By Ron Fassler . . .
Credit where credit is due: someone figured out how to put on stage the drama and comedy that came with the delays a trio of actors endured while filming Jaws in the summer of 1974. The Shark is Broken is credited to playwrights Joseph Nixon and, in a quirk of destiny, Ian Shaw, the son of Robert Shaw, who was one of three stars that the Jaws screenplay stranded on a boat in the ocean in pursuit of a deadly shark. They were also stuck on the boat nearly every day of production due to “Bruce,” the mechanical shark and true star of the picture, which seemingly broke down every five minutes. This left Robert Shaw, Roy Scheider and Richard Dreyfus cooling their heels and collecting overtime. And fighting. Oh, how they fought.
It was a miserable shoot that took many more days than originally scheduled, helmed by a 28-year-old director who was only directing his second feature. The crew hated him, and it seemed that if young Steven Spielberg didn’t pull off this mammoth undertaking, it would be the end of his career. Of course, we all know how that story turns out. But that doesn’t mean The Shark is Broken isn’t both full of surprises and thoroughly entertaining. Directed by Guy Masterson with energy and flair, who has been with it since its premiere in 2019 in Brighton, England for an initial three-day run. From there it went to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival later that year, where it caught the attention of major London producers. Postponed from a scheduled opening in the West End in 2020 because of Covid, it finally opened at The Ambassadors Theatre in 2021, where it received an Olivier nomination for the Best Entertainment or Comedy Play. Its run was extended, it made back its money, and played Toronto in a successful engagement. Now it’s on Broadway at the John Golden Theatre for a sixteen-week run.
Oh, and in perfect symmetry, Ian Shaw, the co-writer, is also playing the role of his father to a “T” and has been with the show every step of the way. His eerie resemblance goes beyond facial characteristics and his ability to imitate his father’s growl of a speaking voice. He’s a wonderful actor and, at fifty-three, roughly the age his father was when he filmed Jaws—although, technically, he’s reached an age his father never did. A parent to nine children, and a chronic drinker, Robert Shaw died of a heart attack at fifty-one. Son Ian’s performance is filled with a love for his father and his reckless ways, with respect for an Englishman who was a fine actor, novelist, playwright and screenwriter.
Joining Shaw are Colin Donnell and Alex Brightman as Roy Scheider and Richard Dreyfus, respectively. Donnell has the toughest job of the three, in that Scheider, as Brody (though the film’s biggest role), was also its straight man, playing opposite two such colorful characters as Quint and Hooper. Shaw chewed the scenery; and what little there was left over, Dreyfus eagerly gobbled. Their rivalry and fits of anger have been essayed in the books and documentaries on Jaws, but seeing the three men onstage trapped in the small boat, nicely detailed on Duncan Henderson’s claustrophobic set, makes for some delicious drama. Not many plays or films depict how actors rehearse and spend their time getting into character, so if that is an enticement, The Shark is Broken won’t leave you disappointed.
I found the process fascinating, so the play had me at hello. I’m also a big fan of the film, reinforced when I watched it for the umpteenth time a day before I attended the play. For something done without any digital effects back in 1974, it’s a wonder how beautifully it holds up technically, while its humor and terror play off one another perfectly in equal measure. The balance Spielberg struck has always been one of the most winning things about it.
In terms of performance, Alex Brightman’s Richard Dreyfus is a scene-stealer. Already having committed grand theft on Broadway in his larger-than-life portrayals of Dewey Finn in School of Rock and the title role in Beetlejuice, Brightman’s sense of comic timing, combined with the relentlessness of the Energizer Bunny, is dazzling. He provides a great deal of the laughs in a show that has enough to keep things afloat easily for its ninety-minute running time. Donnell is given some nice moments, but in terms of effectiveness, he’s largely tamped down by the limitations of the Scheider character. The actor’s depression over not getting his proper time basking in the sun (he was something of an addict in that regard) doesn’t make for much of a dramatic arc. There’s more for Shaw to do when playing his father due to the elder’s rabble-rousing nature and the antagonism he stirs in Dreyfus. The Shaw/Brightman interplay makes the play.
For fans of the film, one of its most memorable moments is the monologue Shaw’s character Quint delivers while the other two men listen to his story of being one of the few survivors of the Indianapolis, a ship that was sunk by Japanese bombers and resulted in the biggest loss of life at sea from a single ship in U.S. Navy history. And it wasn’t just any ship, but one that had just finished delivering elements for the atomic bomb that was to be dropped on Hiroshima. Shaw refused to do the speech as written, penning one himself, and that is what appears in the film. It is used quite well and gives the play the much-needed heft it very much needs.
I marveled at seeing a Broadway play staged in an area no bigger than the living room of a studio apartment in Manhattan. A little universe is created in that space, big enough for three egos and a load of clever and informative writing that depict what went into creating a film that has truly endured the test of time. As one of the characters says, “Who do you think will even care about this movie in fifty years?” I, for one, still do. The Shark is Broken should make audiences who enjoy the film appreciate the play in the similar way it reflects its strengths and charm.
The Shark is Broken. Through November 19 at the John Golden Theatre (252 West 45th Street, between Broadway and Eighth Avenue). www.thesharkisbroken.com
Photos: Matthew Murphy
