Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Theater Review: Hamlet with Jude Law

Jude Law as Hamlet
(Photo: Johann Persson)
Jude Law’s Hamlet is Intense and Exciting
By Lauren Yarger
There’s a new Dane in town and he’s taking Elsinore and Broadway by storm. He’s Jude Law, who plays the revenge-seeking prince of Denmark in Shakespeare’s Hamlet at the Broadhurst Theater.

Taking on the role of one of the Bard’s most oft-portrayed protagonists, especially one who has been played so well over the years by the likes of Richard Burton, Laurence Olivier as well as more recent film stars Kenneth Branagh and Mel Gibson, is no easy task, but Law proves he’s up to the challenge, creating an intensely brooding, angry, sarcastic and electrifying Hamlet who sets about avenging the death of his father who reappears in the form of ghost (Peter Eyre).

The slain king tells his son that he was poisoned by his brother Claudius (Kevin R. McNally) who, having wed Hamlet’s mother Gertrude (Geraldine James) now sits on the throne of Denmark. Hamlet sets on getting revenge, and in true Shakespeare fashion, there is some treachery, some madness, some sword fighting and a lot of dead people piling up on stage by the end.

Michael Grandage expertly guides a talented cast, dressed in oh-so-appropriate, but elegant funereal black through the tragedy that unfolds in the walls of a grand, but bleak castle set (Christopher Oram, set and costume design). In a clever costume choice, a troupe of dramatic players who act out the truth of the king’s death wear white. Neil Austin’s lighting design, along with fog effects completed by music and sound design by Adam Cork, expertly enhance the action, creating moods of ominous shadows, dark and light.

Standing out in the cast is a very funny Polonius (Ron Cook), joined by a most able Laertes (Gwilym Lee), Horatio (Matt Ryan) and a very strong supporting cast. Standing out, unfortunately, as the disappointment in the casting, is Ophelia (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) who seems uncomfortable and unsure of herself throughout the performance. Shakespeare’s meter isn’t familiar on her tongue and she appears out of place throughout the production, ironically, often being positioned at the far reaches of the action as if standing.

Overall, though, the Donmar Warehouse’s production, which comes to Broadway following sold-out runs in London’s West End and at Elsinore in Denmark, is absolutely stunning and one of the most engaging I’ve ever seen. The play’s the thing through Dec. 6 at the Broadhurst Theatre, 235 W. 44th Street, NYC. For tickets, call (212) 239-6200/(800) 432-7250. For discounted group tickets and to support masterwork prodcutions, click here.

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Our reviews are professional reviews written without a religious bias. At the end of them, you can find a listing of language, content or theological issues that Christians might want to know about when deciding which shows to see.

** Mature indicates that the show has posted an advisory because of content. Usually this means I would recommend no one under the age of 16 attend.

Theater Critic Lauren Yarger

Theater Critic Lauren Yarger

My Bio

Lauren Yarger has written, directed and produced numerous shows and special events for both secular and Christian audiences. She co-wrote a Christian musical version of “A Christmas Carol” which played to sold-out audiences of over 3,000 in Vermont and was awarded the Vermont Bessie (theater and film awards) for “People’s Choice for Theatre.” She also has written two other dinner theaters, sketches for church services and devotions for Christian artists. Her play concept, "From Reel to Real: The Jennifer O'Neill Story" was presented as part of the League of professional Theatre Women's Julia's reading Room Series in New York. Shifting from reviewing to producing, Yarger owns Gracewell Productions, which produced the Table Reading Series at the Palace Theater in Waterbury, CT. She trained for three years in the Broadway League’s Producer Development Program, completed the Commercial Theater Institute's Producing Intensive and other training and produced a one-woman musical about Mary Magdalene that toured nationally and closed with an off-Broadway run. She was a Fellow at the National Critics Institute at the O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, CT. She wrote reviews of Broadway and Off-Broadway theater (the only ones you can find in the US with an added Christian perspective) at http://reflectionsinthelight.blogspot.com/.

She is editor of The Connecticut Arts Connection (http://ctarts.blogspot.com), an award-winning website featuring theater and arts news for the state. She was a contributing editor for BroadwayWorld.com. She previously served as theater reviewer for the Manchester Journal-Inquirer, Connecticut theater editor for CurtainUp.com and as Connecticut and New York reviewer for American Theater Web.

She is a Co-Founder of the Connecticut Chapter of the League of Professional Theatre Women. She is a former vice president and voting member of The Drama Desk.

She is a freelance writer and playwright (member Dramatists Guild of America). She is a member if the The Outer Critics Circle (producer of the annual awards ceremony) and a member of The League of Professional Theatre Women, serving as Co-Founder of the Connecticut Chapter. Yarger was a book reviewer for Publishers Weekly A former newspaper editor and graduate of the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism, Yarger also worked in arts management for the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts, the Hartford Symphony Orchestra and served for nine years as the Executive Director of Masterwork Productions, Inc. She lives with her husband in West Granby, CT. They have two adult children.

Copyright

All material is copyright 2008- 2024 by Lauren Yarger. Reviews and articles may not be reprinted without permission. Contact reflectionsinthelight@gmail.com

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Key to Content Notes:

God's name taken in vain -- means God or Jesus is used in dialogue without speaking directly to or about them.

Language -- means some curse words are used. "Minor" usually means the words are not too strong or that it only occurs once or twice throughout the show.

Strong Language -- means some of the more heavy duty curse words are used.

Nudity -- means a man or woman's backside, a man's lower front or a woman's front are revealed.

Scantily clad -- means actors' private areas are technically covered, but I can see a lot of them.

Sexual Language -- means the dialogue contains sexually explicit language but there's no action.

Sexual Activity -- means a man and woman are performing sexual acts.

Adultery -- Means a married man or woman is involved sexually with someone besides their spouse. If this is depicted with sexual acts on stage, the list would include "sexual activity" as well.

Sex Outside of Marriage -- means a man and woman are involved sexually without being married. If this is depicted sexually on stage, the list would include "sexual activity" as well.

Homosexuality -- means this is in the show, but not physically depicted.

Homosexual activity -- means two persons of the same sex are embracing/kissing. If they do more than that, the list would include "sexual activity" as well.

Cross Dresser -- Means someone is dressing as the opposite sex. If they do more than that on stage the listing would include the corresponding "sexual activity" and/or "homosexual activity" as well.

Cross Gender -- A man is playing a female part or a woman is playing a man's part.

Suggestive Dancing -- means dancing contains sexually suggestive moves.

Derogatory (category added Fall 2012) Language or circumstances where women or people of a certain race are referred to or treated in a negative and demeaning manner.

Other content matters such as torture, suicide, or rape will be noted, with details revealed only as necessary in the review itself.

The term "throughout" added to any of the above means it happens many times throughout the show.

Reviewing Policy

I receive free seats to Broadway and Off-Broadway shows made available to all voting members of the Outer Critics Circle. Journalistically, I provide an unbiased review and am under no obligation to make positive statements. Sometimes shows do not make tickets available to reviewers. If these are shows my readers want to know about I will purchase a ticket. If a personal friend is involved in a production, I'll let you know, but it won't influence a review. If I feel there is a conflict, I won't review their portion of the production.

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