Everyone knows the line; almost nobody has seen the play that earned it. Sorkin's original is tighter and angrier than the film, and Arden has the Beaumont's enormous thrust stage to turn a court-martial into something closer to an arena. Whitford, who built a career inside Sorkin's rhythms on The West Wing, is now playing the man on the other side of the cross-examination. If you want the fall's most quotable night out, take it.
What to expect
The Beaumont is a thrust stage at Lincoln Center, with the audience wrapped around three sides, so there is barely a bad seat but the staging plays outward rather than front-on. No Broadway running time has been posted; the play traditionally runs over two hours with an intermission. It is a talk-driven drama with a large uniformed ensemble.
Good to know
- This one is not in Midtown; take the 1 to 66 St-Lincoln Center and walk into the plaza
- The Beaumont is a thrust stage, so side sections are genuinely good rather than obstructed
- Lincoln Center Theater posts its weekly pattern per production, so confirm matinees when you book
- Strong language and courtroom descriptions of violence; better for teens and adults
- LCT members get priority access, and the box office handles accessible seating directly
- Allow extra travel time, since this is a good twenty blocks north of the Theater District
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Common questions
Is this the play the film came from?
Yes. Aaron Sorkin wrote the stage play first, in 1989; the 1992 film was adapted from it.
Where exactly is the theatre?
The Vivian Beaumont Theater is at 150 West 65th Street inside the Lincoln Center campus, not in the Times Square theatre district.
More this weekend
