Will ‘A Few Good Men’ Step Lively Onto Stage?

John Ferzacca knows it’s usually the other way around, but he can’t help thinking that the ad for his latest project might be:

“You’ve seen the movie, now go see the play!”

In 1989, before it became the huge star-fueled picture it is today, “A Few Good Men” had a long run on Broadway. However, Ferzacca says that to his knowledge, except for a run at the Wilshire Theatre in Los Angeles last year, the play hasn’t been done anywhere else.

So Ferzacca’s staging of Aaron Sorkin’s military courtroom drama, opening Friday at Orange Coast College, won’t just be the Orange County premiere of the play but, as far as he knows, the third time it’s been presented anywhere.

Ferzacca, a drama instructor at OCC, is hoping that local movie fans will be curious enough to want to see the original version live, even if it doesn’t have Jack Nicholson, Tom Cruise and Demi Moore.

“I really don’t know if the film is going to help or hurt us,” he confessed before a recent rehearsal. “I’d think that if the film is popular, the play will probably be popular. I guess it depends on (whether) people will be interested in seeing the differences between the two.”

He remembers that “in the past, we thought that a movie might help, just because of all the publicity, but that wasn’t the case when we put on ‘Dangerous Liaisons.’ That was one of our smallest turnouts ever.”

He thinks, though, the timing for “A Few Good Men” couldn’t be better: The movie picked up four Oscar nominations last week, including one for best film. And there is the fact that this play--as a play--simply hasn’t been around very much.

“We feel pretty fortunate to have secured the rights,” Ferzacca said.

The process began about a year ago--months before Ferzacca was even aware that a film was in the works. Ferzacca, who said he “loves military stories or anything with a military theme,” was drawn to the play’s focus on “ethics, honor and duty.” But, initially, when he asked for the rights, he was turned down.

He never did find out why; he assumed it was because Sorkin wanted the play staged somewhere bigger than a college. Ferzacca now thinks that when Sorkin changed his mind several weeks ago, it was because the playwright realized how difficult “A Few Good Men” is to produce, with its 25-member cast and its large wardrobe of military uniforms.

“Getting all those actors together can be a challenge for any theater; we were lucky that more than 90 people showed up for our auditions,” Ferzacca said (he is hopeful that the attendance was triggered by the movie’s popularity--and is an indication that audiences will follow suit).

“As for the uniforms, that was very difficult. We had to check into several costume houses to get the authentic dress uniforms. We’re still having trouble (finding the uniform) for Joanne,” the role played by Moore in the film.

In the film, the story begins with the accidental death of a U.S. Marine during a “code red,” an unofficial hazing practice intended to keep the rank-and-file in line. As a Navy prosecutor (played by Cruise) and his superior (Moore) try to determine what happened, a gung-ho commanding officer, Lt. Col Jessup (Nicholson), is implicated in a widening scandal.

According to Ferzacca, the stage version fills in some of the film’s gray areas, especially regarding Jessup’s role in the cover-up and his motivations.

“It’s an interesting story because it brings up the ages-old argument of should you follow orders or not, no matter what the consequences,” Ferzacca said. “I wonder how many people agree with Jessup’s point of view: that you protect the country at all costs, even if you have to step over the line” of what may seem morally correct to the rest of society.

* Orange Coast College will present the Orange County premiere of “A Few Good Men” by Aaron Sorkin Friday at 8 p.m. in the OCC Drama Lab, 2701 Fairview Road, Costa Mesa. Continues Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 3 p.m., and Thursdays through Sundays through March 14. Tickets: $8 and $9. Information: (714) 432-5880.