Save this story Save Story Save this story Before it was an Oscar-nominated drama starring Tom Cruise, Demi Moore, Kevin Bacon, and Jack Nicholson, A Few Good Men premiered on Broadway in 1989, helping to launch the career of its playwright, a 20-something Aaron Sorkin, into the stratosphere. Now, nearly four decades later, the work has returned to the Main Stem, directed by six-time Tony Award winner Michael Arden.
The work—a thrilling study of military honor, institutional might, and a dauntless pursuit of the truth—is now brought to life by Tom Blyth, who makes his Broadway debut as Daniel Kaffee, the brash Navy lawyer portrayed by Cruise onscreen. Initially more interested in negotiating a convenient settlement than fighting for justice, Kaffee finds himself drawn into a trial involving two young Marines accused of killing a fellow serviceman after carrying out an illegal order. In so doing, he gets to know the darker side of the Corps.
For Blyth, who broke out on film in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, the play pushed him into new territory. “I’m excited. My whole career so far has been about testing myself and trying to do things I’ve not done yet,” the Juilliard-trained British actor told Vogue on the red carpet. “To be totally transparent, the first couple of weeks were terrifying, but I’ve learned that if I mess up, I’ve got to keep going. Quite literally, the show must go on. It’s the most invigorating way to act, and it makes you a better screen actor as well. If you can do this, you’re infinitely better on screen.”
As for how he’s managed to put Cruise’s charismatic interpretation of the role out of his mind, Blyth has developed a playful pre-show ritual. “I walk into the house every night just before it opens and I say, ‘This is my fucking house!’” he said with a laugh. “I have to do Jedi mind tricks like that to remind myself that this is mine, and nobody else’s.”
But if Cruise himself were to turn up in the audience? Blyth would hardly shy away from the opportunity to meet him. “Oh my God, are you kidding me? Any young actor who comes face-to-face with Tom Cruise should be lucky to hear what he has to say,” he said. “For someone with a career of that magnitude, I’d welcome his feedback. I love being told where I messed up and how I can get better.”
Photo: Emilio Madrid Bradley Whitford’s relationship with A Few Good Men dates back to the original production, in which he made his Broadway debut. Initially an understudy, Whitford eventually took over the role of Kaffee; now, he co-stars as Colonel Jessep, the ruthless commanding officer immortalized onscreen by Nicholson. Believing his duty to protect the country places him above the law, Jessep sits at the center of the play’s moral struggle.
“It never occurred to me that it was a possibility to do this play again,” Whitford told Vogue. “The minute it came up, I was like, ‘Oh my God, yeah, I want to do it.’ I got a call from Aaron, who was incredibly sweet about it. He said, ‘I really want you to do this. But you can say no.’ And I was like, ‘I really want to do this!’”
Photo: Emilio Madrid Of course, playing Jessep also comes with the thrill of delivering one of the more iconic lines in movie history—“You can’t handle the truth”—though it has its complications. “It’s really fun. There’s often a verbal excitement from the audience, followed by applause,” Whitford said. “We’ve realized we don’t want that because then you don’t hear the next thing.”
He continued: “My delivery of the line is meant to be different every night. Honestly, I hope I’m not the kind of actor who decides how a performance should be and then executes it. Those kinds of actors kind of bore me. I don’t always do it, but the magic sauce is when you get played, not when you’re delivering a preconceived notion.”
As Lieutenant Commander JoAnne Galloway, Krysta Rodriguez brings a steely sense of conviction to the proceedings. A principled and determined advocate, Galloway recognizes that the case is about far more than the fate of two defendants. She understands that following orders and doing what is right are not always one and the same—a distinction that becomes increasingly difficult to overlook as the courtroom drama unfolds.
But in a Sorkin production, getting the words out is a feat in itself: the pace is quick, and characters frequently interrupt themselves or each other. “It feels like you’re going on a roller-coaster. I have about 2,500 lines in the show, and in the beginning it was daunting because we try to get the lines word-perfect,” Rodriguez said. “When you get it right, you feel like you’re on top and you get that rush. And it’s a fist-pump in the air. But once you get it in your body, it does so much work for you.”
Photo: Emilio Madrid Sorkin drew inspiration for the play’s story from his sister, a Navy lawyer, who told him about a case of Marine violence at the U.S. military base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, involving a young private who nearly died during a hazing incident. At the time, Sorkin was a struggling playwright working as a bartender at the Palace Theatre to make ends meet. During performances of La Cage aux Folles, he used his downtime to jot down ideas on cocktail napkins for what would eventually become A Few Good Men.
Photo: Emilio Madrid On Thursday night, the glittering crowd for its revival included Rachel Zegler, Heated Rivalry star François Arnaud, Bernadette Peters, designer Todd Snyder, Kate Walsh, Constance Wu, and Anna Wintour. Several of Whitford’s former co-stars from The West Wing were also in attendance, including Janel Moloney and Richard Schiff. (Allison Janney, another West Wing alum, is currently starring in a Broadway revival of her own: Jon Robin Baitz’s Other Desert Cities. )
After the curtain call, guests made their way to Tavern on the Green for a lavish afterparty. Blyth was greeted with congratulatory hugs from well-wishers including Arnaud, who is set to make his own Broadway debut in Three Days of Rain next March. As Sorkin worked the room and Whitford caught up with Moloney, other partygoers mingled over mini prime beef sliders, fries, buffalo chicken, and an assortment of Chinese dishes, including dumplings and fried rice.
By midnight, guests were beginning to filter out into the New York night. The Champagne may have stopped flowing, but the questions at the heart of A Few Good Men —about honor, accountability, and the price of doing what is right—remain as provocative as ever.
Expand Photo: Jenny Anderson 1/31 Bradley Whitford
Expand Photo: Emilio Madrid 2/31 Krysta Rodriguez
Expand Photo: Emilio Madrid 3/31 Tom Blyth
Expand Photo: Emilio Madrid 4/31 Aaron Sorkin
Expand Photo: Emilio Madrid 5/31 Michael Arden, Lear DeBessonet
27 Ridiculously Easy Couples Costume Ideas for Halloween Olivia Colman and Alexander Skarsgård Talk Swedish Meatballs, Amy Winehouse, and Dropping Trou in the Latest Off the Cuff Expand Photo: Emilio Madrid 6/31 Michael Arden, Krysta Rodriguez, Tom Blyth, Bradley Whitford
Expand Photo: Emilio Madrid 7/31 Rachel Zegler
Expand Photo: Laurel Hinton 8/31 Tom Sorce, Bernadette Peters
Expand Photo: Emilio Madrid 9/31 François Arnaud
Expand Photo: Emilio Madrid 10/31 Yvonne Strahovski and François Arnaud
Expand Photo: Emilio Madrid 11/31 Constance Wu
Expand Photo: Laurel Hinton 12/31 Brian Stokes Mitchell, Allyson Tucker
27 Ridiculously Easy Couples Costume Ideas for Halloween Olivia Colman and Alexander Skarsgård Talk Swedish Meatballs, Amy Winehouse, and Dropping Trou in the Latest Off the Cuff Expand Photo: Laurel Hinto 14/31 Amy Landecker
Expand Photo: Emilio Madrid 15/31 Arian Moayed
Expand Photo: Emilio Madrid 16/31 Kate Walsh
Expand Photo: Emilio Madrid 17/31 Lynn Nottage,
Expand Photo: Laurel Hinton 18/31 Katori Hall
Expand Photo: Emilio Madrid 19/31 Martyna Majok
Expand Photo: Laurel Hinton 20/31 John Behlmann
Expand Photo: Laurel Hinton 21/31 Beth Malone
Olivia Colman and Alexander Skarsgård Talk Swedish Meatballs, Amy Winehouse, and Dropping Trou in the Latest Off the Cuff 27 Ridiculously Easy Couples Costume Ideas for Halloween Expand Photo: Laurel Hinton 22/31 Sarah Drew
Expand Photo: Laurel Hinton 23/31 Lilli Cooper
Expand Photo: Emilio Madrid 24/31 John Gallagher, Jr.
Expand Photo: Getty Images 25/31 Clint Ramos
Expand 26/31 Bradley Whitford and Aaron Sorkin
Expand Photo: Emilio Madrid 27/31 The cast of A Few Good Men
Expand Photo: Michaelah Reynolds 28/31 Expand Photo: Emilio Madrid 29/31 John Zdrojeski and Sara Chase
Olivia Colman and Alexander Skarsgård Talk Swedish Meatballs, Amy Winehouse, and Dropping Trou in the Latest Off the Cuff 27 Ridiculously Easy Couples Costume Ideas for Halloween Expand Photo: Michaelah Reynolds 30/31 Krysta Rodriguez and Jeremy Jordan
Expand Photo: Michaelah Reynolds 31/31 Janel Moloney and Bradley Whitford
Who Shows Up—and Who Vanishes—When Your Kid Is in Trouble?
25 of the Coziest, Most Autumnal Movies to Watch This Fall
9 Adorable Photos of a (Very) Young Michael B. Jordan
Listen to The Run-Through with Vogue , a weekly podcast featuring the most exciting stories and hot takes from the worlds of culture, politics, sports and–of course–fashion
The Vogue Runway app has expanded! Update to the latest version to see all Vogue content, as well as new features like our Runway Genius quiz, Group Chats, and posts from Vogue contributors.
Become a Vogue Business Member —the ultimate resource for fashion and beauty industry professionals.
Never miss a story: Add Vogue.com to your preferred sources in Google.
Source: Lifestyle
0 Comments