Review: Tohtori Zivago

Dr. Zivago is a real grand musical

The grand musical is exactly the word that must be used in this context for Dr. Zivago’s musical version. The size of the working group is several dozen people, the large theatre orchestra of 18 people and the Ensemble in the background are impressive.

In addition, the set design, costumes, lighting and sound technology are made with great resources. Of course, this is not enough, but it is a good starting point for a grand musical, because the story itself and how it is executed is the most important thing. The most important task of theatre is to tell stories to people.

It’s a miracle that this City Theatre performance is a European premiere, even though Zivago’s story is over 50 years old and the story is really good.

This is once again a great cultural act from the Helsinki City Theatre in the field of performing arts, and the audience is grateful for it, as almost 30,000 tickets have already been booked before the premiere. And it’s not hard to guess that theatres in other countries will also include the musical in their repertoire.

Zivago’s story takes place during the Russian Revolution of the 20th century, i.e. at that time there were very confusing times of the Tsar, which then ended in the revolution. This tension accompanies the performance from start to finish, after all, changes in society and people brought completely new starting points for life, and too many lives also ended during that time.

Dr. Zivago is a righteous and dutiful husband and family man, who nevertheless falls in love with the enigmatic Lara, and this creates a triangle drama that is at the center of the show’s dramatic arc.

The war and the changes it brings to people’s normal lives bring with it surprising twists and turns, which people do not always even manage themselves in the midst of war.

Personally, I went to see it, as I’m sure so many others did, with a memory of a movie version that has stayed strongly in my mind. You should never directly compare the implementation of a film and a theatre, on the same subject.

The musical version that we now see on the stage of the theatre contains a lot of music and the emphasis values are quite different in relation to the film.

This is what I tried to emphasize to myself and what I saw. I had a theatrical experience where I saw a familiar story, Lucy Simon’s sometimes grandiose composition, wonderful vocal parts, such great acting, I got to experience the functionality and spectacularity of inventive sets, the importance of lights in the performance

And how the lighting technology can support the whole performance nicely.

The reader will probably notice that as a theatre person and maker, I am quite enthusiastic about the performance.

A theatre performance broadens and refreshes.