Review: 'Doctor Zhivago' opens on Broadway

Kelli Barrett, Tam Mutu - Photo by Matthew Murphy.jpg

Kelli Barrett and Tam Mutu in Doctor Zhivago

(Matthew Murphy)

Doctor Zhivago

Where: Broadway Theatre, 1681 Broadway, New York When: On sale through April 3, 2016. Show times vary. How much: $42-$157, (212) 239-6200 or

As it chronicles love, war, survival instincts and purpose in a rapidly changing world, "Doctor Zhivago" is an earnest romance with an epic, operatic scope.

Based on the novel by Boris Pasternak, which also inspired the 1965 movie, the new Broadway musical covers ample ground, with nothing extraneous in two hours and forty minutes.

With a concise book by Michael Weller, eloquent lyrics by Michael Korie and Amy Powers and heartfelt music by Lucy Simon of "The Secret Garden," the story of a doctor and poet and a smart, beautiful woman - both promised to others - is given estimable treatment. Des McAnuff directs a thoughtful production.

Yet in encompassing so much plot and philosophy so economically, the characters and their fates can sometimes feel oversimplified.

Beginning in World War I and continuing through the Russian Revolution and beyond, the plot begins by introducing two couples: Zhivago and the daughter of his adoptive parents, Tonia Gromeko; and also Lara and the rebel Pasha, whose relationship is threatened by the older Viktor Komarovsky.

When Zhivago and Lara meet, however, their lives are forever changed.

The characters in "Zhivago" find themselves in and out of battle, constantly living like fugitives. Zhivago returns home to find communists have taken over. He shepherds his starving family, Tonia (Lora Lee Gayer) included, to the country from Moscow, where his relationship with Lara progresses.

Tam Mutu proves one of Broadway's strongest current leading men as Doctor Yurii Zhivago, military medic and poet. In the song "Yurii's Decision," in which he vows to honor his marriage, Mutu is formidable.

A spirited Lara, Kelli Barrett shows off an impressive, wide-ranging voice. A young woman who dives into life's pleasures and gazes fearlessly at its sorrows, she's cool-headed and quick-thinking when she becomes a volunteer military nurse to look for Pasha, who has gone missing, but instead becomes close to Zhivago.

Simon gives them surging melodies with bold colors, and the score is filled with Russian-style grandeur. A confessional duet pours out of Zhivago and Lara as an irrepressible declaration of love.

In a scene focusing on Russia's turmoil during 1915, a battle march grows tense and cacophonous as the stage fills with yellow-orange smoke and the shots of a firefight. "Blood on the Snow" provides a vivid anthem for the Red Army cause.

As Pasha, Paul Alexander Nolan gives a vocally flawless, intense performance perfectly capturing the character's zeal, blazing energy and sharp wit. His idealism is magnetic in an upbeat, folk-like song, surrounded by students and his new bride. Yet he is fearsome and unhinged in his devotion to his country and to Lara -and both, in this telling, are compellingly mixed - by the time he becomes a rebel leader.

Tom Hewitt is tart and cynical as the pragmatic Viktor Komarovsky.

Simon infuses the score with folk gestures, which choreographer Kelly Devine complements with high-energy dances that feature legs kicking out from a low, crouched position and hands slapping. "Lara's Theme," the tune made famous by the 1965 film starring Omar Sharif and Julie Christie, becomes "Somewhere my love," a gentle song for a group of nurses.

As it spans decades, the drama of the play can occasionally feel forced or reductive. When Pasha confronts Zhivago, he says, "You gave her chocolates and brandy; I gave her a war." When the revolutionary considers killing his rival, he instead reads Zhivago's poetry and instantly bursts into tears.

More effective is a chilling scene in which Komarovsky encourages Zhivago to make sure his writing takes the "correct path" to support the People's Revolution. In the background, other artists are hung by the Communist party. Michael Scott-Mitchell's efficient set design relies on piled up chairs for various purposes, including the boundaries of trenches, and also includes a spinning railcar and a deep grave. Women pick up the chairs like housekeepers in a smooth shift to the home front. Paul Tazewell's costumes honor the fur-trimmed richness of the movie.

Given the empty chairs (and tables), not to mention the love affairs and fight for one's country, comparisons to "Les Miserables" are perhaps inevitable. Yet instead of a concrete villain like Javert, the adversaries in "Zhivago"are the more realistic yet also less tangible forces of war and duty.

The musical is true to the spirit of its age and presents unabashed emotion too rarely seen on the contemporary stage. Yet that asset may also be this show's challenge: in moments of high drama at the performance I attended, there were a few giggles. As with the love of Yurii and Lara, it simply may not be this musical's time.