Apparently, Hamlet likes to shop at the Gap.

Modern costumes — think peacoats, business suits and drab, muted colors — are one of the few changes in director Michael Grandage's interpretation of Shakespeare's time-tested, English-professor-approved literary opus. Grandage and company have brought their impressive, critically acclaimed production of "Hamlet" from London to Broadway, with Jude Law in the title role.

The stage's towering stone walls, spacious marble floor and intensely sparse lighting — along with a dash of snowfall — perfectly transport the audience into the court of Elsinore — and, at times, the darkest recesses of Hamlet's young mind. On top of it all, an ambient, minimalist score adds another layer of gloom to the play's already unsettling atmosphere.

But for all its dreariness, Grandage and the cast pepper the play with laughs, expertly bringing out the moments of comic relief Shakespeare wrote to keep Elizabethan audiences entertained throughout this five-act epic. Ron Cook expertly plays Polonius, the king's top aide who happens to be a witless old man, delivering his ironic lines oblivious to the mockery of Hamlet and the laughter of the audience. With his booming voice, Peter Eyre memorably portrays the stoic, haunting ghost of Hamlet's father and the seasoned, eloquent Player King, while Geraldine James is spot-on as a restrained, conflicted Gertrude.

Law is a fitting Hamlet, acing an infamously tricky role on which the historical successes and failures of past productions have hinged. He plays the brooding young man with all the melancholy necessary but also captivates with a vigorous, almost childlike energy. Shakespeare called this quality in Hamlet madness; psychiatrists would call it bipolar disorder. In Law's case, I call it good acting.

Law demonstrates how Hamlet's madness, true or not, can seem almost comical when he's among his peers, but becomes something poignant and profound as the lights dim and the spotlight turns to him by himself. The famous "to be or not to be" soliloquy, delivered on his knees beneath a flurry of fake snow, is as powerful a moment as one can only envision it to be. It's pretty spectacular, even to someone sitting in the second-to-last row of the mezzanine.

As Grondage stays true to the original text, the cast deserves all the credit for bringing out the genius of these antique moments. Grondage and Law have modernized this epic without being unnecessarily liberal in their interpretations, keeping most of the play intact.

Shakespeare wrote the play as a kind of summer blockbuster, a revenge tragedy being popular among commoners (the ending rapier duel was surely a draw) and the emotional and linguistic depth a pull for the educated. In that sense, Hamlet is like the Elizabethan "Dark Knight" — something you should keep in mind even if the high airs of Shakespeare discourage you.

There's no reason you shouldn't see this piece of living history. Go now — make haste!

"Hamlet" will run through Dec. 6 at the Broadhurst Theatre (235 W. 44th St.). Tickets ($25 to $116.50) can be purchased at http://telecharge.com or by calling 212.239.6200. Student rush tickets are $35 each.