PFC William Santiago was murdered by Lance Corporal Harold Dawson, and PFC Louden Downey. L.T.’s Kaffee and Weinberg have been assigned to defend Dawson and Louden, who refuse to elaborate on the incident, or speak up on their behalf. Lt. Commander Joanne Galloway has been dispatched to observe the trial, and (by design or not) is something of an interloper. She’s the only female, asking questions that men on their own, would simply understand. As the story unwinds, we realize that Dawson and Louden probably didn’t intend to kill Santiago, but only enact punitive orders. Orders that came from on high. We also learn that refusing commands on a Marine Base would be an anomaly.
Is it safe to assume that some of the guys who signed up to be Marines, were doing so as part of maleculture? As far as we’ve come, since the time when boys were obliged to defend their manhood, decades of indoctrination still linger. The unspoken message that your most valuable asset was at risk. Always. The attraction of becoming a U.S. Marine was an infallible path to manhood. Nothing to figure out, just listen and obey. The result is soldiers who are automatons. Virility at the cost of humanity.
Aaron Sorkin’s (a playwright known for meticulous scripts ) A Few Good Men imagines an event that calls all this into question. Santiago is unable to fulfill the physical demands of his commitment. Though he’s made a good faith effort. He tries to respect the chain of command, only to find his legitimate pleas ignored. Therein lies the hypocrisy of the code. He’s punished for finally, desperately going over his superiors’ heads, when their judgment is colored by contempt. They throw him to the deep end, not caring if he drowns. A Few Good Men explores the Draconian, poisonous demands men impose on each other, for the sake of defending an abstraction. An archetype.
Janette Oswald has managed a cast of 17 (count them) 17 actors. How the hell did she do it? Sorkin’s dialogue requires cunning and sophisticated timing. Breakneck pace. And Oswald makes it happen. The officers who have some discretion when it comes to expressing identity and character, and the poor underlings, who must live to serve, and serve to live. Oswald does justice to Sorkin’s venture into the fierce realm of malehood, with all its implications. The cast members are sharp, smart and measured. Not afraid to take risks, or appear mean spirited. Their grim, oppressed demeanor is heartbreaking. Come and see this powerful production, that will pull you and not let go.
Richardson Theatre Centre presents A Few Good Men, playing October 14th-30th, 2022. 518 West Arapaho Road, Richardson, Texas 75080. 972-699-1130.richardsontheatrecentre.net