Jessica Hecht Says Dog Day Afternoon Isn’t Nostalgia, It’s Now

Misbegotten bank robbers Sonny (Jon Bernthal) and Sal (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) are the main attraction in Dog Day Afternoon, but playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis smartly created a no-nonsense teller named Colleen as their foil, played by three-time Tony nominee Jessica Hecht. As a Brooklynite in the mold of Beatrice Carbone in A View from the Bridge (which netted her first Tony nod), Hecht brings a quiet strength to this new stage adaptation of the 1975 film starring Al Pacino.

Since her Tony-nominated turn last season in Eureka Day, Hecht has co-conceived and starred in the Brechtian drama A Mother, played June Squibb’s daughter on screen in Eleanor the Great and spooked Pete Davidson in the horror film The Home. She’s currently featured as Kevin Kline’s glam ex-wife in the theater-centric MGM+ comedy American Classic. A week into previews at the August Wilson Theatre, the down-to-earth Hecht praised the timelessness of Guirgis’ distinctly New York story and spoke with modesty about her own stellar career.

What’s it been like so far to bring this true story of a 1972 Brooklyn bank robbery to the stage?
As in birthing most new plays, you have no idea what it’s going to be, and the audience is telling us a tremendous amount about what they’re interested in, what they’re reflecting on all these years later. There’s a moment when Jon [Bernthal] and I look out, and you can see it’s a really diverse audience—a huge population of young people and others who know the story and are coming in allegiance with New York art being made about New Yorkers. It’s quite beautiful. They want to hear the echoes of what was happening socially [in the 1970s] because it’s the same issues today.

Why did you want to do the play?
I have such a sentimental place in my heart for this time in New York history. I was seven years old in 1972, but I’m realizing that nothing has really changed, so the play is vibrating for me far more than I imagined. It’s not nostalgia.

What makes Stephen Adly Guirgis’ writing so distinctive? He’s not someone who would just put the movie on stage.
Every person who has spoken to me after the show has said, “I didn’t think of the movie at all after the first five minutes.” You completely invest in these people because of Stephen’s language—his poetry and the masterful way he connects characters who may seem oppositional, but who find their shared humanity. To me, it’s akin to the classic ensemble plays of that time period, The Hot L Baltimore [by Lanford Wilson], Sam Shepard—iconic voices and tremendous ensemble work. Stephen’s language approximates a kind of individual speech for each character in such a nuanced, artistic way. It’s just thrilling.

Tell us a little about your character, the bank teller Colleen.
Stephen has given her a beautiful backstory as a person who lives a quiet, self-contained existence, very devoted to taking care of her family. She doesn’t have a lot of vibrancy in her personal life, but this bank robbery creates an opportunity to extend herself to other people in a way she did not realize she was capable of. She surprises herself in her ability to rise to the demands of being a hostage.

Are you enjoying going toe-to-toe with Jon Bernthal and Ebon Moss-Bachrach?
I had worked with Ebon on Three Sisters [at Classic Stage Company in 2011] with Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard. I always say that Ebon reinvented his part [Baron Tuzenbach] for me, so I had a big place in my heart for his sensitivity and for how remarkably kind and thoughtful he is as an artist. I knew I would be getting something very precious with Ebon. And Jon is just a magnanimous human being, which is thrilling to be around because of his ability to connect with everybody and be a great team leader. He is so hardworking and passionate and compassionate, he just takes your breath away. He has been the gift of the whole experience.

In the nine months since the Tonys, you’ve been in a Brechtian play, two movies, a TV series with Kevin Kline and now this play. Are you surprised to be this busy?
Oh, I’m always surprised to be busy, because I know so many extraordinary artists who struggle to get consistent work. I think for me, it’s a result of friendships and relationships I’ve forged since I was at NYU 40 years ago. Even the thread of my connection to this project goes back to NYU because Phil [Philip Seymour] Hoffman was two classes below me, and I met Stephen [Hoffman’s frequent collaborator at LAByrinth Theater Company] doing a reading with Phil of A Streetcar Named Desire. Any success I’ve had is through interpersonal relationships that also have an artistic side.

A recent example of that is Eleanor the Great, directed by your View from the Bridge co-star Scarlett Johansson. What was it like to collaborate with her in a different way?
I was very touched that she asked me. Scarlett is a “girlfriendy” human being, someone you could call if you had any kind of emotional problem. To work with June [Squibb] and Scarlett and to feel empowered by their longevity and their ability to create work they believe in was a transformational experience for me. I suffer from insecurity, but they forge ahead, and this period of my life has been about owning that—that you can have a lot of insecurity and yet forge ahead with grace and love, not fear.

It’s hard to believe someone who has tackled Eureka Day, A View from the Bridge, Fiddler on the Roof and Sarah RuhI’s lovely Letters from Max is insecure. There’s nothing you can’t do!
You have to remind yourself of that. I’ve had a few experiences where I have felt unmoored by the emotional dynamics, dealing with things that unleash moments of panic. But I always think back to my work with Arthur Miller [on the 2004 Broadway revival of After the Fall]. I sat in the rehearsal room with the greatest American playwright, and he was so practical in how he dealt with people. He understood that actors respond to simple, emotionally grounded direction. If I can create something alongside someone with that level of mastery, who I’m sure had his own demons, I can rise to any occasion. Arthur Miller is my go-to Prozac, my benchmark of being able to create under pressure.

Your husband Adam Bernstein is an Emmy-winning director. How have you navigated two careers in the arts?
We’re very supportive of each other. We met when we were young, and we’ve been married for 31 years. My husband works in Italy a fair amount; he’s an Italian citizen as well [as American], and the fact that we have created space for each other’s independence has been a great gift. We also share a sense of our kids being the most important thing—we’re similarly anchored in that foundational belief.

Did either of your kids go into the business?
No, our daughter is studying law at Emory, and our son is studying philosophy at UCLA. They’re both very intellectually gifted. [Laughs]

Just last week, a news item popped up about the fact that your character’s same-sex wedding episode on Friends 30 years ago was banned by some TV stations. Do people still mention that now-iconic storyline to you?
They do. I’m friendly with Jane Sibbett, who beautifully played my wife [Ross’s ex-wife Carol], and we felt a little bit like deer in the headlights at that moment. When we made the piece, we were surrounded by such love and such hope. We won a GLAAD Award, and we thought, “Wow, we’re part of something that is breaking barriers! We’ve done it!” We didn’t realize how much regression was still possible, that the explosion of optimism we felt would be crushed several times over those 30 years. But we had such joy around that moment. It felt enormous.

Longtime fans have watched you portray every stage of adulthood on Broadway, from a debutante in The Last Night of Ballyhoo in 1997 to your trio of Tony-nominated mother figures. What’s the secret to maintaining a life in the theater for more than three decades?
I think the secret is collaboration with writers and artists who understand how meaningful it is to create work together. That’s the part of our art form I cherish most. Even though I am in a play with these remarkable television stars, the future of the theater is about collaboration and community. That’s how my career has been built.

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