly, Sorkin’s characterizations reveal how their weaknesses lead to the death of an individual and a potential miscarriage of justice. Of course the justice warranted involves true accountability and not yes men lifting up a potentially dangerous leader to a position of power where he will do even more harm. Finally, Jessup’s arrogance honed over the years through unquestioned power and twisted mores hoists him on his own petard with Kaffee’s help. Bradley Whitford nails Jessup as a match for Blyth’s Kaffee.

The high points resonate crafted by director Michael Arden’s acute judgment regarding the staging amidst Dane Laffreey’s symbolic, stylized set design. Laffrey’s design, and lighting design by Japhy Weideman convey stark, warm, frightening, etc., atmospheres to accompany the changing mood and tone of various scenes. Joshua D. Reid’s sound design aptly enhances. Arden makes sure to use the cavernous stage. For example he places Markinson on scaffolding (in the airport scene) distant, above the men who eventually confront each other down below in the courtroom during the trial.

Symbolically, as a key witness, Markinson alone can exonerate the men. His final choice reveals sacrifice, loyalty and duty; his actions reveal just enough to lead Kaffee to make his decision about how to best pressure and confront Jessup. The final scene between them culminates into a satisfactory conclusion. At the close the superb, symbolic lighting clearly points what we must undertand to be black and white.

The creatives do a fine job to convey the shadowy world of the military that civilians do not easily comprehend. The opening line of soldiers emerge from the darkness into the light with their rifles doing maneuvers. The flag draped coffin transfixes as one Marine folds the flag. Symbolically, the memorial signifies outfitted Marines stand at the ready like sentinels moving the fallen from one world to the next. Additionally, Arden features the soldiers in shadow, backlit or with their backs to the audience, anonymously everpresent, to be respected. Theirs is an austere world with rules and mores, Arden suggests. His creative vision all the more strengthens the moral imperatives and questions Sorkin raises. The director masterfully highlights these, shepheding a fine ensemble and creatives. This memorable production gives a sounding of the current leadership of the military and its commander-in-chief.

A Few Good Men runs 2 hous 35 minutes with one intermission through January 10, 2027 at the Vivan Beaumont Theater lct.org.