I can see how this show would work as a fully staged production - I can imagine the set, the lighting, the costumes, the scene changes, the staging - but I don’t think that it worked particularly well as a concert.
With a theatre and all its tech and tricks at your disposal, you can play with time and place and take the audience on a journey. The various theatrical devices also assist with exposition and story-telling. Unless a show is sung through, such exposition is much more difficult in a concert, and, in this concert, a narrator was used to explain scene and time changes, and also plot points. This kept everything to a reasonable time, but made the show feel a bit flat and broke the fluidity of the piece, and it was efficient rather than effective.
For example, it resulted in the first act feeling like a whistle-stop tour of the story, and if you blinked you got left behind! I know the story of Doctor Zhivago, and even I was a little lost at times! It also meant that there was no real chance for character development or exploration of the various relationships and dynamics. For example, there was no real explanation of Lara and Komarovsky’s relationship: the audience was suddenly thrust into the action and she was trying to kill him. There was no background to Lara’s and Pasha’s relationship, and we missed the all important moment when Yurii and Lara see each other for the first time and their spark is ignited. This meant that there was no real chemistry between the characters. The second act was much better as there was a lot less action to pack in. However, there were still no explanations for various things, such as what happened to Doctor Zhivago in the 11 years after he is left alone in the old Gromeko mansion.
I completely understand the limitations of a concert, and a concert is, arguably, much more about the music. However, just having seen the staged concert version of Les Miserables, and having seen South Pacific and The Clockmaker’s Daughter at Cadogan Hall, I felt that a little more could have been done to bring this production to life and tell the story. For example, more dialogue and scenes between the characters to show their relationships and chemistry, rather than reliance on the narrator. I did, however, like the one bit of staging whereby the cast were divided into ‘bourgeois’ and ‘workers’ in terms of where they were seated on the stage, and how Lara crossed that divide.
In terms of the performances, however, they were brilliant. Ramin Karimloo was absolutely fantastic as Yurii Zhivago. His voice is amazing, and he effortlessly awed the audience with its power. And, even though this was a concert, he completely threw himself into the role. His performance will now, for me, be one of the defining portrayals of Doctor Zhivago.
Matthew Woodyatt and Charlie McCullagh also immersed themselves in their characters, Komarovsky and Pasha (respectively). However, I didn’t really get a sense of character development over the years that the story takes place - the characters always seemed to be pitched at the same level. I also felt that, even though they were fabulous vocally, Celinde Schoenmaker (Lara) and Kelly Matheison (Tonya) were a bit wooden in their acting, and I didn’t really get a sense of the chemistry, love or passion between them and Karimloo’s Zhivago. This may, in part, be due to the use of the narrator to explain these relationships, rather than having scenes between the characters to show it. But it meant that, although there were moments, I really didn’t get a sense of the grand love and passion between Lara and Zhivago that epitomises this story. This was quite disappointing given that Karimloo and Schoenmaker are absolutely fantastic and their characters’ story has so much potential to whisk the audience away in their love affair.
This show’s music is pretty impressive, but I didn’t find it particularly memorable. However, I feel that this might be one of those scores that becomes more memorable and more stunning with repeat listening.
I really liked this show, and loved seeing its UK premiere, but I was also a little disappointed because it has such potential that it never completely delivered on. I really hope that this will be a fully staged production one day, so that it can live up to the promise of passion and grandeur that this concert hinted at.