Jon Bernthal and Ebon Moss-Bachrach will make their Broadway debuts next year in Dog Day Afternoon, a new play by Pulitzer Prize winner Stephen Adly Guirgis (Between Riverside and Crazy) based on the true crime that inspired Sidney Lumet’s Oscar-winning 1975 motion picture starring Al Pacino and John Cazale.
The play will be directed by two-time Olivier Award winner Rupert Goold (King Charles III). Bernthal will play Sonny Amato, the character played by Pacino in the film, and Moss-Bachrach will portray Sal DeSilva, John Cazale in the movie. (The surnames were different in the film.)
The play is expected to open on Broadway in spring 2026. Additional casting was not disclosed.
The synopsis: 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.
The announcement was made today by Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures (Executive Vice President & Managing Director Mark Kaufman), Sue Wagner, John Johnson, and Patrick Catullo.
“Attica! Attica!” became a defiant catchphrase after chanted by Al Pacino in ‘Dog Day Afternoon’ (1975)
Everett Collection
The 1975 film directed by Lumet was written by Frank Pierson based on the Life magazine article “The Boys in the Bank” by P. F. Kluge and Thomas Moore. The magazine feature chronicles the 1972 robbery and hostage situation led by John Wojtowicz and Salvatore Naturile at a Chase Manhattan branch in Brooklyn. Produced by Martin Bregman and Martin Elfand, the film also starred James Broderick, Charles Durning and Chris Sarandon as Sonny’s boyfriend who needs Sonny’s money for gender-affirming surgery.
Bernthal has performed in more than 30 theatrical productions, most recently at the Ojai Theatre Festival where he produced and starred in a production of Pulitzer Prize-Winner Martyna Majok’s Ironbound, opposite Marin Ireland. Bernthal also starred in Rogue Machine Theatre’s production of Small Engine Repair which had its New York premiere at MCC in 2013. Bernthal had previously starred in Neil LaBute’s Fat Pig (Geffen Playhouse), Langford Wilson’s Fifth of July (New York’s Signature Theatre), The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui as “Ui,” (Portland Stage Company), and This is Our Youth (Studio Theatre in Washington, D.C.). On the film side, Bernthal currently stars alongside Ben Affleck in The Accountant 2, and alongside Rami Malek in the CIA spy thriller The Amateur. Bernthal recently wrapped production for Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, starring alongside Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o and Charlize Theron, among many other films.
On TV Bernthal can currently be seen in Disney+ Daredevil: Born Again, reprising his role as Frank Castle/The Punisher and in 2024, Bernthal won his first Emmy award for his role in Season 2 of Hulu’s The Bear. Bernthal also starred in the HBO Series We Own This City, AMC’s breakout hit The Walking Dead and Frank Darabont’s Mob City, among many others.
Moss-Bachrach has appeared in HBO’s Girls, Netflix’s The Punisher, Disney+’s Andor, Hulu’s The Dropout and FX’s The Bear, as well as feature films No Hard Feelings, Hold Your Breath, The Lake House, Mona Lisa Smile and Lola Versus. He will next be seen alongside castmates Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn and Vanessa Kirby in the highly anticipated Matt Shakman-helmed Marvel Cinematic Universe feature The Fantastic Four: First Steps, in which he plays Ben Grimm, The Thing.
Director Goold has won two Olivier Awards, and his British productions that have transferred to Broadway include the musical American Psycho, James Graham’s play Ink, as well as Tammy Faye, Patriots, Enron and Macbeth starring Patrick Stewart. Rupert’s first feature film was 2015’s True Story starring James Franco and Jonah Hill, followed by Judy, written by Tom Edge and starring Renee Zellweger.
Gurgis’ Broadway credits include The Motherf***er with the Hat (6 Tony Nominations, including Best Play) and Tony-nominated Between Riverside and Crazy.
Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures, which has been developing Dog Day Afternoon, is currently repped on Broadway by The Outsiders, Good Night, and Good Luck; and Real Women Have Curves, and prior to those shows had such Broadway productions as Stephen King’s Misery, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, The Bridges of Madison County and the holiday hit Elf. Upcoming projects include The Lost Boys, and Crazy Rich Asians.
