‘The Shark is Broken’ @ Amphibian Stage
Photos by Evan Michael Woods
—Jan Farrington
It’s a great title, The Shark Is Broken.
You chew on the words for a moment—know suddenly what the story’s about—and feel a grin crinkle your face.
Oh, this could be fun. And it is.
Amphibian Stage is selling tickets to a summer adventure in cool waters—a prime space on the Orca, a hardscrabble fishing boat off the coast of New England in 1974. This is the tale of the three stars of the 1975 blockbuster Jaws (Robert Shaw, Roy Scheider, and Richard Dreyfuss), who will be on this damned boat longer than they can imagine.
What fun…for us.
“Nobody shoots on the [real] ocean,” the complaints begin. They get more specific: “Nothing good ever happens to a Jew on the water.” There are studios (indoors!) that can easily create fake seascapes. There are special effects artists on the payroll. But no, young director Steven Spielberg is obsessed with his giant mechanical shark (Bruce, by name). Bruce breaks down constantly, as does his two shark doubles. And when the “sharks” aren’t breaking down, they’re taking on water and sinking fast.
Playwrights Ian Shaw (one of Robert’s sons) and Joseph Nixon give us a salty tale of once upon a time in the movies. And because most of us know nobody dies from making the movie, the story feels safe and fun, even though the characters seem eternally on the near edge of punching one another in the face.
Shaw, Scheider, and Dreyfuss are a mis-matched trio hailing from different parts of showbiz and different styles of artistry. “I am the grit in the oyster,” Robert Shaw (Brandon J. Murphy) proclaims with a smirk; he’s a strange mix of pompous British actor and Irish bar brawler. Richard Dreyfuss (Brandon Wilhelm) is younger, still waiting for his “star” ticket to be punched—and a bundle of tics and jitters. So, by default and by nature, hardworking journeyman actor Roy Scheider (Jakie Cabe) is the “calm down” guy, the soother of bad feelings—though he’s nearly as frazzled as the others if you dive beneath the surface.
Director David A. Miller and the cast members take the clever, quippy dialogue of the script and craft three hilariously different characters to enjoy. And what seagoing story doesn’t end with the feeling that a “band of brothers” has been created—even if we know they’ll wave good-bye on the dock, perhaps to meet again only at the occasional Hollywood party.
The script and actors create at least half the fun—but equally engaging are the creations of The Shark’s technical and artistic team.
The brilliantly built Orca had me at hello. I spent a half-hour mesmerized by the sheer size and accuracy of scenic designer Brian Clinnin’s wooden boat (an amazing, stage-filling rendition of what I recall from the Jaws movie). Then I realized the light on and around the boat was shifting from moment to moment (remember, the show hasn’t yet begun), reflecting upward from imaginary moving waves—courtesy of lighting guru Tristan Decker, who maintained that level of imagination and quality throughout, and surrounded the boat with projections of the sea/waves/sky just beyond, in all tones and moods (even surrealistically sped-up at one moment). David Lanza’s sound, whether incidental music or ocean wind and waves, always adds to the effect, and Nathan Autrey’s fight choreography comes in handy at a crucial moment.
Hope Cox’s costumes for Shaw, Scheider and Dreyfuss define the characters subtly and well, and stage manager Kaitlin Hatton’s props are few but nicely pertinent: a newspaper with “NIXON RESIGNS” pinpoints the time period and national mood; a small knife makes us sit up for a moment—and of course, the liquor bottles the unreformed Shaw is hiding for a rainy day are sad/amusing, as is the beach-tan gear Scheider squirrels away for a sunny one. (Dude, it’s New England; what are the odds?)
Director Miller does not appear as “Spielberg”—but he’s part of a voice-over team who chime in as members of the Jaws crew, with Scott Eddins, Jr. (also the understudy for Dreyfuss) as the assistant director; Joseph Tulley as the sound/camera guy; David Lanza as the focus puller; and Ash Vance as “continuity.”
A summer adventure indeed, this fast-moving, funny, unpredictable behind-the-scenes look at a movie about to make history and change the game—and at America in a fateful year that will do the same. Grab an umbrella drink at Amphibian’s lobby bar, and enjoy The Shark is Broken!
WHEN: July 22-August 16, 2026
WHERE: Amphibian Stage, 120 South Main Street, Fort Worth
WEB: https://amphibianstage.com/
