Without a doubt, Jaws is filled with many iconic moments that led to it being such a beloved and talked about film. John Williams’ score gave the film its heart and beat and built fear. The idea that a creature like a shark in Jaws actually existed and lived beneath the waves of the ocean sent fear through generations of filmgoers. While still young and early in his career, Spielberg’s direction gave us a glimpse into him as a filmmaker.
However, not to be overlooked are the characters, led by Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss), Brody (Roy Scheider), and of course, Quint (Robert Shaw). It is here that The Shark is Broken digs deep, delving into not the characters so much as the men that played them, and doing so while aboard the Orca, Quint’s fishing boat that was home to so many iconic moments in the movie and this play.
It’s a simple premise. The three actors, Roy Scheider (Demetri Goritsas), Richard Dreyfuss (Liam Murray Scott), and Robert Shaw (Ian Shaw), spend the entire play on the Orca, lamenting the state of the film. More to the point, the constant delays, mostly thanks to the malfunctioning shark, but also shooting on the ocean, where lighting, weather, and tides, are always changing). Will this film sink or elevate their careers?
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However, the story isn’t just about the movie and all its issues. It takes a deep dive into who these actors are, where they came from, how they got here, and what they will do next. Suffice it to say, they have all lived very different lives, and not all of them get along, but it proves to be a fascinating mix of old and young, melancholy and excitement, and more than a few rounds of drinks.
Actors are forced to do a lot of waiting around, to begin with, so imagine this film, with constant delays due to mechanical and weather issues, making the shoot drag on and on and on. Boredom can be very dangerous, and more than a few ugly character traits are laid bare on this deck.
The show is ninety minutes long with no intermission, just these three actors portraying actors on a boat. They do such a great job of engaging the audience that my biggest issue was that it was too short. However, looking back, maybe ninety minutes was just right. Goritsas, Scott, and Shaw created a great dynamic between them, engaging the audience in everything from songs and drinking games to their careers. They took us down darker paths, talking about some ugly childhood moments, but that only made them feel more real and easy to relate to.
Ian Shaw slipped into the shoes of his father, Robert Shaw, so easily that you sometimes forgot who was who. His confrontations with Scott as Dreyfuss were some of the best moments. It is an older actor versus a young, brash up-and-coming actor, where Shaw saw some of himself in the youngster and admired his steel, even with their nose-to-nose yelling matches. Goritsas perhaps has the toughest job, playing Scheider as the cool, calming influence that stood between the two men and offered a sense of peace amongst the chaos.
While Shaw’s U.S.S Indianapolis speech played a key part at times, all three actors were given time to shine, to show off their vulnerable sides, hopes, and dreams, while at the same time making it interesting and drawing the audience in. I found myself forgetting about the Jaws lore and concentrating more on these three actors and how they successfully gave us a little glimpse behind the curtain of the mental and physical struggles that actors face.
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With Jaws, so many things that ended up going wrong are what ended up being integral to the makeup of the film. To that end, perhaps the stress, anger, and frustrations felt by Scheider, Shaw, and Dreyfuss helped plant the seeds of something more realistic in the characters they were playing. Undoubtedly, The Shark is Broken let the audience feel that and is executed brilliantly, thanks to three wonderful performances and an uncooperative mechanical shark.
Check out the official website for info on the play.
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