The Broadway production of Hamlet, which stars Jude Law and first ran in London’s West End earlier this year and which I got to see in previews last month, officially opened on the Great White Way last night. While there are a couple of very favorable reviews of the show HERE and HERE, there are other reviews that are decidedly … less favorable. Here is a sampling of what some of the theater critics are saying about the show and Jude Law in particular:

To be, or not to be … a hit on Broadway? That is the question Wednesday morning as the reviews come in for Jude Law’s turn as Hamlet in the much-anticipated Broadway turn for the production, which originated in London to acclaim and opened at New York’s Broadhurst Theatre Tuesday night. Reaction is decidedly mixed. “If Hamlet talks about his mind, you can bet that Mr. Law will point to his forehead; when he mentions the heavens, his arm shoots straight up; and when the guy says his gorge rises, rest assured that he clutches at his stomach. If every actor were like Mr. Law, signed performances for the hard of hearing would be unnecessary,” snipes Ben Brantley of The New York Times. “If anything, Law starts out too overwrought, moaning and gnawing through the great soliloquies as if they were causing him intestinal distress,” Time Out New York’s David Cote notes. Others put in much kinder terms. “His Hamlet is no brooding philosopher/prince; he’s an angry young man, a bundle of nerves forever threatening to explode,” raves USA Today’s Elysa Gardner , who considers Law’s soliloquies “both muscular and exquisitely lyrical.” The traditionally acerbic John Simon of Bloomberg News, however, found nothing poetic about Law’s “flashy, frequently jocular and unsubtle” performance in a play “aimed at neophyte audiences lured to the play not only by the star but with the added promise of a thriller liberally sprinkled with yocks.” Time Out New York, which generally lauded Law, was one of many that had a bone to pick with the supporting cast, finding Gugu Mbatha-Raw’s Ophelia ho-hum, and Geraldine James and Ian Drysdale’s Gertrude and Claudius an example of actors taking the phrase “the banality of evil” too literally. Then thank God Jude’s pretty, all critics agreed. Noted The New York Times: “Mr. Law’s undeniable charisma and gender-crossing sex appeal may captivate Broadway theatergoers who wouldn’t normally attend productions of Shakespeare.”

LOL! As much as I loved the show myself, I have to agree with the NY Times critic … I had forgotten that, indeed, Jude mimics physically the words that come out of his mouth … I mean, I’m sure he’s going for emphasis but he does do it for most of the show. In all honesty, I do feel that many of the reviewers who have negative things to say might be speaking from a place where they would be hard pressed to bestow positivity no matter how good an actor like Jude Law is. While I agree that there is some merit to some of the negative reviews, I don’t feel that all of the criticism is very fair. After the jump, check out a few photos of Jude taking his curtain call bows last night at the completion of his official Broadway debut performance and see which celebs made their way to the Broadhurst Theater for opening night …

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Four months ago Thomas Beatie, the transgendered person more famously known as the “Pregnant Man”, gave birth to his first child with his wife Nancy Beatie. Susan Juliette was born on July 3 to much fanfare and was introduced to the world about 3 weeks later. This week, the Beaties show off little Susan Juliette to Barbara Walters on ABC’s 20/20 and share a bit of exciting news — the “Pregnant Man” is pregnant again:

Thomas Beatie, the controversial “pregnant man” who gave birth to a daughter earlier this year, reveals to Barbara Walters in an exclusive interview that he is pregnant again with his second child. Thomas Beatie, a transgender, welcomed a baby girl, Susan, June 29. Since sharing the story of Susan’s birth with ABC News, he and his wife, Nancy Beatie, hadn’t spoken to the media until they sat down last month with Walters. Thomas Beatie, who is in his first trimester, tells Walters he did not go back on the male hormone testosterone after Susan’s birth so he could have another baby. “I feel good,” he said. “I had my checkups with my hormone level, as far as the HCG. And everything is right on track.” He says the baby is due June 12. Thomas Beatie also spoke to Walters about Susan’s birth, which was not via Caesarean section. He was in labor for 40 hours; Nancy Beatie cut the umbilical cord.

I mean … why not, right? It sounds like the Beaties are very interested in having as normal a family life as they can (with the 2 1/2 children and all) considering the man in the relationship is the one having the kids. They look really happy and it goes to show that the power of love knows no bounds. I gotta say that I think the fam should be commended for keeping out of the public spotlight for as much as they have. Except for the handful of interviews they’ve done with ABC, People magazine, etc. they’ve really stayed out of the limelight (this is the first we’ve heard from the family since the baby’s birth in July). It gives me great pleasure to be among the first folks to congratulate them on the impending arrival of their second child and wish them all the happiness in the world!!

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The ladies on The View are giving us a sneak preview of tomorrow’s Halloween episode where they each dress up as one of our late former Presidents. Now, I’m not a huge fan of The View in general but I gotta say that I’m quite impressed with their Halloween ingenuity this year. Here is a group shot of Whoopi Goldberg as Franklin D. Roosevelt, Joy Behar as Theodore Roosevelt, Sherri Shepard as Abraham Lincoln (on the $0.01 coin), Elisabeth Hasselbeck as Ronald Reagan and Barbara Walters as George Washington:

While they all look pretty awesome as these Presidents, I have to say that the winner overall has to be Sherri Shepard’s Lincoln penny costume. Brills! Props also go out to Barbara Walters for being the only Viewstress to not only dress up as one of our most beloved Presidents but also one of her classmates as well. Hahahaha … I love these costumes … very cool and very timely. Well done, ladies!

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