Were London Critics Wowed by Rob Lowe in A Few Good Men?

Rob Lowe has become the latest American thespian to tread the boards in the West End. The actor is currently appearing in London in Aaron Sorkin's A Few Good Men. The production, directed by David Esbjornson, opened at the Haymarket Theatre on September 6. Could critics handle the drama?

Here is a sampling of what they had to say:

Benedict Nightingale of The London Times: "Only sentiment can explain why Lowe's Kaffee is accompanied and encouraged 'I know how to fight but you know how to win' by Suranne Jones as a pretty, earnest and quite unnecessary fellow-attorney. But though he hasn't quite the Cruise charisma, he almost makes you believe that a virtual tyro could shed his surface frivolity and become an ace cross-examiner, delivering wry one-liners on the way. Maybe the production's main strength is less him, less [Jack] Ellis's smug, blustering Jessep, than its picture of Marine life."

Nicholas de Jongh of The Evening Standard: "I am afraid that watching the stage version now, though, is like being drenched in American cultural whitewash… A Few Good Men is not, anyway, cemented with enough thrills, developments or discoveries to keep the structure holding firm. It rests precariously on the slight shoulders of Rob Lowe's pretty-boy lawyer, whose androgynous, chocolate-box good looks and frail appearance makes you imagine Kaffee might have suffered sexual bullying in the navy… Lowe, all cool, neat and slight, does not quite have the kind of charismatic stage personality that compels you to keep an eye on the self-confident, thrusting lawyer."

Michael Billington of The Guardian: "It's already been a Broadway and Hollywood hit. Now Aaron Sorkin's 1989 play turns up in the West End with The West Wing's Rob Lowe impressively in the lead. But, for all its suddenly topical references to military malpractice, it is really a traditional judicial thriller with all the virtues, and some of the vices, of the genre… Lowe as the young lawyer also proves that he is as much at home on stage as on movie and TV screens. He has a lithe, square-jawed presence. He also shows the hero's incremental growth in moral stature as the action proceeds. Above all, he lends the character's neat one-liners the lightest of touches."

Charles Spencer of The Daily Telegraph: "The play proves thought provoking as well as hugely entertaining… Though there were a few fluffed lines on opening night, David Esbjornson directs a slick, fast-moving production, starkly and atmospherically designed by Michael Pevelka. He brings the tough military world to life with brief sequences showing the Marines in training between scenes, and this version certainly doesn't feel second best in comparison with the film. Rob Lowe, one of the stars of Sorkin's The West Wing, is excellent as the young looking, baseball-fixated rookie lawyer originally played by Cruise. Lowe memorably captures a witty, damaged character, and movingly shows this apparent lightweight learning moral courage under pressure."