There’s at least one shark that’s not showing up in New York City these days: Bruce, the famous mechanical predator of Steven Spielberg’s sea horror classic Jaws, is the Godot-lik…
Directed by Gus Masterson on a terrifically effective single set by Duncan Henderson and with lighting and video designs so vivid you can almost smell the salt air,moves more efficiently than ol’ Bruce ever did, but unlike the cinematic Great White, the play provides few surprises.
The 1974 filming off Martha’s Vineyard is one of Hollywood’s legendary troubled shoot tales, with a yet-to-prove-himself young director, a worried studio, a brazen on-location plan and three actors who spent their considerable waiting-for-Bruce-to-function downtime drinking , snorting , bickering and coming quietly unglued .The problem facing the playwrights is finding a new hook in telling this oft-told making-of-a-fish tale.
And even though the film cast’s personality clashes are nearly as legendary as the mechanical shark’s short circuits, the play’s authors and performers deliver such nicely detailed characterizations thatholds our interest throughout its 95 minutes. The play builds to its denouement – a flawless re-creation of the film’s indelible USS Indianapolis scene – with considerable story-telling skill.
Fans of the film – who isn’t? – will be delighted with the attention to detail on this Broadway stage, right down to that famous shooting star accidentally captured by the late, great cinematographer Bill Butler. Much of the enjoyment, of course, comes from watching the play’s first-rate cast capture the film’s first-rate cast both physically and in spirit without ever slipping into caricature or mean-spirited parody.
Helping immensely is Adam Cork’s evocative soundscape, all watery and late-night mood. There’s a fleeting hint, but no more, of John Williams’ famoustheme at the start of the play, and whatever rationale, legal or otherwise, that fed into the decision to go easy on the music is to be praised: Even as it is, the slightly rearranged musical notes set up an expectation that ultimately can’t be met.
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