"The Shark Is Broken" in New Milford

Now through March 14, 2026 | TheatreWorks New Milford, New Milford, CT | Various times

TheatreWorks New Milford presents The Shark Is Broken, a sharply written comedy that offers a behind-the-scenes look at the fraught production of Steven Spielberg’s iconic 1975 thriller Jaws. Written by Ian Shaw and Joseph Nixon, and directed locally by Joe Harding, the play unfolds on a single set: the deck of the Orca, where actors Richard Dreyfuss, Roy Scheider, and Robert Shaw are stranded amid delays caused by the repeatedly malfunctioning mechanical shark. 

Rather than dramatizing the film itself, The Shark Is Broken explores the volatile mixture of ego, camaraderie, frustration, and humor that bound these three performers together as they waited out one production snag after another. Fueled by witty dialogue and character moments, the play highlights both the absurdities and vulnerabilities of life on a troubled set — a mood that TheatreWorks captures through a compact, three-actor focus (portrayed locally by Mike Zimmerman, Eric Lyga, and Michael Wright). 

The Shark Is Broken has been running on TheatreWorks’ Main Stage since February 19 but qill conclude on March 14, with evening performances most Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 pm and Sunday matinees at 2 pm on March 1 and March 8. Tickets are available through the theatre’s box office or online; the box office typically opens two hours before curtain.