On our most recent sojourn to New York, my wife and I were fortunate to see four terrific Broadway shows — two plays, two musicals — which are all nominated for Tony Awards. So, we’re looking forward to seeing if any of them win this Sunday night.
At the same time, we’re already keeping an eye on what’s coming to Broadway for shows we might want to see on our next trip. That’s why my eyebrows went up when I saw this NY Times story by Michael Paulson, which seemed like a joke.
“Dog Day Afternoon,” a classic New York film about an ill-planned bank robbery in Brooklyn, has been adapted for the stage and will come to Broadway next spring. The production will star Jon Bernthal and Ebon Moss-Bachrach, both of whom have won Emmy Awards for their work in FX’s “The Bear.”
How the producers were able to get backers to finance this very stupid idea is beyond me — even though the playwright is Pulitzer Prize winner Stephen Adly Guirgis, whose “Between Riverside and Crazy” I raved about a few years ago.
By the way, seats for this new theatrical version will likely cost hundreds of dollars. You’d be way better off watching the original movie on a streaming service for five bucks.
Here’s what I wrote three years ago when I put “Dog Day Afternoon” at the top of my list of Best Bank Heist Movies Ever:
Based on a real bank robbery on a steaming hot day in Brooklyn in the 1970s, Sidney Lumet’s film sizzles thanks to Al Pacino’s lead performance as Sonny, a man who’s both desperate and surprisingly human. John Casale plays his partner in crime, Sal, as world-weary and not too bright, but intense. He holds the interior of the bank together while Sonny plays with the cops outside and turns the whole thing into a sideshow, complete with a crowd of New Yorkers cheering him on. The supporting cast is note-perfect, including Charles Durning as an NYPD detective trying to de-escalate the proceedings, Sully Boyar as the bank manager who wants to end the standoff peacefully, Chris Sarandon as Sonny’s boyfriend, James Broderick (Matthew’s father) as a no-nonsense FBI guy, and Lance Henriksen in a small but important role towards the end. My favorite characters are the bank tellers (including Carol Kane, Marcia Jean Kurtz, and Penelope Allen), who form a fascinating bond with the thieves. Somehow, Lumet manages to make Sonny and Sal sympathetic while giving Pacino enough space to turn in one of his greatest performances.
When I sent my wife the article and asked if turning the whole thing into a Broadway play could possibly be any good, she responded, “Not better than the movie. At least it’s not a musical!”
I agreed, adding, “Although a dance line high-kicking to chants of ‘Attica! Attica! Attica!’ could be funny.”
Then she topped it off with this: “And jazz hands. Never forget jazz hands!”