Sneak Peek: DR ZHIVAGO, Set For Broadway, Has London Launch With Mutu, Barrett And McAnuff!

What a start to the year. The new musical Dr Zhivago is gearing up for its Broadway opening in March - and gave London a sneak peek as to what the Great White Way can expect.

So why were they over in London? Well, leading man Tam Mutu - who's playing the titular hero - is currently starring in City of Angels at the Donmar Warehouse, which makes meeting and rehearsing with his Stateside castmates tricky.

He and Kelli Barrett, playing Lara, hadn't sung together in public until this afternoon's showcase of two duets - if they're anything to go by, expect a sweeping, lush romantic score.

And yes, fans of the 1965 film, director Des McAnuff confirmed that they have the rights to use 'Lara's Theme', the famous piece of cinematic scoring by Maurice Jarre, within the original music written by Lucy Simon.

"Boris Pasternak punched a hole in the Iron Curtain," said McAnuff, talking about the author of the original novel and describing the epic plot ranging across Russia during the First World War and the Russian Revolution.

"With everything that's going on at the moment in the world, what it's done is unified us. People have come together, and it's love and compassion and feeling that does that. This show has that in abundance. Anything can happen, but ultimately love will always win out," said Mutu.

Oh, and the whisper around the room was that the show will be back in Theatreland soon...for a West End transfer. Watch this space.

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