Dog Day Afternoon Show Poster

Dog Day Afternoon Reviews

Jon Bernthal and Ebon Moss-Bachrach star in Stephen Adly Guirgis' new play.

4.4
Tickets starting at $70.76
Show Overview

Critics’ Reviews (3)

A collection of our favorite reviews from professional news sources.
Theatermania

"If ever there was a film primed for the stage, Dog Day Afternoon is it."

Theatermania

Pete Hempstead

"A big, hugely entertaining, and laugh-filled dramedy. You won't forget it."

The Wrap

Robert Hofler

The New York Times

"A raucous, gritty portrait of New York."

The New York Times

Jason Zinoman

customer reviews

Customer Reviews (94)

4.4
Score average from verified show reviews by customers who’ve bought tickets from Broadway.com.
5 stars
69%
4 stars
18%
3 stars
4%
2 stars
2%
1 star
6%
Showing 1 star reviews. View all reviews
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A Real Disappointment
"I was disappointed with this production, specifically the new script writing of this story of Dog Day Afternoon. I found it corny, hokey and predictable. Although I must give creds to Jon Bernthal. His performance was very good considering the material he had to work with. I also thought the staging and set design was inventive. "
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Broadway.com Customer on Apr 29, 2026
So Long
"It is very slow, very drawn out and just not a great story. "
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Broadway.com Customer on Apr 5, 2026
Not ready for Prime Time
"I was looking forward to seeing Dog Day Afternoon and, unfortunately, I didn't like the script at all. The performances, while overtly microphoned, from the lead actors, were excellent. What worked in the film does not automatically translate to a stage adaptation. If, in fact, this is what it was suppose to be. What tone was the author trying to create--and in noting this tone and atmosphere--move from there to decide the kind of story you're telling. There was never any real tension occuring on stage; when it surfaced, it felt temporary and as a reminded within the world of the play, "this is a robbery." But the script is without any tension and the stakes are too submerged to carry any real dramaturgical weight. Lastly, the set does not fit the action. Three cashiers are crowded into the upstage corner in the largest bank lobby I've ever seen, for the time period, in Brooklyn. Empty spaces on the outside can work, occasionally, but here, sadly, it continued to looked as an unimagined space. Good performances from the leads, but this play is a mess--it's can't figure out what it wants to be...faithful to, inspired by, or its own version of the movie. Sadly, the writer hasn't chosen an engaging, tense way to tell the story HE wants to tell. It feels like too many cooks and not one chef. And the set design is absolutely out-of-proportion for an ounce of period reality: when the bank lobby fills the entire proscenium there's something that is disproportionate to the circumstance and its setting. There are a lot of studio apartments that could fit into this bank lobby, which I don't think was the intentional, but unmistakable, visual impact. I wanted to like this show. I didn't. "
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Broadway.com Customer on Mar 26, 2026
Huge Disappointment
"The movie 'Dog Day Afternoon' was a masterpiece. It was gritty, real, and based on a true story. There is nothing funny about a man in the 1970s robbing a bank in order to fund a Trans operation for his boyfriend, and people died. It is beyond me as to why any Broadway producer would put on a farcical show like this. I feel sorry for the audience members who aren't aware of the real life drama that unfolded that day in Brooklyn. The attempt at the Brooklyn accents by the cast fell short. I didn't even make it to intermission, I walked out. If I wanted to watch a (poor) sitcom I would have saved my money and stayed home. The set, however, was fantastic, I wish that the script was as good so I could have stayed for the entirety of the show."
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Broadway.com Customer on May 29, 2026
This did not need to be a comedy
"When I went to see this I was excited because I love the movie and I thought Jon Bernthal would be perfect in the Al Pacino role. It's an intense, very serious movie and I was looking forward to seeing it on stage. I was incredibly confused watching the play be done for laughs. The sets, the costumes, the acting, it was all fine I just am so confused why they decided to do it this way. It was kind of awful. I wish I could get my money back. "
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Broadway.com Customer on May 28, 2026
A Dog of a Show
"Too long. Too boring. Too many empty attempts at cheap laughs. No opportunity for Ebon Moss-Bachrach to shine. He’s a great actor. Underdeveloped characters. Boring. Should have left during intermission when I had the chance. "
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Karen W from Great Neck on Apr 21, 2026

About Dog Day Afternoon

Step back into the sweltering summer of 1972, New York City—a time when the Vietnam War looms large, Watergate headlines flood the news, and one man's desperate act captivates the nation.  A Brooklyn bank hold up quickly goes wrong, and with each gut-wrenching twist that unfolds, chaos ensues that ignites the city as they follow the actions of a man on the edge. Dog Day Afternoon is a raw, gritty reminder of what happens when passion and desperation collide. 

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