DOCTOR ZHIVAGO Reviews- Page 11

[Emma MK]

Posted: 5/3/15 at 8:09am

Id love for there to be a cast recording for this, though im just hoping it wont post its closing notice before i get to see it in a week and a half as im coming from the UK to see it!

[Pammylicious]

Posted: 5/3/15 at 10:21am

So disappointed if this is true and there will be no cast recording.  Even Hands on a Hardbody had one.

[tdl83]

Posted: 5/3/15 at 10:35am

There will be a cast album.....this is from the authors. The recording date has been rescheduled. It will be made....this is not rumor.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 5/3/15 at 3:07pm

Glad to hear it. The show is toast but at least the score will be preserved.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 5/3/15 at 3:39pm

There will be a cast album.....this is from the authors. The recording date has been rescheduled. It will be made....this is not rumor.

 

Well then I suggest someone lets the cast know this.

[tdl83]

Posted: 5/3/15 at 4:18pm

The cast will be told at the appropriate time....This will happen.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 5/3/15 at 4:25pm

Well I'm glad the creators told you before telling the cast. Just be sure you don't tell them since it's not an appropriate time. 

[n2nbaby]

Posted: 5/3/15 at 4:40pm

LOL 

So I'm assuming, unless this announcing a closing date today, that I'm stuck seeing this next Wednesday, yes? Ugh, I wish my friend didn't already buy tickets.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 5/3/15 at 4:46pm

Go as it is not the train wreck our " esteemed" critics say it is.

[n2nbaby]

Posted: 5/3/15 at 5:15pm

Oh it has nothing to do with the reviews, honestly. I'm not a fan of the source material and it's just totally not my kind of thing. I much rather see Hand to God or Something Rotten.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 5/3/15 at 5:30pm

Rotten is great .

Dr Z is ok. You can brag to your friends you saw it. Boy will they be jealous. The score is really not bad. Glad the cast album is getting done.

[ACL2006]

Posted: 5/3/15 at 7:37pm

I wonder how long they producers will continue to keep this open.

[jkstheatrescene]

Posted: 5/3/15 at 7:43pm

Well, they are courting theater bloggers with invites to see the show this week including interview opportunities.  So I'm guessing it'll be open at least this week....

[GreasedLightning]

Posted: 5/3/15 at 8:17pm

I have to ask. Why are tickets for this on-sale through April 2016!? 

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 5/3/15 at 8:27pm

Why did Rocky put out a new block of tickets only to post a closing notice weeks later? Beats me.

[GreasedLightning]

Posted: 5/3/15 at 8:34pm

Maybe so, but they were never on sale through the next YEAR. 

Most shows (even the long runners) don't even do this. 

Besides, it was just a question. 

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 5/3/15 at 8:43pm

High hopes?

One to many drinks?

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 5/3/15 at 9:53pm

Back from the 92Y event. I totally want to see this. Kelli and Tam have gorgeous voices and that combined with the crazy reports from the previews thread has me convinced. If I finally get over this cold I'll try for Wednesday. I do hope they record an album though because I definitely get what's been said about the show maybe being stronger on an album. The two songs they performed definitely felt like the kind of songs that would need a few repeat listens to sink in.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 5/3/15 at 10:12pm

The score is that bad. It's just not memorable. "Now" is the only strong tune. Dr. Z doesn't even get a big song. I was waiting for the "This is the Moment" type number, but there wasn't anything. He had some nice bits, but nothing that I could remember after the curtain fell. 

 

Also, why all the chairs? The whole curtain is made of chairs? I don't get it. 

The book is quite terrible too. There just wasn't any tension. I was never like "Oh, what's going to happen next" or anything. There was hardly even a love triangle element. His wife gets practically nothing to do. And why is everyone - in the show - going nuts over Barlett's character? She over acts, she's quite annoying, etc.

Wasn't a fan.

[broadwayboy223]

Posted: 5/3/15 at 10:17pm

If the producers are rich which they are and they care about the show they are going to give it a long run as they see fit. From what I can tell and from what I've seen mostly audiences like the show. I personally love the music. So if audiences like it and producers want it open  what's the problem with that? I'm sure everyone involved wants this show to have its best chance. Who cares if it didn't get a Tony nom or the critics love? I'm just happy to see that theatre is thriving with new musicals and that these actors have work. 

[GreasedLightning]

Posted: 5/3/15 at 11:15pm

I'm with you, broadwayboy, I just thought it seemed a little ambitious to have the show on sale for over a year in advance. 

Out of curiosity... I clicked on a date in early April 2016. A Saturday night, to be exact. And to my surprise... the orchestra had some seats sold. Probably production holds, but still...

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 5/4/15 at 12:12am

I watched the stream of the 92Y interview and I'm definitely looking at the design aspects a little differently now after hearing Des talk about why they made some of the choices they did. I don't think a lot of the intended metaphors are coming across like they'd hoped but it at least makes more sense now.

[tazber]

Posted: 5/4/15 at 5:53am

"There will be a cast album.....this is from the authors. The recording date has been rescheduled. It will be made....this is not rumor."

 

Well I hope you are right, but I have take anything someone with inside info posts on this board with a grain of salt.

I mean, if you're that close that you're privy to such info I'm sure you're probably not supposed to disclose it on a public message board before the cast has even been told.

But again, I hope you are correct.

 

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 5/4/15 at 6:24am

"I watched the stream of the 92Y interview and I'm definitely looking at the design aspects a little differently now after hearing Des talk about why they made some of the choices they did. I don't think a lot of the intended metaphors are coming across like they'd hoped but it at least makes more sense now."

Do share, please. I'm all for finding out their intended metaphors-- anything to explain how smart theater artists ended up with the ugly lumps on that stage that they've got.

[letyourfreakflagwave]

Posted: 5/4/15 at 6:38am

"I watched the stream of the 92Y interview and I'm definitely looking at the design aspects a little differently now after hearing Des talk about why they made some of the choices they did. I don't think a lot of the intended metaphors are coming across like they'd hoped but it at least makes more sense now."

I feel exactly the same about it. I stumbled across the livestream link yesterday and when I watched it, it really made me reflect the preview I saw a month ago (which I haven't really given detailed thought afterwards until now).

While I found the show to be flawed, I am in the minority of people on this board who sincerely enjoyed it. The biggest trouble I had with it was the character development which could have been done much better. I have never read the novel nor have I seen the movie and I appreciated that they made the story "accessible" for people who are not familiar with it (much like Les Mis simplified its plot for the stage version) but the book did not always work. 

There was too little of Lara and Yurii falling in love, they just suddenly were. I enjoyed the fact that they did not exclusively focus on the love story but devoted such a huge amount of time to the war story, but subsequently, we did not actually see the love grow. It is possible to not make a love story the main focus of your story but still show how they fell in love and how their feelings developed. 

But I (as somebody who did not know the story before entering the theatre) thought they did a fantastic job at exposition. I LOVED the opening sequence and the conflict it hinted at ("Two worlds - the oppressed, the elite - and never the two shall meet") and part of why I enjoyed the evening in spite of all the flaws was because the first scene immediately drew me into the story and I felt really hooked and was excited to see how things unfold. 

I was also quite impressed with the set, actually. Sure, they could have done without some of the projections, and I did not fully understand the concept behind the ballroom setting when I saw the show, but I found it aesthetically interesting and am glad Des McAnuff gave more insight now. 

I really hope the cast recording will actually be made. I really liked the score at first listen and would love to hear it again. This show would have needed a lot more rework before opening on Broadway because it did not feel quite "finished", but it is filled with many really clever ideas (which do not always come across, as CATSNYrevival pointed out) but I wish people would approach it with a more open mind because Doctor Zhivago actually offers some really good elements. 

I did not leave the theatre thinking this show might become the new blockbuster people will talk about for decades to come, but never for one second did I think "Wow, this show is one hell of a trainwreck." I actually enjoyed it more than The Visit (which might be more well-rounded artistically but I still had a better time at Doctor Zhivago).