(L-R) Christopher Marshall as Roy Scheider, Cody Farkas as Richard Dreyfuss, and Paul Potenza as Robert Shaw during a March 10, 2026 rehearsal of ‘The Shark Is Broken,’ running at Jobsite Theater in Tampa, Florida through April 5. Credit: James Zambon Productions. / Jobsite Theater/Flickr
Steven Spielberg’s mega-popular 1975 shark flick “Jaws” is considered the film industry’s first summer blockbuster.
“The Shark Is Broken,” the 2019 play by Ian Shaw and Joseph Nixon now playing at Jobsite Theater, is a behind-the-scenes look at the movie’s infamously fraught production—and if the stuffed-to-the-gills crowd at last Saturday’s matinee is any indication, the theater company may have netted a spring blockbuster.
And boy, does this show deserve to be seen. It’s a terrifically entertaining, impeccably cast 90-minute comedy-drama starring three of Tampa Bay’s best actors devouring the scenery with the gusto of Bruce chomping down on unsuspecting swimmers.
Bruce, of course, would be the ever-malfunctioning mechanical shark that was just one of the ongoing horrors that drove “Jaws” millions over budget. Spielberg’s insistence on filming on the ocean instead of in a tank was another, forcing delays due to everything from passing sailboats to raging thunderstorms. And those delays aggravated the tensions among the three stars stuck with each other for weeks on a small boat: Roy Scheider (who played Brody, Amity Island’s stoic police chief); Richard Dreyfuss (Hooper, the hyper oceanographer); and Robert Shaw (Quint, the possibly deranged shark hunter).
Ian Shaw, the co-playwright, is the late Robert Shaw’s son (he played his father in the London and Broadway productions). Accordingly, the play is rich with insider info, not to mention in jokes based on what we now know about Jaws’ legacy. “Do you really think anyone will be talking about this in 50 years?” asks Shaw rhetorically. (Um, yeah.) The world beyond the filming gets acknowledged, too; we see a “Nixon Resigns” headline on a newspaper Scheider is reading, and when he muses that there’ll never again be a president as immoral as “Tricky Dicky,” the line gets a rueful roar from the audience.
The Jobsite production team recreates the “Jaws” milieu with uncanny precision. Set designer Chris Giuffré gives us an immediately recognizable Orca (particularly its small cabin, site of card games and soul-baring). Katrina Stevenson’s costuming is equally spot on, with such familiar details as Hooper’s knit beanie. Joy Cadman’s lighting shifts convincingly from natural to filmmaking light, and Jeremy Douglass’s soundscape establishes a nautical ambience throughout. (In a witty opening touch, we also hear the first of composer John Williams’ unmistakable shark-is-coming chords, cut off mid-rumble to suggest the latest breakdown of Bruce.)
Under David Jenkins’s sure-handed direction, the actors expertly handle the challenge of playing well-known figures. They don’t quite mirror the physicality of the three stars (Scheider was craggier, Shaw taller, Dreyfuss shorter and pudgier than their counterparts here), but they more than capture their essence. The rhythms of their rapport, the explosions as well as the quiet moments, reflect an ensemble that’s found a way to inhabit rather than impersonate their characters.
Paul Potenza (is there any role he can’t play?) fully embodies the volatile, alcoholic Shaw; his barely suppressed glee when he successfully pulls pranks on Dreyfuss is a joy to watch. Cody Farkas gets to the heart of Dreyfuss’s eager-beaver ambition, his self-doubt and jittery energy. And Christopher Marshall finds the inner calm and surprisingly professorial side of Scheider, who in the script’s portrayal is less the ball of coiled intensity that was Scheider-as-Brody and more the fulcrum trying to keep his castmates on an even keel. (It’s only when an annoying assistant interrupts his cherished sun-bathing time that we see him about to lose his cool in a very funny bit of physical comedy.)
There are occasional lulls in the action (they were out there for 10 weeks, after all), and a rather inexplicable thunderstorm. (Why are they still out on the boat in this weather? Why’s Shaw outside clinging to the railing?) And there are exits that don’t quite make sense: When they leap over the side of the boat, where are they going? Is there a barge out there?
But these are minor quibbles, possibly triggered by the overall believability of it all. There are many, many more reasons to get on board with this exceptional production. Book your passage before tickets disappear; It’s the most fun you can have on the water without getting wet.
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This article appears in Mar. 19 – 25, 2026.
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