The production I am currently involved in as stage manager, A Few Good Men, opens tonight at the Spotlight Theatre in Swarthmore, PA.
Part of the power of the play is that the audience and protagonist Daniel Kaffee take the journey together. Ryan Mattox is charming and irreverent in the Tom Cruise role. Kaffee evolves over the length of the trial and Mattox is very convincing as he takes the character from casual involvement to a deeper understanding of his own responsibility to others. His counterpart, Joanne Galloway (Ally Batot) evolves in another direction, moving from nitpicky and intrusive to empowered. A takes a few good women too! Recasting the judge (Shanna Massad) as a woman was a nice touch.
“A Few Good Men” has a large cast with many interesting characters and it would be easy to point out outstanding moments from all of them. Nods to the coldly righteous Kendrick (Sean McDermott) and endearingly dim Downey (Brendon Thomas). And watching Randino Rosario present two memorable characters with hardly a breath between them was a real treat.
And a brief quote from a different review:
From the first marching roll calls that boom out from off stage, A FEW GOOD MEN drops the audience into the midst of the marines. Although they are military personnel, Kaffee and Galloway are outsiders, like us. The audience is drawn into the action through their eyes and the view is mesmerizing. Clean, well-paced staging keeps the Spotlight production running smoothly and the outcome is highly satisfying whether one is a long time fan of A FEW GOOD MEN, or a first time visitor to Guantanamo.
If you're in the area, come out and see the show: It runs this weekend, Friday and Saturday at 7 PM, matinee on Sunday at 2; and next Friday and Saturday, again at 7.
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