Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures Developing DOG DAY AFTERNOON for the Stage; Stephen Adly Guirgis Will Write

Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures has just announced that 2015 Pulitzer Prize winner Stephen Adly Guirgis (BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY) will write a new play based on the Oscar®-winning motion picture Dog Day Afternoon. Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures is developing the play for a Broadway bow to follow their successful production of Oscar® winner William Goldman's adaptation of MISERY starring Bruce Willis and Laurie Metcalf.

The 1975 crime drama was directed by Sidney Lumet, written by Frank Pierson, and stars Al Pacino, John Cazale, Charles Durning, Chris Sarandon, Penelope Allen, James Broderick, Lance Henriksen, and Carol Kane. The film was inspired by P.F. Kluge's article "The Boys in the Bank", which tells a similar story of the robbery of a Brooklynbank by John Wojtowicz and Salvatore Naturale on August 22, 1972. This article was published in Life in 1972. It has grossed $50M, according to Box Offie Mojo.

In London, Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures is currently represented by ROALD DAHL'S CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, now in its third smash year at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, and the new musical will be bowing on Broadway in 2017. In addition to MISERY which was the top grossing Broadway play for the week ending January 3, 2016, Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures is also co-producing the Broadway production of the Tony and Olivier Award-winning Best Play THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME, which was the second highest grossing Broadway play for the week ending January 3, 2016.

STEPHEN ADLY GUIRGIS is a member and former co-artistic director of LAByrinth Theater Company. His most recent play BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY won the 2015 Pulitzer Prize. His plays have been produced on five continents and throughout the United States. They include OUR LADY OF 121ST STREET (Drama Desk, Lucille Lortel, Outer Critics Circle Best Play Nominations), JESUS HOPPED THE 'A' TRAIN (Edinburgh Festival Fringe First Award, Barrymore Award, Olivier Nomination for London's Best New Play), IN ARABIA, WE'D ALL BE KINGS (2007 LA Drama Critics Best Play, Best Writing Award), THE LAST DAYS OF JUDAS ISCARIOT (10 best Time Magazine & Entertainment Weekly), and THE LITTLE FLOWER OF EAST ORANGE. All five plays were directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman and were originally produced by LAByrinth. On Broadway, THE MOTHERF***ER WITH THE HAT (6 Tony nominations, including Best Play) was directed by Anna D. Shapiro and marked his third consecutive world premiere co-production with The Public Theater and LAByrinth. In London, his plays have premiered at The Donmar Warehouse, The Almeida, The Hampstead, and at The Arts Theater in the West End. Other plays include DEN OF THIEVES and DOMINICA THE FAT UGLY HO. As an actor, he has appeared in theater, film and television, including roles in Kenneth Lonergan's film Margaret, Todd Solondz's Palindromes, and Brett C Leonard's Jailbait opposite Michael Pitt. Guirgis is currently collaborating with Academy Award nominated director Baz Luhrmann on the upcoming Netflix Series "The Get Down," about the birth of hip-hop in the 1970s

WARNER BROS. THEATRE VENTURES continues Warner Bros.' mission of presenting the finest entertainment across all media and platforms to global audiences. Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures is the company's live stage play division, which develops and produces first-class musicals and other stage productions. With access to Warner Bros.' vast library of iconic film and television properties, as well as extensive relationships with top theatrical talent, Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures is well-positioned as a dynamic and resourceful creative entity in the live theater arena. The division's roster of upcoming projects includes dramas, comedies and musicals based on both library titles and original concepts. Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures has previously been represented on Broadway with the Tony Award-winning musical THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY as well as the holiday hit ELF, which broke box office records at the Al Hirschfield Theatre during its initial run. The division also co-produced the original musical SECONDHAND LIONS at Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre and is readying productions of 17 AGAIN, DAVE and BEETLEJUICE for stage. Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures also licenses third-party stage rights to the various properties held within the studio's vast media library, including such productions as HAIRSPRAY, THE BODYGUARD, TOP HAT, SINGIN' IN THE RAIN, THE WIZARD OF OZ, THE COLOR PURPLE, 42ND STREET AND HONEYMOON IN VEGAS, as well as the upcoming DINER.