By Matthew Wexler
Timing is everything. For better and worse, Dog Day Afternoon, a new Broadway play about a bank robbery gone wrong, finds itself caught in a turf war between a period dramedy and social satire.
Playwright Stephen Adly Guirgus draws inspiration from both the award-winning 1975 film starring Al Pacino and the Life magazine article, “The Boys in the Bank,” on which it was based. Thanks, in large part, to scenic designer David Korins’ pivoting set, which features both the interior and exterior of a Brooklyn bank, along with a nearby liquor store, there’s nearly enough shifting action to warrant the ensuing stand-off. Except for one major problem.
The bears in the bank
Fans of Hulu’s The Bear will appreciate Jon Bernthal’s riveting performance as Sonny, an amateur crook who spearheads the robbery to fund his wife Leon’s gender-affirming surgery, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Sal, his unhinged, rifle-toting partner-in-crime.
But the vault’s cash pick-up happened a day early, leaving them with diminishing returns and a quirky collection of hostages, including head teller Colleen (a wry Jessica Hecht), branch manager Butterman (Michael Kostroff), and a trio of lollipop-sucking bank tellers.
Director Rupert Goold deftly navigates the shifting narrative between the lockdown and the tension between local police and the FBI unfolding outside. Still, the stage’s vastness doesn’t do him any favors. Unlike Kip Williams’ The Picture of Dorian Gray, which employed onstage cameras to capture the play’s propulsion, Dog Day Afternoon is saddled with a perpetual wide shot.
Additionally, Guirgus veers from his exceptional ability to craft crisp dialogue to diatribes about everything from the sinister Rockefellers to the 1971 Attica Correctional Facility rebellion. The story’s real-life queer narrative, though amplified compared to the film, comes too late, delivering a fading Polaroid of LGBTQ+ identity.
“Who’s keeping you all alive in here? A homosexual,” Sonny proclaims to his captives. “If ya ask me, it’s a lot harder, a lot more manly, to swim against the tide, to be true to oneself under the eyes of God above.” But in this case, the undertow proves too strong.
Is ‘Dog Day Afternoon’ worth seeing?
3 out of 5 stars
A star-powered heist that robs you of momentum: Dog Day Afternoon has two of TV’s best and one of Broadway’s most inventive sets, but this stage adaptation can’t hold the room hostage long enough.
- August Wilson Theatre, 245 West 52nd Street, New York
- Notable performers: Jon Bernthal, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Jessica Hecht, Michael Kostroff
- Running time: Two hours and 15 minutes, including one intermission
- Performances through July 12, 2026
It wants better content.
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