Broadway is no stranger to adaptations of films, though often they’re reimagined as musicals. Dog Day Afternoon, which opened March 30 at the August Wilson Theatre, is the somewhat rarer example of a nonmusical play adapted from a classic film. It tells the same story as the Oscar-winning 1975 movie, but with a new script and certain directorial choices that make it distinctly more comedic. While diehard fans of the film will struggle with these changes – as some critics did – those who can put their purism aside, or those going in blind, will greatly enjoy this fast-paced, funny, and deeply entertaining play as its own work of art.
Sidney Lumet’s Dog Day Afternoon starred Al Pacino and John Cazale and won Frank Pierson Best Original Screenplay at the Academy Awards. It was categorized as a crime drama based on a Life magazine article about a real 1972 bank robbery in Brooklyn. Here, Jon Bernthal and Ebon Moss-Bachrach (both known for The Bear, amongst other film and TV projects) star in Pacino and Cazale’s roles with a new, darkly comic script by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis.
Bernthal gives his all as the play’s lead, Sonny, and commands the stage with ease in his Broadway debut. His friend and sidekick in the attempted robbery of a Chase branch in Gravesend is Sal, played as very intoxicated and sedated by Moss-Bachrach. While he’s billed second, his role is significantly smaller and less impactful. The robbery goes wrong, of course, and hilarious chaos ensues as the bank staff are held hostage by very incompetent captors.
If there is a cast member other than Bernthal who deserved recognition from the Tonys, it’s not Moss-Bachrach, but three-time nominee Jessica Hecht, who is hilarious as head teller Colleen. Like the script as a whole, she successfully goes for the laughs while still revealing inner turmoil as the play goes on and stakes are raised with the NYPD surrounding the bank. Colleen’s employees, Roxxana (Elizabeth Canavan), Lorna (Wilemina Olivia-Garcia), Alison (Andrea Syglowski), and Guadalupe (Paola Lazaro), and her boss, Butterman (Michael Kostroff), provide more comic relief.
While the play is over two hours long and its intermission is welcome, there’s a shift in content in the second act which comes abruptly. Fans of the film won’t be surprised by Sonny’s queer identity reveal, as it featured representation that was ahead of its time. Others may find it jarring, as without any references in the first act, it first seems like a joke. Luckily, Esteban Andres Cruz plays Sonny’s partner Leon, a trans woman, with a devastating humanity that is still funny, showing the audience that while Leon can tell jokes, she isn’t one herself.
There’s more than LGBTQ representation that feels politically progressive for a play set over 50 years ago. The humanization of and compassion between the robbers and bank workers is at the center of the narrative, where the villains, if there are any, are police officers. It’s simultaneously relatable — working class tellers and would-be thieves have more in common with each other than with the systems that oppress them — and it’s also very charming. There’s even an interactive anti-establishment chant with the audience.
Unlike The Bear, an intense drama series categorized as a comedy by the Emmys, Dog Day Afternoon reworks the dramatic cinematic masterpiece that inspired it to a crime comedy. Sometimes reimagined pieces of art are disastrous and deserve to be forgotten. But in the case of Dog Day Afternoon, comparison is the thief of joy. It’s interesting, suspenseful, and well-acted – and the comedy doesn’t take away from its impact. Those unfamiliar with this fascinating story will be hooked by the plot and will stay for the laughs. Those planning to see a remake of the film onstage should keep an open mind – and you might enjoy it just as much.
Dog Day Afternoon runs through July 12 at the August Wilson Theatre.