Dog Day Afternoon (August Wilson Theatre)

By Harry Forbes

This engrossing stage adaptation of the classic 1975 film places Jon Bernthal (The Bear) in the Al Pacino role of Sonny, a desperate, ill-fated bank robber attempting to hold up a Brooklyn Chase Manhattan Bank. At his side is his volatile accomplice Sal, played by Bernthal’s Bear co-star Ebon Moss-Bachrach, while a third partner, the jittery Ray Ray (Christopher Sears), loses his nerve and bolts almost immediately.

Pulitzer Prize winner Stephen Adly Guirgis, adapting both the film and P. F. Kluge and Thomas Moore’s Life magazine article “The Boys in the Bank” (itself based on true events), has crafted a script that proves highly effective on stage. It injects more humor than the film without sacrificing tension, and under Rupert Goold’s taut direction, the piece sustains a gripping momentum throughout.

There have been earlier stage versions—I recall a modest 2008 Off-Broadway staging by the Barefoot Theatre Company—but this production operates on an entirely different level.

Bernthal, making his Broadway debut, is onstage nearly the entire time and delivers a commanding, deeply felt performance. Moss-Bachrach, also new to Broadway, matches him with a vividly drawn Sal. The supporting cast is uniformly strong: Michael Kostroff as the beleaguered bank manager Butterman; Danny Johnson as security guard Mr. Eddy; and the bank tellers, including Elizabeth Canavan (doubling effectively as Sonny’s wife Gloria), Paola Lázaro, Wilemina Olivia-Garcia, and Andrea Syglowski; and especially Jessica Hecht, who gives a gem of a performance as the tightly wound, domineering Colleen.

Outside the bank, John Ortiz’s NYPD detective Fucco and Spencer Garrett’s FBI hardliner Sheldon -- both actors convincing -- spar over how to handle the crisis—Fucco favoring empathy, Sheldon pushing for force—adding another layer of tension to the standoff.

A standout among the supporting players is Esteban Andres Cruz as Leon, Sonny’s partner, whose desire for gender-affirming surgery provides the robbery’s emotional impetus. Their second-act phone conversation—tender, awkward, and marked by painful miscommunication—is one of the production’s most affecting moments.

David Korins’ revolving set, evocatively lit by Isabella Byrd, shifts between the bank interior and the surrounding streets, creating a vivid sense of place. Occasional action spills into the aisles, and while there’s no formal audience participation, the crowd is invited to join Sonny’s iconic cry of “Attica,” the production’s most direct nod to the film’s charged public spectacle.

Set in 1972, the production benefits from Brenda Abbandandolo’s spot-on period costumes and Guirgis’s commitment to era-authentic language, free of contemporary overlay. Goold sustains that period texture throughout. Cody Spencer’s richly detailed sound design, along with well-chosen music from David Bowie and Marvin Gaye, further enhances the atmosphere.

Some may argue that the production cannot match the film, but that misses the point. Working in a different medium, Guirgis has created a piece with its own integrity and theatrical force. Judging by the enthusiastic response at the performance I attended, audiences are more than willing to embrace it on its own terms.

(August Wilson Theatre, 245 W. 52nd Street; dogdayafternoon.com) 

Photo by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman: (l.-r.) Jon Bernthal, Danny Johnson, Jessica Hecht

Print this post