Warner Bros. to develop Dog Day Afternoon for the stage

Tom Millward
Tom Millward

Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures has announced a new stage adaptation of Dog Day Afternoon in development. The company is aiming for a 2017 Broadway bow. Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis will adapt the 1975 Oscar-winning film.

Synopsis: "Dog Day Afternoon was inspired by P.F. Kluge's article 'The Boys in the Bank,' which tells a similar story of the robbery of a Brooklyn bank by John Wojtowicz and Salvatore Naturale on August 22, 1972." The 1975 film won Frank Pierson the Oscar for "Writing - Original Screenplay." It was also nominated for a further five Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director (Sidney Lumet), Best Actor in a Leading Role (Al Pacino), Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Chris Sarandon) and Best Film Editing (Dede Allen). Besides Pacino and Sarandon, it also starred John Cazale, Charles Durning, Penelope Allen, James Broderick, Lance Henriksen, and Carol Kane.

Warner Bros. is currently represented on the Great White Way by the Broadway premiere of Misery at the Broadhurst Theatre and also co-produces the Tony Award-winning play The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time at the Barrymore Theatre. In London the company is currently represented by the West End premiere of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - The Musical, which is also Broadway-bound for the 2016-2017 season.

Other stage productions in development include Dave, 17 Again and Beetlejuice.

- by Tom Millward

Originally published on

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