Dog Day Afternoon Opens on Broadway as Cast Talks Audience Energy and New York Grit
Jon Bernthal, Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Jessica Hecht share how Dog Day Afternoon captures the heart, chaos and resilience of New York City
What to Know
- Dog Day Afternoon opens on Broadway at the August Wilson Theatre, adapting the Oscar-winning film and real-life 1972 Brooklyn bank robbery for the stage
- Stars Jon Bernthal, Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Jessica Hecht highlight the show’s visceral energy, emphasizing the audience as a key “character” in the live theater experience
- The production captures the heart, chaos and resilience of New York City, bringing a bold, high-intensity true crime story to Broadway audiences
The sweltering summer of 1972 has kicked into gear at the August Wilson Theatre, with Dog Day Afternoon officially opening on Broadway. Based on the Oscar-winning crime thriller starring Al Pacino and John Cazale, Dog Day Afternoon dramatizes a real life Brooklyn bank robbery that went awry. Broadway.com stopped by the red—or rather, orange—carpet to talk to the stars of the production about this bold reimagining.
“You never really know what you have until there's an audience. That's what everyone says and that's true. And a play like this specifically is really so reliant on it. There's a lot of energy in this play and the audience is kind of like the 21st character,” says Ebon Moss-Bachrach, who plays robbery accomplice Sal De Silva, “You can only get so far in the rehearsal room. This is not a quiet two hander [with] people talking about ideas. This is a real visceral, bodily kind of show. So we need the audience on this one.”
“I believe in the theater. I believe in it with every bone in my body,” proclaims Jon Bernthal, making his Broadway debut as the bank heist’s ringleader Sonny Amato. “For my three kids to be able to be here tonight, doing this play as a reading five years ago was the first time they ever saw me on stage. So for them to be here tonight and for the kids to witness how important theater is and how it's been a part of human existence since the beginning of time, how pertinent it is, how vital it is, that's what's special for me tonight.”
Tony nominee Jessica Hecht plays Colleen, the no-nonsense head teller of the bank that Sal and Sonny attempt to rob. For Hecht, Dog Day Afternoon speaks to the heart and stamina of the Empire State. “Everybody's had a crazy New York moment where they were scared—and not scared in a horror movie way, scared in an emotional way that's reflective of what goes on in this city. It is a total love story to how people protect you and will make it okay. So it's beautiful.”
Watch the video below for more insights from Moss-Bachrach, Bernthal and Hecht, as well as cast members Esteban Andres Cruz, John Ortiz and Michael Kostroff.
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