Sound designer Cody Spencer was challenged with bringing the sonic identities of “Dog Day Afternoon” to the August Wilson Theatre on 52nd Street in New York City, while also formatting the theater to handle the audio.

He chose the L-Acoustics L-ISA Immersive Hyperreal Sound to get the job done, while being one of the first people to put a musical-grade speaker system into a non-musical play.

Starring Jon Bernthal and Eben Moss-Bachrach, Dog Day Afternoon tells the true story of Sonny Wortzik’s 1972 Brooklyn bank robbery, a botched heist that turned into an hours-long standoff with police and a media circus. The play uses music strategically throughout: 1970s classic rock dropped with cinematic precision, a crowd participation sequence built around the infamous Attica! chant, and a helicopter descent that closes the show.

“I remember Cody telling me what he was imagining, and I thought: That’s fantastic—you’re going to be the first person to put a musical-scale speaker system into a Broadway play,” said David Strang, whose company provided the sound reinforcement for the production.

Spencer emphasized the need of scale in sound production.

“I wanted the music to be big and full, not just heavy on the low end or oversaturated,” he said. “I needed it to feel like you’re watching a film, where the music drops in and fills the whole room. That’s what led me to L-Acoustics and L-ISA.”

Spencer used subliminal low-frequency tension throughout the show, playing sounds typically found in the city throughout. Four L-Acoustics SB10i were mounted to the underbalcony ceiling to ensure consistent low-frequency extension across the room.

“I spent a lot of time with L-Acoustics system engineers on this,” Spencer said. “We developed a tuning approach so the SB10i deliver a small amount of sub energy on their own, and when combined with the mains they maintain exactly the same level as you move under the balcony. The coverage is seamless.”

L-Acoustics Soundvision waw used to model sub coverage on the vertical plane.

The main system is built around a split L-ISA Scene configuration of five A Series arrays, each comprising a single A15 Focus over two A15 Wide, flown over the stage lip. A second tier of five A Series arrays, this time one A10 Focus over one A10 Wide, provide spatial delays to the front mezzanine.

Two cardioid subwoofer hangs of three SB18 flank the center A Series array in the main Scene system. These are complemented by the four ceiling-mounted SB10i. Seven ultra-compact X4i run along the stage lip, with two colinear Syva systems positioned as orchestra sources. The under-mezzanine delays comprise eight X4i, seven X8, and seven 5XT, with seven additional X8 handling mezzanine delays in the balcony. Four 5XT serve as near-fills and mezzanine fills.

These created overall surround sound coverage of the entire theater.

“[Spencer’s] blending different parts of the system together using the Syva in ways I hadn’t seen before,” Strang said.

Spencer said the working relationship with L-Acousitcs was just as important as the technology itself.

“L-Acoustics listens to what I’m doing and helps my team develop faster ways to work,” he said. “What we’re doing is genuinely complicated and having that support makes it possible to push the creativity further during previews rather than just keeping up with it.”

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