In order to maintain the life-or-death tension of a bank robbery, a stage adaptation of the 1975 Al Pacino hostage thriller, Dog Day Afternoon, should have no intermission and take place entirely within the scene of the crime. Based on a real-life incident in which two novice thieves immediately and continuously bungled their heist, the story relies on the intimate, livewire threat of two failures with nothing to lose. Playwright Stephen Adly Guirguis and director Rupert Goold’s take does not follow these ostensibly self-evident rules and, as a result, plays like a hangout piece with occasional bursts of danger.

It’s not totally a bad thing. David Korins’ massive set revolves to place us both inside and just beyond the bank; a source of constant gasps lit gorgeously by Isabella Byrd. And while an intermission remains ill-advised, the end of the first act fully reveals the show-saving command Jessica Hecht has over a live audience. It’s due almost entirely to her, as the branch’s no-nonsense head teller, that the production approaches any sort of stakes. Sensible and single for life, this teller knows hard work, and knows that her dimwitted captors, Sonny and Sal, have no clue what they’re doing. So it surprises even her, when she sees the crowd gathered outside of the bank respond to Sonny’s anti-capitalist tirade, to feel a certain kinship. It’s she against him, sure, but it’s also them against The Man. Hecht plays these contradictions with resolve, guilelessness, and her character’s small, thrilling wink toward adventure.

If Hecht gives the most well-rounded performance, it is not the fault of the other performers in this too-large cast. Making impressive Broadway debuts, Jon Bernthal and Ebon Moss-Bachrach acquit themselves as appealing stage creatures; especially Bernthal as Sonny, the talkative Pacino character. Each crafts specific performances that reach the back row, impressively so considering their motivations and basic relationship to each other seem to have gotten lost in Guirguis’ translation.

Sonny and Sal’s plan misfires from the jump, arriving long after the Brinks truck has picked up most of the bank’s cash and with a third accomplice fleeing before the operation begins. But where frustration should lead to chaos, with momentary comic relief from the absurdity of it all, the play cozies into something resembling a workplace sitcom: overdone ‘70s Brooklyn accents ham everything up; overlapping dialogue that, onscreen, feels Altman-esque is awkwardly split into Laugh-In punchlines; and jokes at the thieves’ incompetence play broadly, like farce. A cast of 20 (!!!), used mostly as non-speaking cops or barely-there bank employees, means talented actors like Christopher Sears and Andrea Syglowski feel forever in limbo.

Oddly, it is during that act one closer, when Sonny rallies the audience into chanting the film’s famous “Attica!” cry, that the production feels most itself. It’s essentially Disney for Dads, a curious blend of head-patting nostalgia and earnest artistry, delivered with a refreshing lack of cynicism. For all its flaws, and unlike its protagonists, Dog Day Afternoon is not trying to put one over anyone. 

Dog Day Afternoon is in performance through July 12, 2026 at the August Wilson Theatre on West 52nd Street in New York City. For tickets and more information, visit here.

There are few things more demoralizing than seeing theater kids play sexy, so it was an early sigh of relief to see The Wild Party’s women strut out in genuinely racy garters and fishnets (designed by Linda Cho) in its first scene. Equally thrilling was when one of them revealed herself to be Jasmine Amy Rogers, again transforming herself so fully into character – this time a blonde, 1920s showgirl –  without losing her mega-watt star quality. By the time Claybourne Elder’s “ambisextruous” rich kid was getting Eiffel towered by incestuous brothers played by Wesley J. Barnes and Joseph Anthony Byrd, I knew this was a company who knows what it’s doing. In an erotically anodyne theatrical landscape that begs the question of whether the community might still be afraid of cooties, Lili-Anne Brown’s orgiastic staging of Michael John LaChiusa’s 2000 musical proved a welcome respite of “gin, skin, sin, fun.”

If my recollections seem scattered or overly titillated, it’s because I’m still rubbing my eyes in morning-after glory. Based on Joseph Moncure March’s 1928 poem of the same name, LaChiusa’s musical, which he co-wrote with its first director, George C. Wolfe, bravely attempts to recreate such a night. It trusts us to follow its ebbs and flows, and while occasionally pulling individual characters into relief, mostly presents itself as a heavy-breathing, sharp-inhaling tableau. Running an intermission-less two hours and with virtually everybody onstage throughout, it does become exhausting. It’s an admirable gambit that pays off intellectually, if not in typical Broadway instant gratification. The one issue I take with Brown’s otherwise spectacular production is the choice to have Justin Townsend light every cranny of Arnel Sanciano’s tastefully overflowing apartment set equally, taxing us further with finding where to focus.

That’s not to say this is a musical, or production, that lacks instant gratification. (And, for the record, few shows have left me as unable to think of anything else in the following days.) The cast, led by Rogers and a thrilling Jordan Donica, is uniformly terrific, with special mentions for Adrienne Warren, Tonya Pinkins, Jelani Alladin and New York newcomer Maya Rowe. But, really, everyone here shines (impressively so, considering that pesky lighting issue) and the production is made near-mythical by the knowledge it was rehearsed in just two weeks. A few more days and every single beat of these performances would be perfect, which bodes well for the remainder of its short two-week run. Considering the complexity of LaChiusa’s full-throttle jazz score, lushly music directed by Daryl Waters, and some very fun choreography by Katie Spelman, it’s practically a miracle. Anybody know how soon is too soon to score a next fix?

The Wild Party is in performance through March 29, 2026 at New York City Center on West 55th Street in New York City. For tickets and more information, visit here.

Chess has its next queen! Joanna “JoJo” Levesque will star in the Broadway revival of Chess as Florence Vassy beginning June 23. A new block of tickets is now on sale through Sept. 13. JoJo takes over the role from Lea Michele, who will play her final performance on June 21.

JoJo recently starred as the sparkling diamond Satine in Broadway’s Moulin Rouge, and originated the role of Tess in Working Girl at La Jolla Playhouse She rose to fame with the hits “Leave (Get Out)” and “Too Little Too Late,” becoming the youngest solo artist to top the Billboard Mainstream Top 40. 

The production currently stars Tony Award winner Aaron Tveit, Emmy Award nominee Lea Michele (through Sunday, June 21, 2026) and Nicholas Christopher. It features Hannah Cruz, Bryce Pinkham, Bradley Dean, Sean Allan Krill. The ensemble includes Kyla Bartholomeusz, Daniel Beeman, Shavey Brown, Emma Degerstedt, Casey Garvin, Adam Halpin, David Paul Kidder, Sarah Michele Lindsey, Michael Milkanin, Aleksandr Ivan Pevec, Aliah James, Sydney Jones, Sean MacLaughlin, Sarah Meahl, Ramone Nelson, Fredric Rodriguez Odgaard, Michael Olaribigbe, Katerina Papacostas, Samantha Pollino, Adam Roberts, Regine Sophia and Katie Webber.

Chess features a new book by Emmy Award winner Danny Strong, with music and lyrics by Emmy and Tony Award nominees ABBA’s Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus and Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Award winner Tim Rice. It is based on an idea by Tim Rice. The production, which is the first Broadway revival of Chess, is directed by Tony Award winner Michael Mayer and choreographed by Drama Desk Award nominee Lorin Latarro with original orchestrations by Anders Eljas, orchestrations by Anders Eljas and Brian Usifer, and music supervision by Brian Usifer. It features scenic design by Tony Award winner David Rockwell, costume design by Tom Broecker, lighting design by four-time Tony Award winner Kevin Adams, sound design by John Shivers and video design by Tony Award nominee Peter Nigrini. Johanna McKeon serves as Associate Director, Travis Waldschmidt serves as Associate Choreographer and Music Direction is by Ian Weinberger. Casting is by Jim Carnahan C.S.A. and Jason Thinger C.S.A. Hair, Wig and Makeup Design are by Luc Verschueren for Campbell Young Associates.

Chess runs at the Imperial Theatre on West 45th Street in New York City. For tickets and more information, visit here.