“J.A.W.Z. the Musical—in 3D!” Lampoons 50 Years of “Jaws”

A whole musical around cinema’s most famous two-note leitmotif? The Saloon Ensemble (formally stylized as The SaLoOn EnSeMbLe) did it around a decade ago when it first staged J.A.W.Z. the Musical—in 3D! , a theatrical parody of the classic shark movie Jaws . And just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, J.A.W.Z. the Musical—in 3D! returns to the Alberta Rose Theatre to celebrate not only the musical’s 12th anniversary, but its namesake’s 50th anniversary too.

Saloon Ensemble leader Jason Wells wrote and co-directed J.A.W.Z. and composed its score. He was inspired by his mother, a standup comic with a signature act set to John Williams’ iconic score.

“She bowed a giant double bass and bowed the Jaws theme,” he tells WW . “She wrote lyrics to it, which brought