We now have confirmation that the previously reported long-brewing musical adaptation of Doctor Zhivago will open on the Great White Way in the spring of 2015. According to an equity casting notice the show will begin rehearsals on February 2, 2015 and officially open in April. Directed by Des McAnuff with choreography by Kelly Devine, the tuner is expected to play the Broadway Theatre following the closing of Cinderella on January 3.
Based on the 1957 novel by Boris Pasternak, Doctor Zhivago details the life of Yuri Zhivago, a physician and poet, during the Russian Revolution of 1905 and World War II. The story is best known from the hit 1965 film starring Omar Sharif and Julie Christie.
The stage adaptation, featuring a book by Lucy Simon and lyrics by Michael Korie and Amy Powers, premiered in 2006 at La Jolla Playhouse. A heavily revised version opened at the Lyric Theatre in Sydney, Australia with Annie star Anthony Warlow in the lead role under the direction of Tony winner McAnuff (The Who’s Tommy, Jersey Boys).