In the annals of film history, Jaws stands out as an incredible feat, for more than a few reasons. The mega-hit created the concept of a summer blockbuster, catapulted director Steven Spielberg’s now storied career, and scared generations of filmgoers out of the water with its thrilling tale of a Great White prowling the waters of the fictional Amity Island.
These accomplishments prove even more remarkable when considering the film’s extremely troubled production. The animatronic shark, nicknamed Bruce, often malfunctioned or was damaged, including the time Spielberg’s friend, Star Wars director George Lucas, allegedly broke it during an after-hours visit to the set. Add this to the grueling open-water shoot, production delays, actor Robert Shaw’s drinking, and going over budget, and you have some behind-the-scenes drama that’s as harrowing as the film itself.
Pittsburgh theater fans will experience a dramatized take on this notorious shoot when barebones productions presents The Shark Is Broken. Described in a press release as a “sharp, hilarious comedy,” the play follows the film’s three lead actors, Shaw (shark hunter Quint), Richard Dreyfuss (marine biologist Matt Hooper), and Roy Schieder (Amity police chief Martin Brody), trapped on a boat off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard, and dives into the “absurdities, tensions, and unlikely bonds formed while filming one of Hollywood’s most iconic blockbusters.”
“I was aware of the troubles that happened with the filming of Jaws – but, honestly, not to this extent,” Patrick Jordan, barebones’ artistic director, tells Pittsburgh City Paper. “Once I found out about this play, I did a little bit of a deeper dive into it, and I realized that of this movie is beyond legendary and worth bringing to audiences in Pittsburgh.”
Jordan, who plays Shaw, said he had been “waiting for the stars to align to produce this show for a few years,” and saw the film’s 50th anniversary this year as a perfect opportunity.
“First and foremost, it’s a very well-written play,” he says. “And it wasn’t just a Saturday Night Live sketch or parody of the actors from Jaws, but really giving you a look behind the camera of [three] actors in a pressure cooker of a situation. Being extraordinarily isolated for long periods of time together and what results. The show ends up being extraordinarily funny at times, and extraordinarily touching at times, while being completely fascinating.”
The play, staging Fri., May 30-Sun., June 15 at the company’s Braddock-based black box theater, was conceived by Joseph Nixon and Shaw’s son, Ian, who played his father during the show’s Broadway run. It originally premiered in 2019 in Scotland at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and has since made waves (pun intended) in the theater scene.
While Ian had the advantage of a father-son relationship, Jordan had to rely on other methods to nail down his performance.
“I’ve never had to play a real actor before,” he says. “Like an actual person who happens to be an iconic actor, but this is what’s so wonderful about YouTube. There is a treasure trove of interviews — long-form interviews from that era that are readily available, as well as the filmography and work that these actors have done. At the end of the day, we have to make these characters our own, but with the popularity of Jaws, there was pretty much limitless research at our fingertips.”
Patrick Cannon, who plays Scheider, and Quinn Patrick Shannon, who plays Dreyfuss, both agree that old interviews, along with behind-the-scenes footage and Jaws rewatches, were helpful. Still, Cannon tells City Paper he “didn’t want to just impersonate [Scheider], it’s more about channeling the spirit and energy of the guy.”
Shannon. who serves as the conservatory director for Pittsburgh Musical Theater, tells CP that The Shark Is Broken gave him a chance to get out of his comfort zone.
“I’m always doing musicals, and I always feel as though that’s how I’m viewed by the community,” says Shannon, adding that he was finishing up a run of PMT’s spring production of Waitress during rehearsals for The Shark Is Broken. “I have the opportunity not only to play one of my favorite actors, but to also show people that I’m not just a [“musical theater”] guy.”
Like Jordan, Shannon admits not knowing the gravity of the film’s production troubles. “I went down sort of a Spielberg rabbit hole in college, watching most of his films, and obviously Jaws was on the list,” he adds. “I had seen it a bunch since then, but rewatched it a couple weeks ago. I was aware of some of the issues but had no idea to the extent until I read the script for this play.”
Beyond working to represent real people as closely as possible, Jordan says the show benefits from its 1970s-era period wardrobe and set design by Tony Ferrari, who created “as accurate a representation of the Orca from Jaws as you could ever see (in Braddock).”
“We even have a production-made barrel from the original 1975 movie set,” Jordan says, referring to the floating barrels Quint, Hooper, and Brody harpoon into the shark. “We went to great lengths to pay specific attention to detail.”
The play also gained a cinematic eye in director Steve Parys, a local film professional whose career spans over three decades, and includes dozens of television and film credits, including Silence of the Lambs, Fear the Walking Dead, Watson, and others. The Shark Is Broken gave Parys his first go at directing for the stage, as well as an opportunity to indulge his lifelong love of Jaws.
“I’ve been a huge fan of the film since the day it came out,” Parys tells CP. “I was 13 and ended up seeing it about 20 times during its first run. It got to the point where I would sink down in my seat and turn around and watch the audience during the jump scares. It was also the first film that I started to pick apart in my mind and view it as a film, and be cognizant of how it was assembled and how the shots worked. All of that led me to a career in film.”
While the source material may give horror-averse theater audiences pause, Jordan, Parys, and Cannon agree that The Shark Is Broken veers away from the film’s blood-in-the-water thrills.
On what attracted him to the play, Cannon says, “The writing is sharp and blends backstage drama, [Jaws-slash-movie] mythology, and real vulnerability. It’s a chance to dive into something that’s both hilarious and deeply human.”
Parys expands on this, calling The Shark Is Broken “a bit lighter fare than barebones usually puts on.”
“Everybody can use a fun event right about now,” he concludes.
barebones productions presents The Shark Is Broken. Fri., May 30-Sun., June 15. barebones black box theater. 1211 Braddock Ave., Braddock. $40-50, Pay What You Can for Thu., June 5. barebonesproductions.com/shark
This article appears in May 21-27, 2025.
