Video: Ebon Moss-Bachrach Promises a 'Great, Dangerous, Funny' Time at the Theatre in Dog Day Afternoon

Stephen Adly Guirgis' version of the 1975 film begins Broadway performances March 10.

March 10, 2026 By Diep Tran, Jeffrey Vizcaíno

When asked to describe the upcoming play Dog Day Afternoon, actor Jon Bernthal says don't expect a straight adaptation of the 1975 film. "This is Stephen Adly Guirgis' take on Dog Day Afternoon," says the actor. "He tells underdog stories."

In turning the film, which starred Al Pacino, into a stage play, Pulitzer winner Guirgis was given some freedom. Based on a true story of a bank robbery gone wrong, Bernthal plays Sonny Amato, who employs his friend Sal DeSilva (played by Bernthal's The Bear co-star, Ebon Moss-Bachrach) to help him rob a bank. The way Sonny sees it, he has a good reason: He's doing it to pay for his lover's gender-affirming surgery.

Says trans actor Esteban Andres Cruz, who play's Sonny's paramour Leon, "The whole queerness of the story was shied away from a lot in the film. And it's on record that Pacino had several moments of push back with the film being too queer. And Stephen has never been afraid of that."

Dog Day Afternoon begins performances March 10 at the August Wilson Theatre, with an opening night set for March 30 (in a limited run through June 28). While the show was in rehearsal, the cast and creative team spoke to Playbill about bringing this '70s story into 2026. See their interview with Jeffrey Vizcaíno above, to hear why they want audiences to "fall in love with [the characters] falling in love" and why it's going to be a "great, dangerous, funny night" at the theatre.

READ: Dog Day Afternoon Brings a 1975 Crime Thriller to the Stage—With a Surprisingly Queer Love Story at Its Heart