HAMLET With Jude Law Begins Performances 9/12

By: Sep. 11, 2009
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Performances begin tomorrow night, Saturday, September 12th, for the critically acclaimed Donmar Warehouse production of William Shakespeare's HAMLET with Jude Law in the title role, directed by Michael Grandage. The production opens October 6 at the Broadhurst Theatre (235 West 44th Street). HAMLET will play a strictly limited run of 12 weeks only.

HAMLET comes to Broadway following sold out runs in London's West End and a special engagement at Elsinore Castle in Denmark.

Law is joined by the Donmar Theatre company of actors from London and Elsinore: Ross Armstrong (Cornelius), Harry Attwell (Guildenstern), Ron Cook (Polonius, 1st Gravedigger), Ian Drysdale (Osric), Peter Eyre (Ghost of Hamlet's Father, Player King), Jenny Funnell (Player Queen), Michael Hadley (Barnardo, Priest, Captain), Colin Haigh (Member of the Court), Sean Jackson (Reynaldo), Geraldine James (Gertrude), Gwilym Lee (Laertes), James Le Feuvre (Member of the Court), Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Ophelia), John MacMillan (Rosencrantz), Kevin R. McNally (Claudius), Henry Pettigrew (Marcellus, 3rd Player, 2nd Gravedigger,), Matt Ryan (Horatio), Alan Turkington (Francisco, Fortinbras, 4th Player) and Faye Winter (Member of the Court).

Award-winning actor Jude Law returns to Broadway for the first time since 1995 when he made his Tony Award-nominated debut in Jean Cocteau's Indiscretions (Les Parents Terribles). Other theatre credits include Les Parents Terribles (National Theatre), Dr. Faustus, ‘Tis Pity She's a Whore (Young Vic) and Death of a Salesman (West Yorkshire Playhouse). Upcoming films include Dr. Watson in Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes, being released on December 25 and Tony in Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, being released on September 24 and Repossession Mambo. Other films include The Talented Mr Ripley (BAFTA Film Award), Wilde (Evening Standard British Film Award), Cold Mountain, Road to Perdition, Closer, Alfie, The Aviator and Sleuth, among others.

Michael Grandage, Artistic Director of the Donmar Warehouse, made his Broadway debut with the Tony Award-winning production of Frost/Nixon. He originally staged HAMLET for the Donmar's West End season at Wyndham's Theatre, where his credits also include Madame De Sade, Twelfth Night and Ivanov (Evening Standard and Critics' Circle Awards for Best Director for Ivanov). Other Donmar credits include The Chalk Garden (Evening Standard and Critics' Circle Awards for Best Director), Othello, John Gabriel Borkman, Don Juan in Soho, Frost/Nixon (also West End), The Cut, The Wild Duck (Critics' Circle Award for Best Director), Guys and Dolls (Donmar in the West End - Olivier Award for Outstanding Musical Production), Grand Hotel (Evening Standard Award for Best Director, Olivier Award for Outstanding Musical Production), Henry IV, After Miss Julie, Caligula (Olivier Award for Best Director) and Passion by Peter Nichols. Other West End work includes Evita. In the fall, he directs the world premiere of John Logan's Red at the Donmar.

Previous Donmar Warehouse shows in New York include Mary Stuart, Frost/Nixon, Cabaret, Electra, The Blue Room, The Real Thing, True West, Nine and The Public Theater and Donmar collaboration of Take Me Out.

London critics embraced Law's performance and Grandage's production. "Law's performance is detailed and powerful and vividly personal," raved Henry Hitchings, Evening Standard. "Jude Law is excellent," agreed Quentin Letts, Daily Mail. "A swift, clear well-staged version of Shakespeare's most exciting play," proclaimed Michael Billington, Guardian. "Jude Law's Hamlet is vivid, lucid and impassioned. A feverish energy seems to surge from his fingertips," cheered Kate Bassett, Independent on Sunday. "It's a pleasure to report that Law is more than equal to the role; he has the physical and vocal range for its operatic demands and brings vulnerability, honesty and charisma to Hamlet's soul-searching," claimed Caroline McGinn, Time Out London. "Law's Hamlet is deeply moving, lucidly spoken," hailed Charles Spencer, Telegraph. "Grandage's gripping, thrilling, deeply-felt accessible production seizes on the fact that Hamlet is an absolutely crackling psychological thriller."

The company of HAMLET is appearing with the permission of Actors' Equity Association. The producers gratefully acknowledge Actors' Equity Association for its assistance to this production.

In Shakespeare's definitive tragedy, the King of Denmark is dead. Consumed with grief, Prince Hamlet (Jude Law) determines to avenge his father's death with devastating consequences for his family and the kingdom.

The production is designed by Christopher Oram, with lighting design by Neil Austin. Composer and sound designer is Adam Cork.

Performances are Tuesday at 7:00 PM, Wednesday at 2:00 PM and 7:30 PM, Thursday and Friday at 7:30 PM, Saturday at 2:00 and 8:00 PM, Sunday at 3:00 PM. Tickets ($116.50 - $25) are available through Telecharge.com at 212-239-6200 or www.telecharge.com.

Ross Armstrong (Cornelius) Trained: RADA. Theatre: includes Cyrano de Bergerac (Chichester Festival), The White Devil (Menier Chocolate Factory), Hapgood (Birmingham Rep), Henry V (Manchester Royal Exchange). Film: includes Invisible Eyes.

Harry Attwell (Guildenstern) For the Donmar: Twelfth Night. Theatre: includes Hamlet (Orange Tree), Three Sisters (Lion and Unicorn), Much Ado About Nothing (Young Shakespeare Company), Henry IV pt 1&2 (Forty Hall), Pippin- The Musical (Union).

Ron Cook (Polonius, 1st Gravedigger) For the Donmar: Twelfth Night, Helpless, Juno and the Paycock, Glengarry GLen Ross. Theatre: includes The Seafarer, Howard Katz, Machine Wreckers, Black Snow (NT), On the Ceiling (Garrick), Singer (Tricycle), Insignificance (Chichester Festival), Vassa (Almeida), Art (Wyndham's). Film includes: Hot Fuzz, Confetti, On a Clear Day, The Merchant of Venice, Thunderbirds, 24 Hour Party People. Television includes: "Red Riding," "Little Dorrit," "The Diary of Anne Frank," "Doctor Who," "Silent Witness," "10 Days to War," "Burn Up".

Ian Drysdale (Osric) For the Donmar: Twelfth Night, Ivanov. Theatre includes: On the Waterfront (Nottingham Playhouse), Rough Crossings (Headlong), Pilate, Sejanus; His Fall, Believe What You Will, Thomas More, Hamlet, Macbeth, Brand, Much Ado About Nothing, Antony & Cleopatra (RSC). Film includes: Time's Up, Size Matters. Television includes: "The Verdict," "Pulling," "Time Gentleman Please".

Peter Eyre (Ghost of Hamlet's Father, Player King) For the Donmar: Murder in The cathedral (part of the TS Eliot Festival), The Wild Duck. Theatre includes: Waste, Camera Obscura (Almeida), Ring Round the Moon (Playhouse), The Cherry Orchard (Sheffield Crucible), Terre Haute (New York/Trafalgar Studios /Edinburgh), Richard II (Old Vic), Don Carlos (Sheffield Crucible/Gielgud). Film includes: Shadows in the Sun, The Situation, The Affair of the Necklace, From Hell, The Golden Bowl, Surviving Picasso, Remains of the Day, Orlando and Let Him Have It. Television includes: "Midsomer Murders," "Question of God," "Cambridge Spies," "Bertie & Elizabeth," "Alice in Wonderland".

Jenny Funnell (Player Queen) Theatre includes: The White Devil (Pavilion Brighton), Tom Dick and Harry (Theatre Royal, Windsor), Mother Goose (Theatre Royal, Brighton). Television includes: "The Bill," "As Time Goes By," "Love Soup," "Doctors," "Monster Television," "Casualty," "Taking Issue," "Drop the Dead Donkey".

Michael Hadley (Barnardo, Priest, Captain) For the Donmar: Piaf, Othello, The Vortex, Little Foxes. Theatre: includes Coriolanus, Canterbury Tales, Richard III, As You Like It (RSC), The Seagull (Mercury), As You Like It, Don Carlos, (Sheffield /West End), Love's Work, Intimate Death, Une Tempête (Gate), The Jew of Malta (Almeida), Waiting for Godot, Endgame, Measure for Measure, Mrs Warren's Profession, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Saint Joan (Birmingham Rep). Film: includes The Boat That Rocked, Unrelated, Three Blind Mice, The Best Pair of Legs in the Business, All Coppers Are.

Colin Haigh (Member of the Court) For the Donmar: A Voyage Round My Father (Wyndham's). Theatre: includes Burnt by the Sun, Afterlife, The Hothouse, Playing with Fire, Battle Royal (NT), Girl with a Pearl Earring (Theatre Royal Haymarket), Pinter Double Bill (Comedy), Equus, The Graduate (Gielgud), The Philadelphia Story, The Tempest (Old Vic), The History Boys (NT/International tour/New York). Film: includes The History Boys, Jack Brown and the Curse of the Crown. Television: includes "Ashes to Ashes," "Tales from the Tower," "The Broker's Man," "The Bill".

Sean Jackson (Reynaldo) For the Donmar: The Wild Duck. Theatre: includes Waves (NT/tour/New York), Henry V (Manchester Royal Exchange), The Jewish Wife (Young Vic), The Seagull, A Dream Play, The Mandate, Iphigenia at Aulis, The Talking Cure, Ivanov, Love on the Dole, Sgt. Musgrave's Dance, Juno & The Paycock (NT). Television: includes "Waking the Dead," "Dispatches," "Your Own Back Yard," "Soldier Soldier," "No Bananas," "Bishop's Gate".

Geraldine James (Gertrude) Theatre: includes Victory (Arcola), The U.N. Inspector, Cymbeline (NT), Home, The Cherry Orchard (Oxford Stage Co), Hedda Gabler (Manchester Royal Exchange), Lysistrata (Old Vic/Wyndham's), Death and the Maiden (Duke of York's), Merchant of Venice (Phoenix/New York), The Faith Healer (Almeida). Film: includes Dagenham Girls, Sherlock Holmes, Alice in Wonderland, The Fever, Calendar Girls, The Luzhin Defence, The Testimony of Taliesin Jones, Prince of Shadows, The Bridge, She's Been Away (Golden Lion Award, Venice), The Tall Guy, The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, Gandhi. Television: includes "Caught In A Trap," "The Last Enemy," "The Time of Your Life," "The Amazing Mrs Pritchard," "Little Britain," "He Knew He Was Right," "State of Play," "Hearts of Gold," "Hound of the Baskervilles," "Crime and Punishment," "White Teeth," "Band of Gold," "A Doll's House," "Blott on the Landscape," "Jewel in The Crown". Geraldine James was awarded an OBE in 2003.

Jude Law (Hamlet) Theatre work includes Dr Faustus and ‘Tis Pity She's a Whore (Young Vic), Les Parents Terribles (National Theatre and Broadway) and Death of a Salesman (West Yorkshire Playhouse). His film work includes Sherlock Holmes, The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus, The Repossession Mambo, Sleuth, My Blueberry Nights, The Holiday, Closer, Alfie, The Aviator, Cold Mountain, Road to Perdition, The Talented Mr Ripley and Wilde.

Gwilym Lee (Laertes) Theatre: includes Oedipus (NT), Richard III (RSC), About Tommy (Southwark Playhouse). Television: includes "Ashes to Ashes," "Waterloo Road," "Lewis," "Mutual Friends," "Animal Ark".

James Le Feuvre (Member of the Court) Theatre: includes Deadly Games (Vienna's English Theatre), Our Country's Good (New York), The Producers (Theatre Royal, Drury Lane), The Bet (Criterion). Film: includes Anaphylaxis, God Hates Fags, Cognitive, Don't Go There.

John MacMillan (Rosencrantz) Theatre includes: In the Red and Brown Water, The Member of the Wedding (Young Vic), Piranha Heights (Soho), The Last Days of Judas Iscariot (Almeida), Cymbeline (Cheek by Jowl).

Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Ophelia) Theatre: includes Gethsemane (NT), Big White Fog (Almeida), Romeo & Juliet, Antony and Cleopatra (Manchester Royal Exchange), Car Thieves (Birmingham Rep), As You Like It (Exeter Northcott). Film: includes Straightheads, Act of God. Television: includes "Fallout," "Bonekickers," "Lost in Austen," "Trial & Retribution," "Miss Marple," "Doctor Who," "Dead Clever," "Spooks," "Vital Signs".

Kevin R. McNally (Claudius) For the Donmar: Ivanov, World Music. Theatre includes: Boeing Boeing (Comedy), The Lady in the Van (Queen's), Naked (Almeida/Playhouse). Film includes: Valkyrie, Scoop, Pirates of the Caribbean I, II & III, Johnny English, Entrapment, Sliding Doors, Enigma, Cry Freedom. Television includes: "Law & Order," "The Last Van Helsing," "The Murder of Princess Diana," "Life on Mars," "Bloodlines," "Dunkirk," "Bedtime," "Spooks".

Henry Pettigrew (Marcellus, 2nd Gravedigger, 3rd Player) Theatre: includes Black Watch (National Theatre of Scotland/New York/LA), The Bevellers (Citizens, Glasgow), Troilus & Cressida (Edinburgh Festival/RSC). Film: Next of Kin. Television: includes "The Belsen Redemption".

Matt Ryan (Horatio) For the Donmar: Small Change. Theatre: Lovely and Misfit (Trafalgar Studios), Sejanus: His Fall, A New Way to Please You, Believe What You Will, Speaking Like Magpies, Tamar's Revenge, Pedro the Great Pretender, Dog in the Manger (RSC). Film: Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, Red Light Runners, Layer Cake, Pocket Money, Wild Decembers, With These Hands. Television: "Collision," "Torchwood," "Consenting Adults," "The Tudors," "Mine all Mine".

Alan Turkington (Fortinbras, Francisco, 4th Player) Theatre: includes Sweet Bird of Youth (Dundee Rep), Gates of Gold (Finborough), Inflame (Jermyn St), John Bull's Other Island (Tricycle), A Winter's Tale, Tempest (RSC), A View From The Bridge (Harrogate/tour). Film: includes Pure, Love. Television: includes "Countdown to War," "Holby City".

Faye Winter (Member of the Court) Theatre: includes The Beggar's Opera (Gilt & Grime), Hung Up (Pikku Peikko), The Country Wife (Haymarket), Uncommon Women (New Player's), Making Echoes, Mother's Song (Edinburgh Fringe).

Michael Grandage (Director) is Artistic Director of the Donmar Warehouse. Previous work for the Donmar includes Madame De Sade, Twelfth Night and Ivanov (Donmar West End at the Wyndham's Theatre - Evening Standard and Critics' Circle Awards for Best Director for Ivanov), The Chalk Garden (Evening Standard and Critics' Circle Awards for Best Director), Othello, John Gabriel Borkman, Don Juan in Soho, Frost/Nixon (also West End and Broadway), The Cut, The Wild Duck (Critics' Circle Award for Best Director), Guys and Dolls (Donmar in the West End - Olivier Award for Outstanding Musical Production), Grand Hotel (Evening Standard Award for Best Director, Olivier Award for Outstanding Musical Production), Henry IV, After Miss Julie, Caligula (Olivier Award for Best Director) and Passion by Peter Nichols. Other West End work includes Evita. He was the Artistic Director of Sheffield Theatres 1999 - 2005, where his work included Don Carlos (Evening Standard Award for Best Director). In the fall, he directs the world premiere of John Logan's Red at the Donmar.

Christopher Oram (Designer) For the Donmar: Madame de Sade, Twelfth Night, Ivanov, Othello, Parade, Frost/Nixon (also Gielgud/New York/US tour), Guys and Dolls (Piccadilly), Don Juan in Soho, Grand Hotel - The Musical, Henry IV, World Music, Caligula -Evening Standard Award, The Vortex, Privates on Parade, Merrily We Roll Along, Passion Play, Good, The Bullet. Theatre includes: A View from the Bridge (Duke of York's), King Lear/The Seagull (RSC), Evita (Adelphi), Macbeth, The Jew of Malta, The Embalmer (Almeida), Stuff Happens, Marriage Play/Finding the Sun.

The Donmar Warehouse is one of London's leading producing theatres and has garnered critical acclaim at home and abroad for its unparalleled catalogue of work. Since 1992, Donmar-generated productions have received 35 Olivier Awards, 20 Critics' Circle Awards, 19 Evening Standard Awards and 14 Tony Awards. The Donmar has a long and successful history of presenting its work outside of its home in Covent Garden. Productions in the West End include Piaf, Mary Stuart, Frost/Nixon, A Voyage Round My Father, Guys and Dolls, Design for Living, The Glass Menagerie, Company, The Real Thing, Passion Play, Ivanov, Twelfth Night, Madame de Sade and Hamlet. Productions on Broadway include Mary Stuart, Frost/Nixon, Cabaret, Electra, The Blue Room, The Real Thing, True West, Nine and The Public Theater and Donmar collaboration of Take Me Out.

For more information, vist www.HamletBroadway.com



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