Before he restored respectability to politics in the hit television series “The West Wing,” Aaron Sorkin wrote a play. He sold the movie rights to “A Few Good Men” before the play opened on Broadway to mixed reviews in 1989. The 1992 film, however, was the first in a series of hits for Sorkin. Directed by Rob Reiner, it starred Tom Cruise, Demi Moore and Jack Nicholson.

The Belfast Maskers opened its 15th season Friday with “A Few Good Men.” It was an ambitious undertaking for the community theater company, not just because the film looms so large in people’s memories, but because the cast calls for 22 men and one woman.

For the most part, Tobin Malone, the Maskers artistic director, succeeded because of her fine cast of young men. The technical demands of the production and the numerous set changes required by Sorkin’s short scenes still challenged the crew opening night.

“A Few Good Men” is based on a 1986 incident at the United States Navy base in Cuba. In the play, two Marines are court-martialed for the death of a fellow soldier. The two maintain they were ordered to give their fellow soldier a “code red,” but did not intend for him to die. The action of the play moves between the past and the present, the base in Cuba and Washington, D.C.

Woodruff A. Gaul, Kurt Rauch and Kelli Sabatini played the trio of military lawyers assigned to defend Lance Cpl. Harold W. Dawson and Pfc. Louden Downey. Gaul was charismatic and dynamic as Lt. Daniel Kaffee, a man dogged by his dead father’s legacy. The actor captured Kaffee’s energy and self-doubt without wallowing in angst and indecision. He was the engine that drove this production.

Rauch, in his first theatrical performance, was the anchor amidst the Kaffee whirlwind. He inhabited Lt. Sam Weinberg, Sorkin’s moral compass, with comfort and believability.

Sabatini captured Lt. Cmdr. Joanne Galloway’s strong will, determination and assertiveness. But the actress, who has played the role before, failed to portray the aggressive nature any woman surely must adopt to be successful in the male-dominated military.

Greg Marsanskis was Lt. Col. Nathan Jessep, the ambitious base commander. Marsanski, who played McMurphy in last season’s “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” seems to be making a career of playing Nicholson roles. This time, the actor captured Jessep’s brutish side, but failed to find his calculating center.

The Maskers’ intimate space worked well for “A Few Good Men,” but the numerous scene changes proved difficult for the crew. Each took twice as long it should have, slowing the action and lengthening the show by a good 20 minutes. The music, which helped bridge the long silences in between scenes, became overbearing and hokey when played during the final one.

Malone’s strength as a director is that she challenges equally actors and audiences. In spite of the production’s flaws, with “A Few Good Men,” the director again raised the bar for local performers and theatergoers, proving Sorkin’s theory that the nobility is in the effort, not the outcome.

“A Few Good Men” will be performed through March 23 at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and at 2 p.m. Sunday. For more information, call 338-9668.