Review: The Shark is Broken

Review: The Shark is Broken  | Vintage Theater | Aurora, CO | Curtain Up! | Gina Robertson

You may have thought it was safe to go back in the water, but Bruce the shark is in Aurora to start 2026 on stage at Vintage Theater in The Shark is Broken. Bruce’s co-stars Richard Dreyfuss, Robert Shaw, and Roy Scheider appear as characters in this delightful comedy co-written by Shaw’s son Ian Shaw (with Joseph Nixon), based on his father’s notes. The three spent long hours aboard a boat called the Orca during filming while waiting for mechanical shark repairs and for boats to clear out for shooting. Critically acclaimed on Broadway in 2023, the play explores the relationship that developed among the three stars in 1974 during the filming of Jaws.

Roy Scheider (Evan Marquez), Robert Shaw (Austin Terrell), and Richard Dreyfuss (Graham Bryant) appear transformed through the magic of their talent, brilliant costumes, and 1970s hairstyles into more than credible representations. A fun aspect of the show is how these actors do impressions of the original actors, who are doing impressions of the characters the others are portraying.

Left to Right: Graham Bryant, Austin Terrell, Evan Marquez | Photography credit: RDG Photography

So, what do movie stars talk about in 1974 when they are stuck on a boat with no internet, no cell phones, and no awareness that the movie they are making will still be talked about 50 years into the future? Vietnam, of course, and Richard Nixon, but also their own personal anxieties and insecurities, their ambitions and memories of childhood, Shakespeare, silly wagers, and push-up contests. As bored as the men may have been on the Orca, their conversations are fabulously entertaining for theater audiences.

Bryant brings to Richard Dreyfuss the lovable, reckless, but well-meaning energy of a golden retriever. This movie will make him famous, but he does not know that yet, and he is filled with a terror of failure. His vulnerability makes him the most relatable, though he will go on to become the most recognized name of the three.

Terrell’s Robert Shaw clashes with Dreyfuss as he represents the making of the old way for the young in the world. Shaw comes from a more Victorian age, with its respect for proper behavior and traditions. Terrell manages well with his accent to bring forth a tortured but proud Shakespearean actor who has more to be remembered for in his career than floating around on a boat, drinking too much, and waiting for a mechanical shark to eat him. His charm, self-deprecation, and tight performance of a sloppy, drunken Shaw evoke sympathy and cringe. The evolution of Shaw’s famous USS Indianapolis monologue is fascinating. Terrell perfectly captures Shaw’s magnetic presence and mumbling delivery.

Marquez, as the placid, sun-loving Roy Sheider, remains good-humored, reminding the others to be professional as they are there to do a job and might as well make the best of it. He just wants to catch a few rays on deck between shots. His Nixon impression reminds us of where we are, and his comedic delivery is on the mark as he drops trivia to distract others from their angst.

Director Luke Rahmsdorff-Terry, who fell in love with Jaws after a college film course, makes great use of the whole stage, giving the men plenty of movement and life. Clearly, a director who loves and understands actors brings forth the eccentricities and gifts they each brought to the movie half a century ago, as well as what they were before and became after this iconic project.

The set, by Lexi Renfro, is a well-conceived boat and dock, which makes the fight choreographed by Brandon Billings more challenging. The result is startling and vivid. Props are thoughtfully designed by Kortney Hanson to evoke the period, including real glass Coke bottles and a pack of Marlborough Reds.

Given the intimacy of the seating in this cozy theater, you need only stand up to feel the sway of the sea and hear the seagulls. But don’t go near the water!

The Shark is Broken plays through February 15 at Vintage Theatre in Aurora.

For information and tickets: https://www.vintagetheatre.org/performances/thesharkisbroken

Gina Robertson Bio

Twenty years ago, Gina Robertson discovered her love of theater while looking for extra-curricular activities for her severely ADHD child. Together they explored musicals, Shakespeare, and plays of all kinds on the stages of Dallas-Fort Worth. Soon she was volunteering to help with tech work like projections and lights, and writing reviews for John Garcia’s The Column. Her little thespian is all grown up now and has moved on to other hobbies, but Gina continues to seek out the theater scene wherever she goes. Most recently in Tulsa she operated a spotlight high up on the catwalk above the stage for unforgettable productions of Annie!, Once on This Island, Waitress, Oliver!, Hello, Dolly!, and for various junior productions for children. To see a show come together from rehearsals to opening night is truly like seeing a magic trick, and then to see it repeated every night while knowing the cast well enough to recognize every nuance and every slight change in the performance is a gift. Every show is ephemeral treasure that lasts only as long as the run and then it’s gone. New to Colorado, Gina is excited to find a vibrant theater scene and to review quality productions again for a passionate community.