The Shark is Broken – A Story of the Making of the Movie Jaws 50 Years Later

Jun 14, 2025 by

By Two Sues on the Aisle, Susie Rosenbluth and Sue Weston

The Shark is Broken, written by playwrights Ian Shaw and Joseph Nixon, provides a behind-the-scenes into the making of the 1975 movie, Jaws, told from the actor’s perspective. Jaws was Steven Spielberg’s second full-length film, made when he was only 26. It broke with tradition by filming on location on a too-small boat, ‘Ocra’, in Martha’s Vineyard rather than in a studio. The play revolves around three actors, Robert Shaw (Jeffery Bender), who was the father of Ian (the playwright), Roy Scheider (Jason Babinsky), and Richard Dreyfuss (Max Wolkowitz, who has an amazing resemblance to Dreyfuss). The trio spent nine weeks together on a small boat while the crew dealt with malfunctions from ‘Bruce’ the mechanical shark, and unpredictable weather.

The show, which explores the creative process and the fragility of an actor’s psyche, ended its limited run at the George Street Playhouse.

Jaws – The Movie

Jaws was based on the novel by Peter Benchley and was inspired by real-life events, shark attacks along the Jersey Shore in 1916. The movie, released before the summer of 1975, became an immediate box-office draw. The story is about a man-eating shark in the waters surrounding the beach town of Amity Island. Police Chief Martin Brody (played by Roy Scheider) wants to close the beach after a shark kills several swimmers, but the mayor objects, insisting the local economy depends on the beach. They bring in Oceanographer Matt Hooper (played by Dreyfuss) to assess the situation, while a local fisherman, Quint (played by Shaw), offers to catch and kill it for $10,000.

The three men set off together in Quint’s small boat to find and kill the shark.

Photo Credit – T. Charles Erickson

Lights, Camera, and Delay in Action

The show takes place on a replica of the boat ‘Ocra’, which sits prominently in the Center Stage (kudos to Set Designer Anne Mundeli). The vessel is captivating, giving the audience a sense of being there, waiting with the actors for filming to commence. They amuse themselves playing cards, drinking, sunbathing, and getting to know each other, comparing prior roles, fears, and dreams. Dreyfuss, the youngest of the three, hopes this film will be the one where he is discovered. Shaw is an acclaimed English Shakespearean actor, with a large family and equally inflated ego, who aspires to be a writer. Ron Scheider is the least volatile of the three, having recently appeared in several popular films, he devotes his time to smoking cigarettes and sunbathing.

Photo Credit – T. Charles Erickson

Each finds ways to cope with their insecurities. Dreyfuss turns to marijuana and cocaine, while Shaw prefers alcohol and has hidden bottles around the boat. Scheider finds comfort in routines, reading the paper, smoking, and solitude. He becomes a father figure, maintaining the peace so they can complete the filming, assuring Dreyfuss that all actors face insecurities.

Delays in filming led to boredom, which increased the internal tension. The tension on stage between Shaw and Dreyfuss reflects their relationship during filming.

Connected through Comedy

The running joke was that Jaws would be a flop. They questioned if anyone would even remember it 50 years later, referencing other movies of the time, which, like Jaws, would become cult-classics, concluding there could never be a sequel, wondering out loud what Jaws was about.

Richard Dreyfuss is Jewish, born in Brooklyn, raised in Bayside, Queens. The writers use his background to provide material for a series of Jewish jokes, like how his skin “bypasses tan and goes directly to sunstroke.” He expresses his dislike for the ocean, saying, “Jews should stay away from water. Nothing good ever happened to any Jews on the water.” Later, he shares how his “typical Jewish father” wanted him to become either a lawyer or a doctor, which feeds his insecurity about his abilities as an actor.

An Entertaining Afternoon

The Shark is Broken takes an unusual approach, placing three actors on a boat, with the tension from their internal conflicts. It is a show where nothing really happens. Yes, they finish filming, but there is no sense of closure. Shaw gets the highest billing on the movie that propelled Spielberg and Dreyfuss’s careers.

For those who grew up watching the movie Jaws and remember being afraid to go to the beach, The Shark is Broken brings back memories. For others, it is a character study of the fragility of actors, their need for approval, and an uncanny ability to perform when the camera is on. In some way, we may all be a bit broken, something invisible to an observer who sees only gifted actors. It was a great production that tells a little-known story about the making of a classic film, and the young director who would change the film industry.

Two Sues on the Aisle bases its ratings on how many challahs (1-5) it pays to buy (rather than make) to see the play, show, film, book, or exhibit being reviewed.

The Shark is Broken, received 3 Challahs

The George Street Playhouse, located in New Brunswick, New Jersey

Running Time: 90 minutes without intermission

Three Challah Rating

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