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Jude Law shows why he’s the hottest ticket on Broadway
By Tom Teodorczuk, Evening Standard Last updated at 10:24am on 07.10.09Jude Law was given a rapturous reception as he made his Hamlet debut on Broadway last night.
Hot stuff: Jude Law shows the effort during his performance
Hordes of teenagers waited at the stage door to catch a glimpse of the Oscar-nominated actor as critics said he had captivated the US audience with a “spine-tingling” performance.
The Michael Grandage production has transferred to Manhattan's Broadhurst Theatre after the success of the Donmar's West End season.
The performance, Law's first in New York since 1995, attracted stars including actress Natalie Portman, Gossip Girl actor Ed Westwick and director Sam Mendes, Grandage's predecessor as artistic director of the Donmar Warehouse.
Critics showered praise on Law's performance with The New York Daily News declaring that he delivered “a spine-tingling and richly layered performance … that makes you forget about his past roles and bad-boy melodramas.”
Ben Brantley of the New York Times, the Big Apple's most influential theatre reviewer, had misgivings about the production but added: “Law, a rakish leading man of film, doesn't disappear onstage the way some screen stars do.”
He added: “Mr Law's undeniable charisma and gender-crossing sex appeal may captivate Broadway theatregoers who wouldn't normally attend productions of Shakespeare.”
Hamlet marks the latest Broadway triumph for the Donmar following Frost Nixon in 2007 and Mary Stuart earlier this year.
Grandage said: “I think it's a wonderful performance for the first-time viewer of Hamlet because Jude guides them through the play very well.
“Like any performance when you've done it for 13-14 weeks, it matures and gets richer. People are benefiting from him at the absolute peak of his powers.”
Fashion intern Dana Simmonds, 24, said: “The production was stylish and slick and Jude Law had an amazing presence. Hamlet sure was a lot better than Alfie.”
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Reader views (1)
What annoys me about this production, which I haven't seen, is that it's been treated by its management and most of the critics, including the NY review here, as a solo performance. Hamlet is not a one man show and, whatever the performance of the actor playing Hamlet, there's a most able company at work and they deserve to be credited.
- Ensemble Enthusiast, London
