‘Cracking-Good Courtroom Drama’ at Holmdel Theatre Co.

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By Philip Dorian
Summer, 1986. A callow, young Navy lawyer is assigned to defend two Marines who killed a fellow Marine during a hazing (Code Red) incident at the Marine base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (Gitmo).
For reasons soon revealed, Base Commander Lt. Col. Nathan R. Jessup does not want the whole story told, and what appeared to be an open-and-shut, plea-bargained court martial begets a vigorous defense and a dramatic trial.
It would be unfair, of course, to compare a community theater production of Aaron Sorkin’s “A Few Good Men” to the movie, every second of which is perfection. It’s also impossible not to.
It must also be difficult for actors to avoid imitating the film performances. Ironically, among the effective performances at Holmdel Theatre Company are a few that mimic the film’s most accurately.
Take Dave Murray’s Lt. Kendrick, the Bible-thumping adjutant whose illegal order (at the behest of his colonel) results in the tormented Marine’s death. It took me a couple minutes to go from surprise at Murray’s replication to respect for how well he does it. Kendrick is as scary here as in the movie. The defendants, Dawson and Downey, faithfully portrayed by Timothy Cary and Ross Pohling, are also right out of the film. Imitation and creativity need not always be at odds.
Casting against the movie types also works. The prosecutor, Lt. Ross, played well by Bill King, is older here, which shifts the opposing attorneys’ relationship from friendly competition to paternal concern and eventual admiration. And diversity is served by the casting of Carmen Balentine as the corporal who just “follows the crowd to the mess hall.” His scene is excellent.
Attempting to channel Lt. Col. Jessup, the movie’s most iconic performance, would be a fool’s errand. To his credit, James Walsh’s bluster is his own, and the final scene where Jessup is brought down, resonates. As Capt. Markinson, who cannot live with his complicity, David Sussman is precisely right in appearance and demeanor.
The scenario’s tension escalates as the defense team of Naval Lt. Daniel Kaffee (Dave Duncan), Lt. Sam Weinberg (Bobby Marusiefski) and Lt. Cmdr. Joanne Galloway (Kristin Barber) builds its case. Duncan overacts Kaffee’s flippancy at the start, but Kaffee’s lawyerly attributes emerge as the story develops. Marusiefski is laid-back as the second-chair counsel, whose being Jewish is a factor in Jessup’s disdain.
The sole female, Lt. Cmdr. Galloway, brings the distaff point of view to the plight of the defendants. Ms. Barber could be more assertive, but her Joanne serves the play. (Wisely, Holmdel scuttled plans to cast a woman as one of the defendants.)
Brian Remo’s direction is efficient, although too many pertinent dramatic moments are tossed off and diluted by blackouts that are a beat early throughout.
Tina Pfefferkorn’s workable set places Kaffee’s and Jessup’s offices in the upstage corners, leaving the foreground available for the centerpiece trial.
People familiar with the movie will enjoy revisiting the story played out live. (The play preceded the movie; the Broadway production was, in fact, a condition imposed by Sorkin on the sale of the movie rights.)
Theatergoers new to “A Few Good Men” are in for a treat: Holmdel’s is a faithful staging of a cracking-good courtroom drama.
“A Few Good Men:” Through Aug. 9 at Holmdel Theatre Company, 36 Crawfords Corner Road, Holmdel (on the Holmdel High School campus). Performance: 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; and 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $22; $17 seniors; and $12 students. www.holmdeltheatrecompany.org.