In play about ‘Jaws,’ there are two kinds of sharks

By Rich Fahey

BEVERLY – Three men on a boat for nine weeks in 1974, often at each other’s throats. An endless series of delays due to a number of mechanical sharks with no bite. And the open question of whether the arrangement would last long enough to create an iconic movie.

That is the setting for Ian Shaw’s and Joseph Nixon’s fascinating and entertaining play “The Shark is Broken,” now enjoying a limited run at the North Shore Music Theatre through May 11.

Three actors – Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss and Roy Scheider – took residence in a boat named Orca for nine weeks off the shore of Martha’s Vineyard, trying to complete the movie “Jaws.”

While all three members of the cast – Timothy W. Hull as Robert Shaw, Jonathan Randell Silver as Richard Dreyfuss, and Josh Tyson as Roy Scheider – are equally strong partners, it is Hull who has the showiest part and steals many of the scenes as Robert Archibald Shaw, the English actor, playwright, novelist and screenwriter. The father of 10 children, he moved easily and frequently between the stage, Shakespeare and the movies, where he also starred in such works as “A Man For all Seasons” and “The Sting.”

He never lets us forget he is also a writer, though admittedly  that aide of his work had been slowed by his affinity for alcohol; in “Shark,” he is almost never seen without bottle in hand and he eventually died at the age of 51.

Silver’s Dreyfuss, then only 26, is unsure of his place in the industry, even after “American Graffiti” and “The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz.” His insecurities are part of his drug habit and the panic attacks that keep popping up and complicating the situation.

Tyson’s Scheider, the referee between the warring Shaw and Dreyfuss, seems the most grounded, reading the New York Times, basking in the success of “The French Connection” and often trying to simply catch some sun.

The tension mounts during the 95-minute productions as the delays mount, and Shaw’s drinking makes him increasingly unhinged, including a harrowing moment when Dreyfuss throws a bottle overboard, which results in Shaw’s hands around his throat.

The real star of “Jaws,” as even the stars would be forced to admit, was Bruce, the three mechanical sharks bult to portray the great white shark at the heart of the story. One by one, they succumbed to saltwater, seaweed or a host of other ills.

Trying to keep a lid on it all amidst staggering budget overruns is young, unseen director Stephen Spielberg.

There is a subplot on whether the ever-tipsy Shaw, endlessly spouting Shakespeare while forgetting his “Jaws” lines, will be able to complete a monologue vital to the film concerning the sinking of the USS Indianapolis in 1945, and the sharks who gathered to feast on the doomed sailors.

Playwright Ian Shaw portrayed his father in every production of “Shark” leading up to this one. He and co-writer Nixon come up with some comic gems for their characters such as  “No one will ever make a sequel of this” and “Fifty years from now, no one will ever remember this movie.”

There are also some funny and entertaining riffs on clam chowder, the Vineyarders, and New Englanders in general.

NSMT has reconfigured itself for this production. A traditional proscenium stage has been set up where the in-the-round stage usually sits, and about a third of the theater’s seating capacity is being used.

Hanney has wisely employed as director Guy Masterton, who has  been with the show since its inception, and he knows all of the pieces of the puzzle by heart and where they all fit.

Masterton is  surrounded  by some first-class production values such as scenic designer Duncan Hnderson’s well turned-out Orca, Rebecca Glick’s costumes, Jeff Greenberg’s lighting, and sound design and original music by Adam Cork.

NSMT owner Bill Hanney was one of the producers of “The Shark is Broken” when it ran for three months on Broadway in the fall of 2023. That came after its 2019 premiere in Brighton, England, with subsequent runs at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2019, the Ambassador Theatre in London’s West End in 2021 and Toronto in 2022. Hanney has a replica of Bruce in the lobby for theater-goers who want to enjoy a “Jaws” moment.

“The Shark Is Broken” is funny, poignant and at times heartbreaking, especially in program notes when Ian Shaw describes discovering his father’s “drinking diary,” which he found “painful and very brave” and which proved the impetus for the play.

The production, a straight play with a proscenium stage, may be much different from NSMT’s typical fare, but good theater is good theater. Oh, and you may recognize the first few bars of an iconic movie theme. 

The North Shore Music Theatre production of “The Shark is Broken.” Written by Ian Shaw and Joseph Nixon. Directed by Guy Masterson. Through May 11. Nsmt.org.