Jude Law's Hamlet is in the money

Jude Law's "spine-tingling" performance as Hamlet has helped turn the Shakespeare classic into a Broadway hit, with the production in the black and making money.

Producers of the latest interpretation of the play said that they have now recouped the show's 2.5 million dollar (£1.5 million) costs in less than three months.

It follows rave reviews from New York critics after it swapped to Broadway following a successful West End stint.

Producer Arielle Tepper Madover said: "It's heartening to see that Shakespeare can be a commercial success on Broadway, as well as seeing so many young audience members at the Broadhurst (Theatre) experiencing their first Shakespeare production."

Law's star quality has been credited with helping draw crowds to the production. But his portrayal of the brooding prince has also received plaudits. The day after opening in Broadway on October 6, New York's notoriously hard-to-please theatre critics were full of praise.

The New York Times's influential stage critic Ben Brantley wrote: "Mr Law approaches the role with the focus, determination and adrenaline level of an Olympic track competitor staring down an endless line of hurdles."

Although noting that "the finer shades of feeling" were often missing in the 36-year-old's energetic performance, the review was largely positive. "Mr Law's undeniable charisma and gender-crossing sex appeal may captivate Broadway theatregoers who wouldn't normally attend productions of Shakespeare," the critic wrote.

Others were even more gushing in their praise. The New York Daily News's Joe Dziemianowicz wrote that Law gave "a spine-tingling and richly layered performance" that made you "forget about his past roles and bad-boy melodramas".

The Michael Grandage-directed production of Hamlet arrived at New York's Broadhurst Theatre in October following stints in London and Denmark's Kronborg Castle in Elsinore, the setting of the play.