Looking for a few good men

Producing a community theater drama may not be Marine Corps boot camp or standing guard at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, but for the River City Players it's still plenty of challenge.

For about six weeks, the Players have been rehearsing for tonight -- a night of powerful drama and high tension called "A Few Good Men." For the men -- and women -- of the theater troupe, the experience has been a test. Hours and hours of memorizing lines, consulting with actual military personnel and, of course, getting haircuts, will come to fruition tonight at 8 p.m.

The road hasn't been an easy one. Trials have plagued the group along the way, making "A Few Good Men" one of the most challenging plays the RCP has produced, possibly ever.

"This is actually the first night all the cast has been together at the same time," director Lloyd Williams, an RCP vet who has directed serious dramas before, like "12 Angry Jurors," said at the Wednesday night dress rehearsal.

If the performance delivered that night is any indication, it will make for a good production. There were some rough spots and a few dropped lines, but that's to be expected even just two nights before the show starts. The Players do have some factors going for them, though.

The drama is a powerful one, with great dialogue. The actors have a real passion for their parts, immersing themselves in the military culture and convincingly portraying duty- and honor-bound Marines. The costumes are authentic military. And, of course, there's the name recognition.

Many people remember the 1992 hit movie with Tom Cruise, Kiefer Sutherland, Kevin Bacon, Demi Moore and the unforgettable Jack Nicholson, who plays pseudo-villian Col. Nathan R. Jessup. The film is actually a screen adaptation of a play written by Aaron Sorkin.

The name recognition, said Williams, was the primary reason for choosing "A Few Good Men," along with the challenge. The production is fast moving, changing settings from Cuba to Washington, D.C. to a courtroom to the brig, all the while flashing back and forth in time. And, of course, the characters demand passion and commitment to make them seem like genuine military, something that's often a real challenge for civilians like the cast.

One of them is Seth Keith, who plays the fiery and pompous Jessep. Sitting at a table before the Wednesday rehearsal, Keith seems easy going, but that changes when he gets into character.

"Seth doesn't ever break character," says Bart Elfrink, who plays Jessep's enemy -- the also arrogant yet not as ambitious young military lawyer Lt. Daniel Kaffee. "That makes my job a lot easier."

Staying in character is easy, explains Keith.

"Jessep is an arrogant a**hole with a God complex, so it's not too far a stretch," said Keith.

Like most of the play's characters, Keith is portraying a Marine who lives by a simple yet rigid code -- unit, Corps, God, country. And he looks like a Marine. Keith has the high-and-tight haircut and wears fatigues and the scowling face of a trained killer.

He's not the only one. Matthew Heisserer gives a particularly Marine-like performance as Lance Cpl. Harold Dawson, one of the Marines accused in the murder of Pvt. William Santiago. Heisserer is all "yes, sir" and "no, sir," always bound by honor, duty and the chain of command.

"Unit, Corps, God, country."

His accomplice, Pfc. Louden Downey, played by a woman, Laura Turner, exudes the same orders-only, chain-of-command devotion, along with the extreme innocence of a simple teenager who can only take orders.

To achieve this effect, the players brought in real military personnel in the form of Navy men to show then how to move, march and speak. And costumer Lisa Letner worked to bring in military surplus uniforms to clothe the Marines and Navy.

For Keith, a first-timer in serious acting, the production has been a chance to live out a dream that was never realized. He tried numerous times to get into the military but couldn't for medical reasons.

But when he wears the uniform, Keith feels like authentic military.

"When you walk into a store or something and you're in costume, people look at you different," said Keith. "I looked in the mirror and was like 'Wow, that looks pretty good!'"

Steve Ruppel, who plays Lt. Sam Weinberg, said he looks forward to performing the play in front of military personnel, who will be in the audience for at least one performance.

Performing "A Few Good Men" has particular significance at a time when the country is at war, he said.

"It's interesting to me that they're taking such an interest in this play," said Ruppel. "I think the overall message is you've got to watch out for each other, soldiers and citizens alike."

The parts played by Ruppel and Elfrink are more civilian than soldier, even though they're military men. They make wisecracks and don't like to be addressed as sir -- nor do they have the Marine's sense of duty.

Elfrink's Kaffee is a Harvard law brat who wants nothing more than to plea bargain each case to pad his record. Ruppel's Weinberg is his easy-going partner.

That changes by the end, when they learn something about honor and justice, but the differences are glaring up to that point. Dawson and Kaffee clash when the Marine's code annoys the drunken lawyer.

But the biggest clash is between Jessep and the lawyers.

Jessep quotes the famous Shakespeare line, "First thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers," chock full of the irony that the line was spoken by a tyrant like Jessep in the first place.

In the courtroom, he berates Kaffee.

"We live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinberg?"

Of all the lawyers, including Marine Corps prosecutor Lt. Jack Ross, played by Kevin Alexander, the most military-like and honor-bound is Lt. Commander Joanne Galloway, played by Elfrink's wife Meredith.

Galloway seeks justice for the Marines, not just a plea deal, and subsequently clashes with Kaffee in scenes that are no doubt helped by the duo's husband and wife relationship.

The conflict between those with honor and those without, on both sides of the military-civilian divide, and the ambiguous definition of honor is really what makes "A Few Good Men" such a riveting drama. The good guys aren't all good and the bad guys not all bad, and all of them think they're doing the right thing.

The Players have run through their own gauntlet to pull off such a demanding play. When the curtain falls tonight and the drama is over, that's when the relief will set in.

"I'll feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders," said Williams.

msanders@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182