Doctor Zhivago

A CONCORD THEATRICALS TITLE

Doctor Zhivago

Full-Length Musical, Drama  /  3w, 5m

Book by Michael Weller
Lyrics by Michael Korie and Amy Powers
Music by Lucy Simon
Based on the novel by Boris Pasternak

Produced with permission of Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures, Inc. and Turner Entertainment Co.
Orchestrations by Daniel Troob
Music Arrangements by Eric Stern

A sweeping Broadway musical adaptation of the classic Nobel Prize-winning novel about love in the final days of czarist Russia.

Image: 2015 Broadway Production (Matthew Murphy for MurphyMade)

Doctor Zhivago

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  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    3w, 5m
  • Duration
    Duration
    More than 120 minutes (2 hours)
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Adaptation (Literature), Period, Docudrama/History
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult
Doctor Zhivago

Details

Summary

Doctor Zhivago is a heartbreaking epic romance set during the final days of Czarist Russia. Raised as an aristocrat, Zhivago is a political idealist, physician and poet whose life is tossed by the tides of history as he is torn between a life with his close childhood friend and wife, and the passionate and mysterious Lara. Zhivago, however, is not alone in his yearnings for Lara, and must compete with both revolutionaries and aristocracy alike to win the heart of the woman he cannot live without.

This licensed version of Doctor Zhivago is largely based upon the 2015 Broadway production, with some structural changes based upon the Sydney production from 2011. A new song, “Home Where the Lilacs Grow,” has been inserted into Act 1.

History
Doctor Zhivago premiered on Broadway at the Broadway Theatre on April 21, 2015. A 2011 touring production premiered in Australia as Doctor Zhivago – A New Musical at the Lyric Theatre in Sydney.
Keywords
Performing Groups

PRINCIPALS
(3f, 5m)

Yurii Zhivago – A doctor and poet
Lara Guishar – Yurii's inspiration
Viktor Komarovsky – A lawyer
Pasha Antipov/Strelnikov – A revolutionary
Tonia Gromeko – Yurii's wife
Alexander Gromeko – Tonia's father
Anna Gromeko – Tonia's mother
Sasha – Yurii and Tonia's son

ENSEMBLE

With role-doubling and tripling, a flexible number of actors cover the roles of Priest, Muscovites, Young Yurii, Young Tonia, Young Lara, Mrs. Guishar, Wedding Guests, Nikolai Nikolayovich, Markel, Kornakov, Students, Tusia, Ilya, Mischa, Cossacks, Gints, Liberius, Yanko, Soldiers, Nurses, Olya, Shulygin, Festisova, Writer’s Committee, Quartermaster, Yelenka, Women Field Workers, Partisans, Kubarikha, Refugees, Bureaucrats and Mourners

  • Time Period 1930s, 1920s, 1910s/WWI
  • Setting Russia before, during, and after the Russian Revolution.
  • Features Period Costumes
  • Additional Features Stage Combat
  • Duration More than 120 minutes (2 hours)
  • Cautions
    • Alcohol
    • Gun Shots
    • Strong Language

Media

“Unlike any other contemporary musical currently playing.” – Australian Stage

“The dramatic heft and technical fluency of this quasi-operatic filleting of Boris Pasternak's novel makes for engrossing entertainment.” – Sydney Morning Herald

“A highly polished production. It is unlike any other contemporary musical currently playing. Containing no irony or black humour, it is simply about love and idealism.” – Australian Stage

Videos

  • "Now" from Doctor Zhivago on Broadway youtube thumbnail

    "Now" from Doctor Zhivago on Broadway

  • Zhivago Sydney Rehearsal youtube thumbnail

    Zhivago Sydney Rehearsal

  • Doctor Zhivago on Broadway youtube thumbnail

    Doctor Zhivago on Broadway

Photos

  • Doctor Zhivago

    Image: 2015 Broadway Production (Matthew Murphy for MurphyMade)

  • Doctor Zhivago

    Image: 2015 Broadway Production (Matthew Murphy for MurphyMade)

Music

Music Samples

Act I

1. “Two Worlds” – Young Yurii, Yurii, Young Tonia, Tonia, Young Lara, Lara, Pasha, Priest & Ensemble
1a. “Komarovsky’s Toast” – Komarovsky, Tonia, Alex, Anna & Guests
2. “Who Is She?” – Yurii
2a. “The Tavern” – Students
3. “It’s A Godsend” – Pasha & Students
3a. “Godsend Exit” – Students
4. “When the Music Played” – Lara
04a. “Pasha’s Exit” – Orchestra
5. “Who Is She? (Reprise)” – Yurii
6. “Watch the Moon” – Yurii & Tonia
6a. “March Transition” – Liberius & Soldiers
7. “Forward March for the Tsar” – Gints, Soldiers, Pasha, Liberius & Yanko
7a. “Nurse Antipova” – Orchestra
7b. “Field Infirmary” – Orchestra
8. “Home Where the Lilacs Grow” – Olya & Ensemble
9. “Forward March (Reprise)” – Orchestra
9a. “Yanko’s Death” – Orchestra
10. “Now” – Yurii & Lara
11. “Blood on the Snow” – Gints, Pasha, Liberius, Soldiers & Nurses
12. “The Perfect World” – Shulygin, Fetislova, Sasha, Komarovsky & Ensemble
12a. “Komarovsky’s Lament” – Komarovsky
13. “Yurii’s Decision” – Yurii
14. “In This House” – Sasha, Alex, Tonia, Yurii & Ensemble

Act II

15. “Women and Little Children/He’s There” – Lara, Earthy Woman & Female Ensemble
15a. “Arrival at Yuriatin” – Orchestra
16. “No Mercy at All” – Strelnikov
16a. “No Mercy at All (Playoff)” – Orchestra
16b. “Yelenka’s Letter/In This House (Reprise)” – Alex
17. “Love Finds You” – Yurii, Lara, Komarovsky, Strelnikov & Tonia
17a. “Love Finds You (Reprise)” – Lara
18. “Nowhere to Hide” – Liberius & Ensemble
19. “It Comes as No Surprise” – Tonia & Lara
19a. “Kubarikha” – Ensemble
20. “Ashes and Tears” – Yurii, Liberius & Ensemble
20a. “Ice Palace” – Tonia
21. “On the Edge of Time” – Lara & Yurii
21a. “Military Hearing” – Orchestra
21b. “Komarovsky Returns” – Orchestra
21c. “Now (Reprise)” – Yurii
21d. “The Death of Strelnikov” – Orchestra
21e. “Blood on the Snow (Reprise)” – Ensemble
22. “Finale Act II” – Company
23. “Bows” – Orchestra
24. “Exit Music” – Orchestra

  • Musical Style Contemporary Broadway
  • Dance Requirements Easy
  • Vocal DemandsModerate
  • Orchestra Size Large
  • Chorus Size Medium

Licensing & Materials

  • Licensing fees and rental materials quoted upon application.

Music Rentals

Concord offers a full suite of resources to help you put on the show of a lifetime!
20   Piano-Vocal (rehearsal)
1   Reed 1 – Flute, Piccolo, Alto Flute
1   Reed 2 – Oboe, English Horn
1   Reed 3 – Bb Clarinet, Eb Clarinet, A Clarinet, Bass Clarinet
1   Horn
1   Trumpet – dbl. Flugelhorn, Piccolo Trumpet
1   Trombone – dbl. Bass Trombone
1   Keyboard 1
1   Keyboard 2
1   Harp
1   Drums
1   Percussion – Timpani, Tam-Tam, Mark Tree, Glockenspiel, Bell Tree, Tubular Bell, Tambourine, Xylophone, Finger Cymbal, Tambourine, Crotales, Field Drum, Piccolo Snare, Little Bell On A String, Sus Cymbal, Piatti, Gran Cassa, Triangle, Cabasa, Bass Drum, Pandeiro
2   Violin 1 (2 players, divisi)
2   Violin 2 (2 players, divisi)
1   Cello 1 (1 player)
1   Cello 2 (1 player)
1   Bass
1   Full Score (performance)
20   Piano-Vocal (rehearsal & performance)
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Authors

Lucy Simon

Lucy Simon

When Lucy Simon was in grade school, a class assignment was to memorize a poem and recite it in class. The only way she could do it was to put it to a melody. The poem she chose was “Wynken Blynken and Nod” by Eugene Field. It is the first song she ever wrote. Several years ...

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Author

Amy Powers

Michael Korie

Michael Korie

Michael Korie is the lyricist of the Broadway musical War Paint, starring Patti LuPone and Christine Ebersole, and is the recipient of this year's Marc Blitzstein Award, given by the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

Writing for musical theater, he created the lyrics to co ...

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Michael Weller

Michael Weller

Michael Weller studied music composition at Brandeis University, then worked as a jazz pianist before taking his graduate degree in theater at the University of Manchester, England. His best-known plays are Moonchildren, Fishing, Loose Ends and Spoils Of War. His films includ ...

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