Martha’s Vineyard, 1974: shooting on ‘Jaws’ has stalled. The film’s lead actors – Robert Shaw, Roy Scheider and Richard Dreyfuss – are stuck on a boat, at the mercy of foul weather and a faulty mechanical co-star. Awash with alcohol and ambition, three hammered sharks start to bare their teeth…Directed by Guy Masterson, THE SHARK IS BROKEN reveals the hilarious behind-the-scenes drama on one of Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters.
If not for our ongoing fascination with Jaws, The Shark Is Broken would be of limited interest: three men in a boat reading newspaper articles (“NIXON RESIGNS”), reminiscing about their childhoods, bickering about Hollywood and drinking a whole lot more than they should. But since the movie remains a cultural touchstone, the play makes for pleasant entertainment. Director Guy Masterson does an admirable job of finding tension and variety in a very low-stakes situation; scenic designer Duncan Henderson’s cross-section of a boat is effectively nested in Nina Dunn’s video design, a curving backdrop of water and sky.
In the end, though, the comfort that The Shark Is Broken brings, and it truly is a most enjoyable 95 minutes, stems from the canny way in which it channels Jaws itself. The play’s version of Robert Shaw, when you come right down to it, is Peter Quint, the grizzled veteran baiting and blasting the young whippersnapper whom you can call Dreyfuss or Matt Hooper, it’s all the same. Meanwhile bemused, decent Roy “Chief Brody” Scheider attempts to make peace between mercurial shipmates as he decides on the next fateful phase of his career. Watching The Shark Is Broken, then, is not unlike diving into a boatload of outtakes from a beloved classic. If you’re anything like me, you eat it up like it’s popcorn.
| 2021 | West End |
West End |
| 2023 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | BroadwayWorld Awards | Best Featured Performer in a Play | Alex Brightman |
| 2024 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding New Broadway Play | Joseph Nixon |
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