Hook us up another ticket! Why fans keep chumming back for more of Broadway JAWS play
You can catch The Shark Is Broken from 25th July 2023 at the Golden Theater, New York, NYC.
Hello, Islanders!
As a film critic and author, I’ve seen literally hundreds of films. Some of them multiple times. Off the top of my head, I can name ten films that I’ve seen no less then twenty-five times. For the curious – ROCKY, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Smokey and the Bandit, Slap Shot, Tootsie, Arthur (the good one, not the piece of crap version with Russell Brand), The Godfathers (all three films in the series) and, of course, the leader by far, JAWS. And for the curious, thanks to being old, I can safely say that the number of times I have seen JAWS easily numbers into the high hundreds. Knowing this about me, you must understand that I love when I see people post “watching JAWS for the 50th time,” or “I bet I’ve seen JAWS a hundred times!”
And each time I hear this, I wonder what it is about the film that makes people go back and see it again and again. For me, it’s because every time I watch it it’s like I’m watching it for the first time. I get the same thrill and apprehension I had as a 15-year-old when I first saw the film in 1975. It’s an important part of the JAWS tradition to swap tales about how many times you’ve seen the film. And today, almost five decades later, that tradition is continuing on Broadway with “The Shark is Broken.”
I’m going to say here that this piece is being written with a tad of jealousy as, a) I have not seen “The Shark is Broken” and, b) with an announced closing date of November 19, 2023, I’m probably not going to see it while it’s on Broadway. Of course, like many fans, I can hope the show goes on tour and rest assured, if it comes within 300 miles of me, I’ll be there.
Meanwhile, I love reading the posts and seeing the photos that fans have posted on the various Facebook pages. Most especially, I love reading the posts that note they have seen the show multiple times. Curious, I asked several fans why they’ve seen the show and, more importantly, why are some of them going back multiple times.?
Several of them, including Gabe DiSaverio, loved the fact that, after the show, Ian Shaw and the other cast members would come out to meet the fans. Gabe called it “a Jawsdream to say the least!” William Desenberg called it, “such an incredible play. More than I hoped for!” From across the pond (for me, anyway), Mark-Alan Pilgrim noted that he had seen the show in London a few years ago and thought “it was brilliantly written and performed.” Mark Smith – no relation – posted the show “was everything I hoped it would be and so much more. The whole cast are outstanding.”
And while my friend, and the original Paint Happy Bastard, Rick Vale is working on another viewing, I must give major props to two fans who are attending the show like it was the Grateful Dead in the 1970s, each of them having seen the show multiple times. While planning his next visit to the Golden Theater, David Wharton, Sr. sent me the following:
“Greetings, Michael! What can I say about “The Shark is Broken?” …what an experience! As a lifelong Jaws fan, the main reason for wanting to see this play was to hopefully meet the son of Robert Shaw, Mr. Ian Shaw. As I watched the play unfold, I got sucked into it, and really felt I was watching Robert Shaw, Roy Scheider and Richard Dreyfuss up on that stage! No, let me put that in another way. I felt I was transported back to 1974, Martha's Vineyard, and was on set with Spielberg and the crew, trying our best to make this thing work. As a filmmaker myself, I know all too well when absolutely nothing goes right, whether it be an actor not showing up, or instead of a sunny day, you get a torrential downpour! The actors in the play did an amazing job bringing these real life characters to life. There was so much going on, that only a TRUE Jaws fan would know what was being said up on the stage, because we have all heard the stories throughout our lifetime. I truly hope the play was recorded and will be released on video for all to see. And, oh yes, I did get to meet Mr. Ian Shaw, and share with him that an old friend of mine, Geoffrey Holder, acted in the film, Swashbuckler with his dad! He seemed genuinely touched, and we talked about that for a bit. If you love Jaws, then make the trip to NYC to check out this play before it's gone. It's a must for all Jaws fans!”
Finally, there is Paul “Blair” Christine, who has not only seen the show (5) times, but has recently created The Shark is Broken Fan Page on Facebook. And while the rest of us sit and wish that the show is eventually released on home video, Paul adds that he’s planning on seeing the show three more times!
Words by Michael A Smith. Michael is co-author of Jaws 2: The Making Of The Hollywood Sequel. You can order the book by contacting Michael at OsFanMike@aol.com.
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