The latest version of Cinderella will soon disappear from the Broadway Theatre, but another sweepingly romantic musical is ready to take its place — Doctor Zhivago.
Producers said on Wednesday that the tale of five intertwined lovers set during the final days of Czarist Russia will be led by two-time Tony Award winner Des McAnuff, who also directed Jersey Boys.
Casting is to be announced soon. Previews will begin on March 27 with an opening on April 21.
The musical made its world premiere in 2006 under McAnuff’s direction at the La Jolla Playhouse in California. In 2011, a revised Doctor Zhivago opened at the Lyric Theatre in Sydney.
Screenwriter is Academy Award nominee Michael Weller (Ragtime), with music by Grammy Award winner Lucy Simon (The Secret Garden), lyrics by Tony nominee Michael Korie (Grey Gardens) and Emmy Award nominee Amy Powers (Ella Enchanted), and choreography by Tony nominee Kelly Devine (Rocky the Musical). Scenic design will be by Michael Scott-Mitchell and costume design will be by Paul Tazewell.
The 1965 film version is a classic, starring Omar Sharif, Julie Christie, Geraldine Chaplin, Rod Steiger and Alec Guinness. It won 10 Academy Award nominations but lost the film best Oscar to The Sound of Music.
Boris Pasternak’s original novel, a critical portrait of the Russian Revolution, earned him the Nobel Prize for literature in 1958 — and the enduring enmity of the Soviet regime.
