DOG DAY AFTERNOON Previews- Page 2

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 3/10/26 at 11:15pm

How did tonight go, guys?

[PIZZAGIRL2]

Posted: 3/10/26 at 11:20pm

well, that happened.

the sets are the best part of the play. they are stunning.

ebon has nothing to do, but sal never had anything to do, so we can't blame ebon.

jon must be so jealous of ebon because he has everything to do. mostly, he does a pacino imitation. but, when he is alone, outside, screaming. he owns it. his monologues are excellent and when he does the famous phone call with "his wife". also excellent.

i wondered how they would evoke the crowds outside the bank. well, guess what? we are the crowds outside the bank and the 1st preview audience was more than happy to scream attica over and over and applaud sonny.

sad part is: i felt like a brooklyn resident in act one. but i felt like a hostage in act 2. it is a slog and when you think you are finally getting sprung, there is a guitar solo.

they gave us nice looking rose colored baseball hats that said, "attica! attica!" as a 1st preview gift. this seemed fun and wonderful, at first. but, upon leaving the theater, the crowd looked like a MAGA convention letting out. 

the other poster is right, jessica hecht will win a tony.

it is a great story. a true story.

they should make it a movie.

[yyys]

Posted: 3/10/26 at 11:58pm

This is the stage adaption of the movie, with Pacino!

PIZZAGIRL2 said:

“it is a great story.a true story.
they should make it a movie."

 

[smidge]

Posted: 3/11/26 at 12:11am

yyys said: "This is the stage adaption of the movie, with Pacino!

PIZZAGIRL2 said:

“it is a great story.a true story.
they should make it a movie."

I believe they are making a joke.

 

[uncageg]

Posted: 3/11/26 at 12:18am

yyys said: "This is the stage adaption of the movie, with Pacino!

PIZZAGIRL2 said:

“it is a great story.a true story.
they should make it a movie."

It was a joke.

 

[willep]

Posted: 3/11/26 at 5:21am

I have a lot of thoughts, but overall I enjoyed it. It needs editing. The biggest thing for me is that in expanding the story for the stage, it's become a laugh riot. I found myself wanting it to be more of a character drama, give Sal more depth, more to do. Instead they've got way too many characters, specifically the women, who've been added/beefed up for comedy. There were entire characters (and scenes) that I would automatically just cut. A lot of these characters weren't helped by some very amateur feeling acting, which really stands out when you also have fantastic performances on the stage. 

The set is, indeed, fantastic. But just for the bank, everything else is an after thought, and the switching in and out of the bank takes too long and happens too many times. It's very cool when it happens, but that is diminished by how often we sit through it. I found myself wanting fewer characters, and honestly just wanting to spend most of the time in the bank, and then letting us out for a breather at the end of each act.

The crowd seemed pretty ecstatic last night, maybe that's just first preview crowd or maybe I'm just in the minority overall. Performances ranged from terrific to cringe. Again, I really did enjoy it overall, I just think it needs some work through the preview period.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 3/11/26 at 7:09am

yyys said: "This is the stage adaption of the movie, with Pacino!

PIZZAGIRL2 said:

“it is a great story.a true story.
they should make it a movie."



 

[EvanstonDad]

Posted: 3/11/26 at 2:05pm

The movie is nearly perfect and Al Pacino gives one of the best performances not just of his but of anyone's career. The film is also very kinetic and cinematic. Not saying there's not a way to make this work on stage, but I have trouble envisioning any scenario where this isn't a pale imitation of something that's already iconic as is.Not that it much matters, because there's no way I'll have a chance to see it!

[BCfitasafiddle]

Posted: 3/11/26 at 2:09pm

If this gets Jessica Hecht a Tony Award, that is all I need.

[tacotheatrelover]

Posted: 3/11/26 at 2:11pm

I will admit I haven't seen the film until today, I still have 40 minutes left but have to wait till my next class to finish it. I see why it's gained it's notoriety as one of the best heist films, and just all and all one of the best films of all time. The performances given here are nothing more than stellar, and it's making me want to see this live on stage more and more. It might even be making it into my favorite films list, the top 4 on letterboxd, perhaps.

[tacotheatrelover]

Posted: 3/11/26 at 3:02pm

tacotheatrelover said: "I will admit I haven't seen the film until today, I still have 40 minutes left but have to wait till mynext class to finish it. I see why it's gained it's notoriety as one of the best heist films, and just all and all one of the best films of all time. The performances given here are nothing more than stellar, and it's making me want to see this live on stage more and more. It might even be making it into my favorite films list, the top 4 on letterboxd, perhaps."

holy ****

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 3/11/26 at 3:04pm

It's a classic for a reason! I also love how boldly Pacino has chosen gay or queer projects over the years.

[tacotheatrelover]

Posted: 3/11/26 at 3:08pm

It's now in my top four, no questions asked. I now have one of the weirdest top four with 'The Dark Crystal', 'Del Toro's Pinocchio', 'Dog Day Afternoon' and "The Long Walk.' God I love movies.

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 3/11/26 at 3:13pm

willep said: "it's become a laugh riot."

 

Dog Day Afternoon has always been a satirical laugh riot, at least to me!

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 3/12/26 at 2:41pm

Any reports on the TodayTix rush yet? 

Is it relatively easy? Where have seats been? 

[HaveAGoodShow]

Posted: 3/12/26 at 3:31pm

For anyone who’s seen the show -- is there any gunfire in it? If so, is it just a sound effect, or do you actually see/hear a gun being fired?

Thanks in advance!

 

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 3/12/26 at 3:35pm

You see guns and they are fired, rather loudly.

[HaveAGoodShow]

Posted: 3/12/26 at 3:41pm

Thank you!

 

[quizking101]

Posted: 3/13/26 at 12:15am

I wrote out a whole review about tonight and this craptacular interface erased it after I tried to post it.

More tomorrow, but in a word…WOOF 😳 

 

Updated On: 3/13/26 at 12:15 AM

[MasterThespian 2]

Posted: 3/13/26 at 6:37am

quizking101 said: "I wrote out a whole review about tonight and this craptacular interface erased it after I tried to post it.

More tomorrow, but in a word…WOOF 😳

Yikes. Looking forward (I guess) to your review. 

 

[quizking101]

Posted: 3/13/26 at 8:57am

quizking101 said: "I wrote out a whole review about tonight and this craptacular interface erased it after I tried to post it.

More tomorrow, but in a word…WOOF 😳

"

Okay, take two 🎬

I haven’t seen the film since my film studies class in high school (so about 15 years ago), so my memory aside from the overall premise and story details is a bit hazy. However, I do NOT remember it being a particularly comical film, and instead it was very claustrophobic and high stakes. 

This is decidedly NOT that. From the outset, it’s 2:30 (with intermission) of tonal whiplash, deflated dramatic tension, loud music, proselytizing about capitalism, and yelling. It’s a rollercoaster ride through broad comedy, film noir, melodrama, and just enough of crime drama to make it look like it’s not a parody. Yes, there are some elements that naturally lend itself to being funny, but I feel like most of Act I was being played for the broad comedy, since the audience seemed to be laughing at everything that was getting bungled during the robbery, as well as a good chunk of the dialogue. There is ZERO opportunity for the tension to build up before it is quickly deflated. My one particular sticking issue (the “film noir” aspect, if you will), was that the main cop - renamed Fucco (FOO-koh - no doubt to facilitate insults) came across as almost a bumbling fool, while the FBI agent breathing down the cop’s neck sounds like Robert Stack quoting Jerry Orbach one-liners from the golden years of L&O.

Ebon Moss-Bachrach has very little to do and is probably the most expensive set piece on Broadway. To his credit, he is the main source of any attempt to build tension while Bernthal is high volume showboating, but he is often in the background skulking around with a sunken face, looking like Nick Offerman went overboard on Ozempic. Jessica Hecht can make pretty much everything and anything work on stage, and her character had a clear emotional story arc. She was the only one I felt was worth watching and is giving her Tony-worthy best as always.

Esteban Andres Cruz, as Sonny’s lover Leon, seemed almost offensively bad to watch. I give them credit for hiring someone who is actually non-binary/trans to perform the role, but the way that Leon is written and performed feels like it’s pitched to the back of the theatre - it’s all melodrama and heightened emotions instead of the quieter tone the moment demands. It seemed like it was an intersection of Agador from “The Birdcage” and Emory from “The Boys In The Band”. 

The set design is cool with how they handle interior and exterior transitions, and the use of the audience was fun, if a bit gimmicky. However, the use of such a large house removes any chance for subtleties to play out. Above all, I spent the evening pondering to myself why this particular story needed to be adapted for the stage and, for the life of me, I could not think of one. Guirgis is great playwright for subversive storytelling, and there are still quite a few previews for things to be changed, but I think this is a property that was just best left alone.

 

[MasterThespian 2]

Posted: 3/13/26 at 10:14am

Wow. Didn’t expect this production to have more laughs than tension. Disappointing to hear. 

[quizking101]

Posted: 3/13/26 at 10:19am

MasterThespian 2 said: "Wow. Didn’t expect this production to have more laughs than tension. Disappointing to hear."

The film greatly benefited from the claustrophobia to keep tension in. Opening the action up to the audience lets all the air out of the balloon.

 

[willep]

Posted: 3/13/26 at 10:34am

Agreed, the lack of tension was a huge problem. As you said, there are some moments when the humor felt appropriate and, in an ideal world, would serve to break the tension a bit, but there's no tension there to break.

The Leon scenes were really cringeworthy, unfortunately. Having the long sob scene with Fucco shortly before the phone call took out a lot of the impact we maybe could've gotten with the call, but two overly long, cringe-y sob scenes so close together was too much.

I really missed the claustrophobia of the film, and how it just makes you feel the summer heat. I wanted the play to make me feel the dog day afternoon instead of having a character tell me "it really is a dog day afternoon."

[Tom-497]

Posted: 3/13/26 at 10:36am

I saw last night's performance, which I think ran about 2:25 including intermission. 

The leads are already giving solid performances that will, of course, get better; and much of the period detail is convincing (though I'd question the discussion of "billionaire oligarchs," which, even if not literally anachronistic, pulled me out of the early seventies and into, at least, the nineties).

Unfortunately, at this early stage, there are too many things that just don't work and, in my view, simply shouldn't exist. To give just two examples:

- in the movie (as I recall) the security guard is seriously ill, period; in the play, he appears to be seriously ill until he suddenly and histrionically arises from the floor to sputter out the punchline of a joke you can see coming even before he opens his mouth. And, more important, there shouldn't be any joke at all -- it's the kind of thing you'd only see in a mediocre comedy, and it destroys any verisimilitude that the production may be aiming at. 

- in the movie, one character tries to comfort someone by handing him her rosary and saying (approximately), "Because I know you've never been in a plane before...." It's moving and lasts only seconds. In the play, the equivalent character says something similar and then goes on to sing an entire song in Spanish, accompanying herself on an acoustic guitar that just happens to be in the bank thanks to another telegraphed joke earlier in the play. And this character performs front and center, facing the audience, in some of the worst staging I can remember. The song should be cut, but if the production is absolutely wedded to it, I would at least suggest that it be presented more obliquely. Currently, it's only somewhat less ludicrous than the similar scene in Airplane! (and far worse than that movie's target, Helen Reddy's singing nun in Airport 1975).

I will probably see Dog Day Afternoon again later in its run. I like the cast and the basic story and, up until now, I've liked Guirgis' writing (especially Jesus Hopped the A Train). I think this could be a tense two-hour evening if they get rid of the bloat, and especially the many grafted-on jokes (there will still be plenty of naturally funny moments, such as Bernthal's puzzlement when a phone rings and Moss-Bachrach's attempt at counting).