ALEXANDRIA — An iconic movie that originally started as a hit on Broadway is coming to the Andria Theatre. “A Few Good Men” will open on Thursday, March 13.

The script, according to the show’s director, Allen Alvig, is a little different than the movie.

“It was originally written for the stage,” said Alvig. “But the movie folks bought the rights to do the movie and of course, their screenwriters changed a few things from the original play script.”

A fun fact that Alvig shared is that after the movie came out in 1992, the screenwriter, Aaron Sorkin, thought that some parts of the movie that were adapted for the movie made sense and so he went back and rewrote some of the play’s script.

The story is about the trial of two U.S. Marines who were charged in the murder of a fellow Marine and how their lawyer expects a plea bargain. However, after he is prodded by a female member of his defense team, the lawyer ends up making a valiant effort to defend his clients, according to the Andria Theatre’s website.

It was also noted that the production, with approval, has altered some adult language. The show does include mature themes and language.

Big footsteps to follow

Directing such an iconic show is both easy and hard, said Alvig. The movie, he noted, has some top-notch actors in it who do a superlative job interpreting their roles. Because of this, his cast has some pretty big footsteps to follow.

“There are some real challenges to do a unique presentation and not just copy what they did in the movie,” Alvig said. “But, I have a pretty talented cast and they’re basically striking out in their own direction, which is good.”

But he also said that when he sees them going in a direction that he feels will not be productive over time, he will stop and redirect them.

Alvig said his hope is that they end up with a show that people might say is just like the movie, or maybe people will think that some parts of the play were not part of the movie but that they really liked those parts.

The show he is producing follows the storyline of the movie fairly closely, but Alvig said there are a few remarkable departures.

His cast is a mixture of both veteran actors who have been in a number of shows and some who are kind of “getting their feet wet” for the first time.

One of the actors Alvig said he has been impressed with is Kyle Pietrowski, who plays the role of Lt. J.g. Daniel A. Kaffee.

“I was kind of on his case earlier on, telling him he can’t be a prisoner of the way the words are printed on the page,” said Alvig. “He has taken that to heart and has really started to make the role of Kaffee his own.”

The cast as a whole has been doing a really great job, he said.

Playing a lead role is a big commitment

When Pietrowski auditioned for “A Few Good Men,” he said he was just auditioning for any role. It didn’t really matter which part he got and that he was just happy to help the theater anyway he could.

When asked what it has been like being cast in the lead role – a role played by legendary actor Tom Cruise – Pietrowski said it’s a lot.

“I’ve been put into large roles before without auditioning for them, but nothing near this scale,” he said. “I have more lines in this show than I did in all of my previous shows combined.”

Even though he said it is a lot and a big commitment, Pietrowski said he has been enjoying it. He likes that he has a challenging role and said he has never acted in a straight show like this one. He has always done either comedies or musicals.

“It’s been fun to test out my acting chops in something a little bit more serious,” said Pietrowski.

Describing his character, Pietrowski said Kaffee has just graduated from law school and that he’s only been in the Navy for nine months. He is only in the Navy, he said, because his dad was in the Navy.

“He (Kaffee) doesn’t really care about anything that’s going on until he suddenly gets tossed into this big murder investigation,” Pietrowski said, noting that his character was just kind of breezing through life before that.

He also said that people should see the play because it is a fantastic and iconic show.

Missing the arts

Paul Greene, who recently moved back to Glenwood from the Fargo-Moorhead area, said he decided to try out for “A Few Good Men” because he wanted to get involved in something.

“It’s something creative that I can do,” he said. “And because I miss the arts.”

Greene was cast into the role of Pfc. Louden Downey, who is one of the two men on trial for the murder of a fellow Marine. He said Downey is a follower and looks up to his squad leader. His character is not the most outgoing, he said, and that when his squad leader is not around, Downey is trying to figure out who he is and how he is going to be.

Although he hasn’t seen the movie for a long time, Greene said he chose not to watch it after he was cast in the play.

“I didn’t want to watch it again because I wanted things to happen organically,” he said. “I didn’t want to watch the actor playing my role in the film because I would think that I should do things this way or that way. Instead, I wanted my character to come from my own sense of interpretation.”

Greene believes people should see the show not just because it is iconic, but because there is relevance in the story related to what really is right from wrong when it comes to bullying and also the battle of the sexes.

“It’s about how we look at our own morals compared to someone else telling us what our morals should be,” he said.

Cast of "A Few Good Men"

Crew of "A Few Good Men"

Tickets to the Andria Theatre

WHAT: “A Few Good Men”
WHEN: March 13-15 and March 20-22 at 7 p.m., March 16 and 23 at 2 p.m.
WHERE: Andria Theatre, 618 Broadway St., Alexandria
TICKETS: Go to www.andriatheatre.org or call the box office at 320-762-8300.