La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego has announce a two-week extension to the
run of its world premiere musical Zhivago, the epic tale of forbidden
romance set against the backdrop of the Russian Revolution.
Due to
popular demand, fifteen new performances have been added and
Zhivago
will now close on Sunday, July 9 (there will be no performance on July
4). The show, which opened on May 25th, was originally set to close on June 24th.
"While there are still some good seats remaining for the original run
of
Zhivago, tickets are extremely limited, especially with the
enthusiastic word of mouth and patrons returning for a second time,"
commented Playhouse Managing Director Steven B. Libman. "We want to
share this exceptional performance with as many people as possible and
are pleased to add these additional shows."
Featuring a book by Academy Award-nominee Michael Weller (
Moonchildren), music by
Grammy Award winner Lucy Simon (
The Secret Garden), lyrics by Michael Korie (
Grey Gardens) and Amy Powers
and direction by the Playhouse's two-time Tony Award-winning Artistic
Director
Des McAnuff (
Jersey Boys),
Zhivago is now on stage in the Playhouse's
Mandell Weiss Theatre.
The production stars
Ivan Hernandez (NYCO's The Most Happy Fella) as Yurii Zhivago, Jessica Burrows (Dr. Zhivago workshop at La Jolla) as Lara, Tom Hewitt (Dracula, The Rocky Horror Show) as Viktor, Rena Strober (
Les Miserables) as Tonya, and Matt
Bogart (
Aida and
Miss Saigon) as Pasha/Strelnikov.
"As Russia tips toward revolution, surgeon-poet Yurii Zhivago becomes
captivated by a stunning young woman who changes his life. Their
forbidden romance captured the hearts of millions in Boris Pasternak's
epic novel
Doctor Zhivago, and now their story soars onstage in this
lush and sweeping musical adaptation," state press notes.
Zhivago was presented in July 2005 in a workshop production as part of
the Playhouse's Page To Stage New Play Development Program, and the
feedback received from patrons provided fertile inspiration for the
creative team. After several months of additional work, La Jolla
Playhouse now presents a fully-realized production of this powerful
story that includes new scenes, songs and music as well as glorious
sets, costumes and lights.
Zhivago marks the first project developed
through the Page To Stage program to go directly to a full production
on La Jolla Playhouse's mainstage. It is also the first musical
developed through the program.
For more information, visit www.lajollaplayhouse.com.
