As Jaws marks its 50th anniversary, Ensemble Theatre Company is pulling back the curtain on the chaos behind the classic film with The Shark Is Broken, opening Wednesday, February 4 at The New Vic Theatre in Santa Barbara.
Written by Ian Shaw and Joseph Nixon, the play—in its West Coast premiere—gives a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the iconic film. It centers on three of its actors stranded on a boat with a malfunctioning mechanical shark—and a production about to collapse.
“I first saw The Shark Is Broken on Broadway in October 2023 during one of our annual donor trips to New York,” ETC executive artistic director Scott DeVine says. “And from the moment the lights came up on that tiny boat, I knew this play belonged on our stage.”
DeVine describes the play as a blend of humor and humanity. “It was one of those rare theatrical experiences where you immediately recognize something special, hilarious, human, and utterly theatrical.”
Set in 1974 on the set of Jaws, the play follows Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss and Roy Scheider as egos clash, tempers flare, and the famously unreliable shark refuses to work. A more intimate character study unfolds about ambition, insecurity and the cost of creating art.
The cast features Will Block as Dreyfuss, Gildart Jackson as Shaw and Adam Poole as Scheider.
The premiere arrives amid renewed cultural attention to the film’s 50th anniversary, adding an emotional element. Audiences already know what happens, which makes watching the struggle all the more interesting. The play asks where reality ends and performance begins.
Playwright Ian Shaw, Robert Shaw’s son, drew on his father’s real journals, writing in his father’s voice and blurring the line between fact and theatrical interpretation.
DeVine notes that audiences are surprised by how close the film came to failure. “There’s something deeply satisfying about learning that Hollywood’s first blockbuster was born out of mechanical failures, budget overruns, and three actors who could barely stand each other at times,” he says.
Director Pesha Rudnick, founding artistic director of Local Theatre Company in Boulder and a continuing lecturer at UC Santa Barbara, brings an ensemble-driven approach to the three-person play. DeVine credits her with striking a careful balance, keeping the comedy grounded while allowing the emotional stakes to surface.
The production also marks the beginning of a new collaboration between ETC and UCSB, creating opportunities for students to engage in professional theatre.
DeVine hopes The Shark Is Broken attracts audiences who love Jaws but who may not regularly attend theatre. He describes the production as accessible, consistently funny, emotionally resonant and a reminder of what makes live performance unique.
“It’s immediate, alive, and connects us to our shared humanity in ways that no other art form can,” he says. “As I like to say: Welcome aboard the Orca. We’re gonna need a bigger theater.”
Editor’s Note: The Shark Is Broken, part of ETC’s 47th season theme “Truth and Illusion,” runs through February 22. Preview performances begin February 4, with opening night scheduled February 7.