Editor : Jeannie Lieberman |
Submit an Article |
Contact Us | 
For Email Marketing you can trust
92Y Talks - From Page to Screen to Stage: A Conversation with the Cast and Creative Team of Broadway’s Doctor Zhivago
by Deirdre Donovan It was no breeze for the creative team of Doctor Zhivago to bring the new Broadway musical to birth. At a recent 92Y Talk at the famous cultural institution on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, director McAnuff was joined by actors Tom Matu (Yurii Zhivago) and Kelli Barrett (Lara Guishar) and composer Lucy Simon to trace its journey from page to screen to stage. Moderated by Howard Sherman, the artists discussed the long collaborative process (and its fully-staged productions in Australia and Korea and its premiere at La Jolla Playhouse, in San Diego) that culminated in the current New York production.
Its journey began many years ago with a phone conversation between McAnuff and Simon. Simon had hoped to work on a project that she loved as much as The Secret Garden and, when deciding on Doctor Zhivago, phoned McAnuff to ask him if he would “put together a team” with her to create a musicalized stage version of the sprawling historical epic. McAnuff immediately was on board the project and determined to bring it to fruition. McAnuff also acknowledged the other collaborators who weren’t on stage, including book writer Michael Weller, and lyricists Michael Korie and Amy Powers. McAnuff described himself as a kind of “field martial” for the project (and eventual director), who attempted to get the “best work out of the collaborators.” McAnuff, among other things, addressed the idea of the “epic musical” as something that “falls in and out of fashion.” He referenced Les Miz” and “Chess” as two well-known instances of the form in recent years that have connected with audiences. That said, both McAnuff and Simon agreed that they were “brave” for undertaking and staging this historical epic on Broadway in an ”age of parody.” He added that Doctor Zhivago isn’t “riddled with irony” or “comedy.” McAnuff referred to West End veteran Mutu and Broadway veteran Barrett as genuine actors and “artistic athletes” in this show. Mutu and Barrett offered their own personal views on preparing and developing their roles. Barrett both read the book and watched the 1965 film, which helped her to gain background and a sense of the period of the Russian Revolution. Mutu, in contrast, stressed that Simon’s music was the real touchstone for him in fully realizing his character on stage, that the story was in the music. Although many strands of the musical knit together quite naturally, McAnuff said that whether or not to include the beloved song “Somewhere My Love” in the show became a running debate. He added that Simon was the strongest proponent for keeping it in as “an homage” to the film. She also felt that audiences going to the stage musical probably had an emotional need to hear it. The program wrapped up with Mutu and Barrett singing the heart-felt song from Act 2, “On the Edge of Time.” The audience savored the romantic duet in its entirety—and then exited onto Lexington Avenue. Doctor Zhivago At the Broadway (closes on Sunday May 10th), at 1681 Broadway (between West 52nd and 53rd Streets). For tickets, phone 212. 239-6210 or visit www.telecharge.com Editor’s note: Sources report that the show, which opened April 21st, will close May 10th after poor reviews and being snubbed by the major theater awards organizations. It brings to fore how sad and sometimes cruel “Show Biz” can be, what great risk producers and creators take and how many dreams are dashed for everyone including the performers. At such great expense to run a show as huge as this it was obviously impractical to keep it open a while longer hoping for word of mouth to help it survive, as many other producers choose. There is a long list of hits that opened to poor reviews but eventually caught on. Our reviewer found much to admire Jeanne Lieberman, publisher/editor Theatercene.com 
|
