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ZHIVAGO
Book by Michael Weller
Music By Lucy Simon
Lyrics by Michael Korie & Amy Powers
Directed by Des McAnuff
From the novel Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak
Doctor Zhivago
ACT ONE
PROLOGUE - MOSCOW, WINTER
(Tolling bells at curtain rise; a
CHORUS of elegant MUSCOVITES stands in
black fur-trimmed coats with their
SERVANTS dressed in French fashion.)
(Musical Sequence: TWO WORLDS)
MUSCOVITES
AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH
AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH
EVER SINCE THE ANCIENT RIDERS
CROSSED THE GREAT DIVIDE,
RUSSIA IS A LAND WHERE
JOY AND SORROW COINCIDE.
TWO WORLDS,
OF THE PLOUGH AND THE SWORD.
TWO WORLDS,
OF THE SERF AND THE LORD.
TWO WORLDS,
SELF-CONTAINED AND DISCREET
AND NEVER THE TWO SHALL MEET.
(The MUSCOVITES join...)
SCENE 1-A - GRAVEYARD
(... a PRIEST, ACOLYTE and the Gromeko
family. ANNA, ALEX, and their daughter
TONIA, aged 10 surround a coffin with a
candle on it. Also present are VIKTOR
KOMAROVSKY and YURII ZHIVAGO, age 9.
The ACOLYTE passes YURII a bundle of dry
straw. KOMAROVSKY nudges him to hold
the straw in the candle flame. YURII
obeys. The straw smoulders.)
PRIEST
May his soul rise up and find peace in the world above.
(Over his fathers grave, YURII
sings to the rising smoke.)
Doctor Zhivago
YOUNG YURII
WHY HAVE YOU LEFT ME ALONE IN THE WORLD?
WHERE DO YOU GO WHEN YOU DIE?
PAPA, DONT FLOAT AWAY
LIKE A LEAF ON THE WIND
LOST IN A COLD WHITE SKY.
MUSCOVITES
(holding lit candles)
TWO WORLDS
OF THE FLESH ON THE EARTH.
TWO WORLDS
OF THE SOUL IN REBIRTH.
TWO WORLDS
LIKE THE SMOKE FROM A FLAME
WE RETURN FROM WHERE WE CAME.
KOMAROVSKY
Poor child; imagine being born a Zhivago, Zhivago factories,
Zhivago estates, a Zhivago bank, even a Zhivago tiepin - and to
be left without a kopek all thanks to his fathers dissolute
ways...
ALEX
Counselor Komarovsky, if I may. We always been close with the
Zhivago family. We can take the boy in.
KOMAROVSKY
(approaching Yurii)
The Gromekos are offering you a home, Yurii Andreievich. Youre
a very lucky young man YOUNG YURII
(pulling away)
Leave me alone.
(YURII clings to the coffin. ALEX
signals his daughter TONIA.)
ALEX
Tonia.
YOUNG TONIA
(approaching YURII)
You can live with us, Yurii Andreievich. Come.
(She takes his hand and leads him
offstage with GROMEKOS, PRIEST and
ACOLYTE. KOMAROVSKY stays behind.)
Doctor Zhivago
MUSCOVITES
SOME ARE BLESSED WITH HELPING HANDS
AND PATRONS THEY CAN TRUST.
SOME CONDEMNED TO POVERTY
WILL TURN TO WHOM THEY MUST.
TWO WORLDS,
THE PROFANE AND THE PURE.
TWO WORLDS,
ONE IS BRASH, ONE DEMURE.
TWO WORLDS,
OF THE WOLF AND HIS PREY,
AND THE WOLF
ALWAYS GETS HIS WAY.
(MUSCOVITES exit and the graveyard
transforms to a poorer one. A WOMAN
appears there with her daughter,
YOUNG LARA. The WOMAN is weeping
into a handkerchief as KOMAROVSKY
crosses to them.)
Doctor Zhivago
THE GROMEKOS
YOUNG TONIA
Happy Birthday, Yuroshka!
YOUNG YURII
(delighted)
You should wait til tonight.
YOUNG TONIA
(she holds a notebook.)
Close your eyes.
(He obeys.)
You make the teachers angry scribbling poems in your textbooks.
This will keep you out of trouble.
THE DRESS SHOP
YOUNG LARA, MRS. GUISHAR and
KOMAROVSKY examine the space [with
a sign For Rent.] LARA, in her
school-girl uniform with high socks
studies a dressmakers dummy. MRS.
GUISHAR gazes around the space.)
KOMAROVSKY
The owner agreed to offer a very low rent, and with your
daughters help - shes a hard worker, I understand - the two of
you should make a great success of a dress shop like this.
MRS GUISHAR
How will we ever repay your kindnesses - Victor.
KOMAROVSKY
Shall we view the upstairs rooms -- ?
(turning to YOUNG LARA)
Your sock is slipping down, Lara.
(He leads MRS GUISHAR upstairs.
THE GROMEKOS
YOUNG TONIA hands YURII a
notebook.)
YOUNG TONIA
HERE IS A BOOK OF YOUR
THOUGHTS AND YOUR DREAMS.
YOUNG YURII
WHERE ARE THE WORDS?
Doctor Zhivago
YOUNG TONIA
IN YOU.
SIMPLY WRITE FROM THE HEART,
THATS HOW ALL POETS START
TOLSTOY WAS TWELVE ONCE, TOO.
THE DRESS SHOP
(YOUNG LARA works at a dress-form,
addressing it as a confidante.)
YOUNG LARA
SOMETIMES I WISH
I COULD BE MORE LIKE YOU,
NOTHING TO FEEL INSIDE.
NOBODY KNOWS WHAT ITS LIKE TO BE ME,
OR WHAT I HAVE TO HIDE...
(She poses like the dummy)
YOUNG YURII
I WATCH THE EVENING STAR APPEAR
AND I CAN HEAR THE WORDS WITHIN ME.
HERE IN THE NIGHT
(The children are joined by ADULT
VERSIONS of each... TONIA a welldressed young lady; LARA a sexually
precocious 16-year old still in her
school uniform; and YURII, in his
20s, a medical school graduate.)
LARA
ALL OF MOSCOW IN SIGHT,
WHAT WILL MY FUTURE BE?
YOUNG TONIA
WHAT WILL MY FUTURE BE?
YOUNG LARA
WHAT WILL MY FUTURE BE?
YOUNG YURII & YURII
WHAT WILL MY FUTURE BE?
YOUNG TONIA & TONIA
WHAT WILL MY FUTURE BE?
YOUNG LARA & LARA
WHAT WILL IT BE?
Doctor Zhivago
YURII
(alone)
WHAT WILL MY FUTURE BE?
SCENE 1- C: GROMEKO HOUSE
(TONIA stands beside YURII holding a
framed diploma)
TONIA
Well put this over your desk where everyone can see: Doctor of
Medicine: Yurii Andreyevich Zhivago.
YURII
What would I have done without you and your family. I cant
imagine a life without you.
TONIA
Why would you ever have to; this is your home.
YURII
HOW CAN I EVER EXPRESS HOW I FEEL,
MY SENSE OF IMMENSE SATISFACTION.
A USEFUL CAREER, A LICENSE TO HEAL,
A WAY TO REPAY WHAT IVE BEEN GIVEN.
WORKING FOR THE GOOD OF ALL,
FINDING MY ROLE,
PURPOSE AND GOAL.
TONIA
THATS WHAT OUR LIVES ARE FOR.
BOTH
HOW COULD WE ASK FOR MORE?
(TONIA folds herself into his arms.)
(MUSIC UNDERSCORES.)
SCENE 1-D: THE DRESS SHOP
(PASHA enters to where LARA sews.
He holds pamphlets, and a hastily
wrapped bundle.)
LARA
Pasha! Whats wrong?
PASHA
The strike is on for tonight. Hide this. If you hear Ive been
arrested throw it in the river.
Doctor Zhivago
LARA
When will I see you again?
PASHA
(with a shy smile)
Very soon. Im a cat; nine lives!!!
(PASHA slips away and MUSCOVITES
outside sing through LARAS
actions... she conceals the bundle
up the hollow at the bottom of the
tailors dummy.
(The MUSCOVITE CHORUS appears
between the two worlds of the
GROMEKO HOUSE and the DRESS SHOP)
MUSCOVITES
STATELY WINTER PALACES
THE CZAR BEQUEATHS HIS HEIR,
OPPOSITE THE BEGGARS QUARTERS
CROSS THE COBBLED SQUARE.
TWO WORLDS,
ONE OF POWER AND PRIDE.
TWO WORLDS,
ONE OF JUSTICE DENIED.
TWO WORLDS,
AND A BRIDGE IN-BETWEEN
WHERE THE NEED FOR REFORM IS SEEN...
(During this, across the stage, the
GROMEKO balcony forms and YURII
appears above the street donning
formal wear as he watches the
street and hears a CROWD chanting.
TWO STUDENTS race across the stage;
a feeling of impending violence.)
SCENE 1-E: BALCONY OF GROMEKO HOUSE
(YURII watches TWO COSSACKS race by
in pursuit of STUDENTS, and hears
gunfire in the distance. TONIA
hurries out to YURII.)
TONIA
What are you doing out here, youre not finished dressing for
tonight.
YURII
Theyve sent Cossacks to the protest. Theres going to be
trouble.
(MORE)
Doctor Zhivago
MARKEL
Come inside, young master, its too dangerous out there.
YURII
Bring me my bag, Markel. Theyll need help in the square..
TONIA
No, Yura, dont leave the house tonight, everyones expecting us
downstairs.
(But YURII is gone and we are
inside...)
SCENE 1-F: THE DRESS SHOP
(KOMAROVSKY is pulling off LARAs
silk stocking, making love to her.)
LARA
No, Victor, I cant do this any more.
KOMAROVSKY
Why not? Is that ridiculous student agitator of yours putting
ideas in your head?
LARA
Who told you about him?
KOMAROVSKY
The police are my friends. That boys not your kind, Lara; you
need someone who allows you be your true self, a sensualist like
me, your body aching for pleasure...
(She slaps him. He grabs her wrist.)
LARA
Leave me alone.
KOMAROVSKY
Of course... until tomorrow night!
(KOMAROVSKY sweeps past her on the
way out, knocking over her tailors
dummy as a provocation. LARA sets
the dummy upright and the bundle
falls out. She grabs a corner of
it. The bundle unravels and a
revolver falls out.
LARA picks it up and turns to the
door where KOMAROVSKY exited.
(MORE)
Doctor Zhivago
Doctor Zhivago
MUSCOVITES
TWO WORLDS,
OF THE NEW AND THE OLD.
TWO WORLDS,
OF THE MEEK AND THE BOLD.
TWO WORLDS,
AND THE GRAVEST OF FIGHTS
THROUGH THE COLDEST OF DAYS
AND THE DARKEST OF NIGHTS.
TWO WORLDS,
OF REDEMPTION OR SIN.
TWO WORLDS.
EVER FASTER THEY SPIN.
TWO WORLDS:
PASSION AND PRIDE
WHO CAN PREDICT
WHAT THE FATES WILL DECIDE
WHEN TWO WORLDS COLLIDE!
(YURII walks into the ballroom
where TONIA awaits, and we are
magically in:)
SCENE 2 - A GRAND ROOM IN THE GROMEKO HOME
(ALEX GROMEKO addresses the excited
GUESTS.)
ALEX
Friends, family, well-wishers, welcome... What a blessing that
on this night, with the streets in such turmoil, we can all
safely gaher here to celebrate a long-awaited announcement ANNA
(she cant contain it)
Our daughter is marrying Yurii Andreyevich.
ALEX
(fondly) Thank you dear.
ANNA
A doctor!
ALEX
If I may call on Moscows esteemed Counsellor at Law and our
dear friend, Viktor Komarovsky to toast this joyous union, as
only he knows how; Viktor!
(MORE)
Doctor Zhivago
ALEX (cont'd)
KOMAROVSKYS TOAST)
KOMAROVSKY
LOVELY LITTLE TONIA,
LOOK AT HOW YOUVE GROWN.
MARRYING THIS DOCTOR...
AND A POET AS HES KNOWN.
(Lifts glass in a toast)
TO WOMEN AND MARRIAGE:
THAT CIVILIZING FORCE!
MAY ALL GO WELL.
IF IT GOES TO HELL,
SEE ME FOR THE DIVORCE!
(Laughter from the GUESTS)
ZA VAS!
GUESTS
(Lifting glasses)
TO YOU!
KOMAROVSKY
AND A BOND THATS EVER TRUE.
LUBOV!
GUESTS
TO LOVE!
KOMAROVSKY
WHICH A MAN CAN NEVER HAVE TOO MUCH OF.
ALEX
CARRY ON OUR BLOODLINE,
ANNA
CIVIL AND DISCREET.
KOMAROVSKY
SO UNLIKE THE RABBLE
WREAKING HAVOC IN THE STREET.
REMEMBER, DEAR CHILDREN,
AS DOWN THE PATH YOU START:
THE ONLY REVOLUTION
IS THE ONE INSIDE YOUR HEART.
GUESTS
Ah!!
Doctor Zhivago
KOMAROVSKY
(speaks) And now, if our happy couple will lead the mazurka!
(The music turns suddenly to a
formal dance; TONIA and YURII bow
to one anther and come together in
a dance. ALL sigh and watch them, a
lovely couple. KOMAROVSKY takes the
hand of an attractive YOUNG LADY,
and soon the whole room is dancing;
a stately answer to the agitation
we saw moments ago outside)
(LARA GUISHAR enters in a thick
overcoat, trailing the cold and
snow as she weaves among guests,
searching...)
LARA
(to a YOUNG RAKE)
Where can I find Viktor Komarovsky?
YOUNG RAKE
In the corner, playing cards with Prosecutor Kornakov-LARA
(abruptly)
Dance with me.
(LARA sweeps him into a dance towards
where KOMAROVSKY plays cards with
SEVERAL MOSCOW GRANDEES.)
YOUNG RAKE
Ive never seen you before, are you a friend of Counsellor
Komarovsky... ?
(LARA dances until shes standing
directly before KOMAROVSKY.)
LARA
I should have done this long ago.
(She pulls Pashas revolver from her
muff and fires at KOMAROVSKY. The
MAN beside him grasps his hand in
pain. A beat - then pandemonium.)
CROWD
(Ad lib, screams and shouts of panic)
Assassin!!!
KORNAKOV
(the wounded man)
Someone stop her!!!
Doctor Zhivago
KOMAROVSKY
(controlling the room.)
Everyone stay calm please, theres no danger, it was an accident.
CROWD
(Ad lib, shouts of panic)
KORNAKOV
Call the police, arrest that woman!!
KOMAROVSKY
No!
(to others)
Tell the musicians to keep playing.
(Urgently instructing nearby men)
Take her upstairs. We need a doctor for Prosecutor Kornakov.
(TWO MEN take LARA to a room off the
Grand Hall.
The scene shifts; the Conservatory.)
SCENE 2-B: GROMEKO CONSERVATORY
(YURII leads KORNAKOV to an alcove
where he keeps his medical bag.
While tending KORNAKOVS hand,
YURII watches LARA through an open
door to the Ballroom.)
KORNAKOV
These revolutionists have only one answer to every problem:
BANG!!! You dont agree with me, BANG. You dont like my
boots; BANG! Bang. Problem solved!
YURII
She doesnt look like a radical to me.
KORNAKOV
Anyone at a universitys a radical. I say arrest them all at
graduation and ship them to a labor camp.
(YURII watches LARA framed in a doorway
to the main hall as he bandages the
wounded man, KORNAKOV.)
Doctor Zhivago
Doctor Zhivago
YURII
THE BLAZE IN HER EYES...
A STORM ON THE RISE,
DEFIANT AND DARING!
HOW WONDROUS THE THRILL
TO FOLLOW YOUR WILL
WITHOUT EVEN CARING...
(LARA rushes in, looking for an exit.
She encounters YURII packing his
supplies, and starts past him.)
Stay a moment. I want to ask you something.
(LARA is puzzled, as is YURII who has
no idea what he wants to say. At that
moment KOMAROVSKY rushes in.)
KOMAROVSKY
Lara!
(LARA breaks from YURIIs gaze and
hurries out. KORNAKOV sees all.)
Prosecutor Kornakov, I trust you can arrange to have the police
kept out of this business?
KORNAKOV
Viktor, my friend, we all enjoy our little private amusements, but
stick to women you can control.
(Kornakov exits.)
YURII
A CRIMINAL EVADES ARREST.
HOW DOES SHE?
SHE FLEES THE SCENE
AND NONE PROTEST.
WHO WAS SHE?
THE ORCHESTRA RESUMES THE BEAT.
THE SERVANTS POUR CHATEAU LAFITE.
SHE FADES INTO A WINTER STREET,
AND NO ONE SEEMS TO CARE.
WHO IS SHE?
WAS SHE EVER THERE?
(YURII confronts KOMAROVSKY)
It was you she meant to shoot, wasnt it!?
KOMAROVSKY
Young Zhivago, some advice: youve enjoyed a fine start in
society; doctor; poet! and now it appears youve won the heart
of the Gromeko daughter. Bravo. But you bring little else to the
world besides a once-illustrious name. You need far more than
that before youre entitled to know another gentlemans private
business.
Doctor Zhivago
YURII
I heard enough lectures in medical school; I dont need another
from you.
KOMAROVSKY
Im a useful friend to have, Zhivago. And a very dangerous enemy.
Come, theyll miss us.
(KOMAROVSKY exits. YURII approaches the
window. LARA is on the street outside,
huddled in her coat, hurrying away.)
SCENE 2-C: THE STREET - OUTSIDE THE CONSERVATORY
(Following her, YURII hurries outside
and looks to where LARA vanished.)
YURII
THE BRANCHES OF THE MOONLIT TREES
CONCEAL HER.
YET SOMEHOW IN A SUDDEN BREEZE
I FEEL HER...
THAT TOUCH OF DANGER IN THE AIR
INVISIBLE BUT EVERYWHERE,
THEN GONE THE MOMENT THAT ITS THERE,
A SHADOW ON THE SNOW...
THE DRAMA HAS PAST
ITS QUIET AT LAST.
NO STORM IN THE MAKING.
SO WHY DO I STAND
STILL CLENCHING MY HANDS
TO STOP THEM FROM SHAKING?
WHO IS SHE...? WHO IS SHE...?
(TONIA, from inside the Conservatory,
spots YURII and comes out to him.)
TONIA
Yurii? Theyre asking for you inside.
(TONIA returns to the house, uneasy.
YURII stares down the snowy street
where LARA disappeared.)
YURII
WHO IS SHE...?
Doctor Zhivago
Doctor Zhivago
TUSIA
(interrupting, tipsy)
Friend Pasha, enough speeches! We all know youre a deep
thinker, a great leader, an exemplary Marxist, but how can it be
that on the day of your wedding we still dont know the answer
to the burning question of our times - which of us is the
better dancer?
(General razzing... dance, dance!
Pasha grins with a sudden shy radiance.)
PASHA
You know what the peasants say? Good Dancer, Bad Lover.
TUSIAS FIANCE
So a bad dancer like him should be good with a woman.
(turns to TUSIA.)
What happened?
STUDENTS
(Ooh, insult! Laughter)
PASHA
Let her teach you, friend Tusia. And be ready to study love day
and night. And day and night... (all chant and day, and night)
STUDENTS
(More good-natured razzing)
(TWO COSSACKS patrol outside and the
STUDENT (guard) whistles a warning.
The COSSACK look in on the party
suspiciously, then enter with a
swagger, checking the company. No
one speaks. PASHA holds out a
bottle of vodka.
PASHA
Za vas!
(Each COSSACK drinks, and hands the
bottle back to PASHA)
COSSAK
Za vas.
(The COSSACKS leave. The awkward
silence is broken by a STUDENT)
STUDENT
I have a gift for the bride and groom!
(Relieved, the STUDENTS immediately
resume their celebration)
Doctor Zhivago
TOLYA
So do I...
(Students press forward with gifts)
Pashenka, were starting to miss you already, and your train
doesnt even leave till morning. But maybe when youre away from
Moscow youll miss us, too. So... weve brought you something to
remember us by.
(He hands LARA a large book.)
LARA
(reads cover of book)
Great Palaces of Moscow. Look Pasha...
PASHA
(joking)
Palaces? For a revolutionist? Is this gift, Tolya, or punishment
for leaving Moscow? You might as well give a horse a whip to
beat himself, or give a fish a pan to cook himself in.
LARA
(tsk! tsk!)
Pashenka, stop... its sweet, its... very thoughtful. No truly
its...its...
(Song: ITS A GODSEND)
PASHA
ITS A GENTLE GIFT,
SENTIMENTAL GIFT
YET A GIFT OF GREAT GOOD TASTE,
FOR I CANNOT THINK OF ANYTHING WED RATHER SEE
IN THE WILDS OF THE FROZEN WASTE...
(Wryly, shows everyone pictures.)
...THAN THE PICTURE OF RUSSIAN PROTOCOL:
THE CZAR IN HIS MARBLE BILLIARD HALL.
THE CZARINA HOSTING A COSTUME BALL
AS WORKERS MARCH FOR BREAD.
A BIT GROTESQUE...THOUGH PICTURESQUE.
AND PRECISELY WHY WE FLED!
STUDENTS
Hoorah!
PASHA
NO ORDINARY GIFT WE RECEIVE HERE!
ITS A GODSEND!
STUDENTS
ITS A GODSEND!
Doctor Zhivago
PASHA
TO REMIND US OF THE DECADENCE WE LEAVE HERE,
ITS A GODSEND!
STUDENTS
MY SUBVERSIVE FRIEND!
PASHA
WHEN WERE SHIVRING IN THE COLD
WITH OUR BODIES TURNING BLUE
AND THE FIRE IS DWINDLING
AND WERE LOW ON KINDLING
WHEN WE NEED TO LIGHT THE STOVE TO COOK,
ITS A GODSEND -- THIS BOOK!
STUDENTS
(ad lib)
Gifts! Gifts. More gifts. (etc)
TUSIA
(handing PASHA a gift)
This ones from us.
PASHA
(with veiled irony)
A sewing kit, just what Lara wanted!
TUSIAS FINACE
Its not for Lara!
(All chime in For Pasha!)
TUSIA
We expect women to work in the factories and fields, so we men
should learn to sew our own clothes.
(TUSIAs fiance takes his hand in
solidarity)
PASHA
(imitating his forthright manner)
Thank you, Modern Tusia. In the name of Workers everywhere, I vow
Ill learn to sew and cook and launder my own clothes... and Laras!
LARA
(chiding)
Pasha!!
PASHA
AN IMPRESSIVE GIFT,
YOUR PROGRESSIVE GIFT,
FOR IT PROVES THAT TIMES ADVANCE.
NOW A MAN CAN DO WHAT A WOMAN CAN --
Doctor Zhivago
TUSIAS FIANCE
WHEN A WOMAN WEARS THE PANTS!
STUDENTS
TO BEGIN WITH SHELL LAY THE SCHOOLHOUSE BRICKS
WITH A FRESH NEW BATCH OF CEMENT SHELL MIX!
PASHA
THEN SHELL PATCH THE ROOF I DECLINE TO FIX,
WHILE I READ MARX AND NAP.
BUT TO BE FAIR,
ILL DO MY SHARE...
ILL CROCHET A SLEEPING CAP!
STUDENTS
(Women cheer; Men groan)
PASHA
NO ORDINARY GIFT YOU IMPART HERE.
ITS A GODSEND!
STUDENTS
ITS A GODSEND!
PASHA
TRUE EQUALITY FOR RUSSIA HAS TO START HERE.
WOMEN
ITS A GODSEND,
WHEN A MAN CAN MEND!
MEN
Huhn!!
(Dance: THE BARYNYA)
(Students heap gifts: shovel, blanket,
lamp, a giant sausage decorated like
the storied appendage of Catherine the
Greats horse. PASHA and TUSIA duel in
dance, the classic Cossack Barynya, in
which PASHA finally triumphs with a
dazzling display, rising with a
flourish to give LARA a proud hug as he
drinks a shot of vodka.
By the end of the dance, PASHA and LARA
have a huge pile of gifts.)
PASHA
Comrades, enough! We cant possibly bring all this with us to
Yuriatin.
Doctor Zhivago
STUDENTS
Speech!
Speech!
PASHA
Doctor Zhivago
PASHA
(also shy)
Sit.
LARA
Oh, Pasha, not the serious face tonight, everything is finally
perfect!
PASHA
(awkwardly forging ahead)
Im looked up to in so many ways... people seem to think I know
all sorts of things about... and maybe you do, too - After all,
I am well educated, but in certain areas... matters a man might
be expected to know about on his wedding night, Im afraid Im
as innocent as you...
(Lara rises, agitated.)
Are you...disappointed?
LARA
(quickly)
Youll never disappoint me, Pasha Antipov. And I promise, Ill
try and be the best wife on earth for you.
PASHA
Darling Lara, if our marriage is half as perfect as you, Im the
luckiest man in Russia. I want us to be equal in all things;
no bourgeois secrets and games, well keep nothing from each
other, ever, lets make a vow.
LARA
Why not just be grateful for our luck in finding each other?
PASHA
But we must base our life together on absolute trust, and that
can only happen if we open our hearts completely. Why do you
look away?
LARA
Hold me, Pasha...
Doctor Zhivago
PASHA
You look pale.
(The unavoidable moment is here.)
LARA
How stupid to think I could pretend the past never happened.
Alright, Ill tell you everything, but only if you make me one
promise.
PASHA
We shouldnt bargain over the truth, Lara.
LARA
Promise me, Pashenka, promise that when Im done, if you have
the smallest doubt you can accept me as I am, youll consider
our marriage annulled.
PASHA
Nothing that happened before this night could change the way I
feel about you, you must know that.
LARA
Shhhh, Pasha; promise.
PASHA
(worried)
Very well.
LARA
Remember that new years night - the railway strike; there was a
scandal; a girl shot the Chief Magistrate of Moscow, then vanished?
That gun you gave me - I never threw it away.
(Pasha understands immediately.)
(Song: WHEN THE MUSIC PLAYED)
I WAS YOUNG. I WAS POOR.
LIFE WAS HARSH AND UNSURE
BUT A FATHERLESS GIRL CANT COMPLAIN.
THEN MY FATE CHANGED BY CHANCE
WITH AN INNOCENT DANCE
WITH A MAN WHO WAS OLDER
AND RICHER AND BOLDER.
A MAN WITH A TASTE FOR CHAMPAGNE,
AND GIRLS LIKE ME,
TOO BLINDED TO SEE...
Doctor Zhivago
Doctor Zhivago
Pashenka!!!
(Thunder. She gathers her coat tight
around her. YURII steps from the
shadows holding an umbrella.)
YURII
Doctor Zhivago
YURII
(thinks a moment, then:)
I dont know. (then, blurting:) I do know, but - (then:) I
thought there was something you could tell me, but now that Im
here...
LARA
Youre a soldier?
YURII
Medical Corps. Germans attacked our western border. The Tsars
army needs doctors.
LARA
(not sure what to say)
Ill pray for your safe return... soldier.
(She starts to leave.)
YURII
(suddenly, without thought.)
Was it Viktor Komarovsky you meant to shoot - !?
LARA
(turning away abruptly)
If youll excuse me -YURII
(with sudden urgency)
No, please... he killed my father. Not literally... he was our
family lawyer; encouraged all Fathers weaknesses; gambling,
drinking, women. I thought perhaps Komarovsky took advantage of you
like he did my -LARA
(interrupting, firmly)
Its the past. Its over.
YURII
So it was him you were after, I knew it. When I was ordered
to the front I realized that if I never returned, the thing
Id regret most is never having known... never having found
you to ask what its like to be in the grip of a passion - the
way you were that night - a passion so overwhelming that the
rest of life suddenly feels -- unimportant.
LARA
(stops him)
-- Im sorry to disappoint you, soldier, but Im not in the
habit of shooting people who wrong me.
YURII
Of course not. What did I imagine youd say? I must seem
ridiculous to you.
Doctor Zhivago
LARA
(amused) I think more -- unexpected.
YURII
Please forgive my presumption... Miss Guishar.
LARA
Antipovas my name now. I married this afternoon.
YURII
I wish you every happiness.
LARA
Is there a name I can remember you by?
Yurii.
YURII
Yurii Andreievich Zhivago.
LARA
A Zhivago! Truly?
YURII
As you put it, thats the past. Its the past.
and a soldier now; nothing more.
Im a doctor
LARA
God keep you safe, Doctor Yurii Zhivago.
(then:)
I have to find my husband.
YURII
A TOUCH OF DANGER IN THE AIR,
INVISIBLE BUT EVERYWHERE...
WHO IS SHE...?
(The scene changes.)
SCENE 5-A: THE TRAIN STATION
(MARKEL pulls a hand-cart of
baggage, joining YURII in his
uniform.
TONIA is right behind, holding baby
Sasha. Then comes her father, ALEX.
Distant explosions underscore this
moment, growing louder and closer.
ANNA rushes on with a small
packet.)
Doctor Zhivago
ANNA
You must wear extra socks in the trenches, the cold and damp are
bad for your heart!!!
YURII
Im bringing far too much already, Nana.
TONIA
Take the socks, Yurii.
(YURII hands them to MARKEL. A
closer explosion: BOOM!!!)
ALEX
Always remember; we beat back Napoleons army a hundred years
ago. It cost us millions of lives, but the French learned a
lesson, and these Germans will learn it once again; the Czars
armies are unconquerable, our spirit is too mighty, our blood
too rich...
TONIA
(to YURII, holding up the baby)
Kiss Sasha.
(to the baby)
Say good-bye dada.
(KOMAROVSKY hurries on stage.)
KOMAROVSKY
Thank Heaven, I thought Id missed you!
(hands him a medal)
This Imperial Cross was presented to your father by the Czar
himself for valiant service in the last war; hed want you to
have it.
(YURII examines it a moment, then
hands it back.)
YURII
If it found its way into your hands, Im sure thats where it
should stay.
(curtly)
Hurry, Markel, well miss the train.
(BOOM! BOOM! Cannon fire as he takes
MARKEL side, speaking quietly)
I cant possibly bring all this to the front. Wait til Im on
board, then take it home.
(offers money)
Look after my family, Markel.
Doctor Zhivago
MARKEL
(hugging YURII powerfully)
God grant you a year more on earth for every life you save, master!
(MARKEL pulls the cart off. TONIA races
back on.)
TONIA
Yurochka, wait! Hold me.
(YURII embraces her)
I had a terrible dream that you went away and never returned.
Please be careful. And write me long letters about everything
that happens so I can see it as if I was there with you.
YURII
Wherever they send me, Ill take a moment each night to go
outside... you do the same - that will be our time together.
(Song: WATCH THE MOON)
YURII (cont'd)
WATCH THE MOON
AND THINK OF ME.
LET THE NIGHTS
PASS QUICKLY BY.
UNTIL THE DAY
THAT I RETURN
YOULL WATCH THE MOON
AND SO WILL I.
(YURII leaves. TONIA stays behind.)
TONIA
WHEN THE WINDS
REFUSE TO DIE,
WHEN THE DARK
IS EVERYWHERE,
BEHIND A VEIL
OF SILVER CLOUDS,
BEHOLD THE MOON
AND ILL BE THERE.
(YURII reappears at the war front.
He now wears a doctors lab coat)
Doctor Zhivago
Doctor Zhivago
Put it between your teeth and twist. You get a better grip that way.
LOOKOUT
(re-enters quickly)
Doctor Zhivago
Doctor Zhivago
SOLDIER 1
IF I DONT GET HOME TO TELL MY WIFE,
MAY MY LOVED ONES KNOW I GAVE MY LIFE...
SOLDIER 2
FOR THE TSAR, ALL FOR THE TSAR.
LIBERIUS
GUN THAT SHOOTS,
BETTER BOOTS.
GUN THAT SHOOTS,
BETTER BOOTS.
SOLDIERS 2 & 3
LEAD ME SAFE THROUGH FLAME AND POISON GAS,
IF I LIVE TO SEE THIS LONG NIGHT PASS...
SOLDIER 4
FOR THE TSAR I PRAY WE WIN THE DAY.
SOLDIERS 4 & 5
LEAD ME SAFE THROUGH FLAME AND POISON GAS,
IF I LIVE TO SEE THIS LONG NIGHT PASS...
LIBERIUS, SOLD 4 & 6
LEAD ME SAFE THROUGH FLAME AND DANGER,
IM JUST FIGHTING FOR MY OWN ASS.
SOLDIER 1
NERVES OF IRON AND BALLS OF BRASS!
GINTS
FOR THE TSAR I PRAY FOR VICTORY.
LET ME LEAD MY MEN COURAGEOUSLY...
YANKO
LORD, IF I SHOULD FALL ON THE FIELD OF WAR
WHO WILL KNOW WHERE I AM LYING?
WILL THEY LEAVE ME HERE TIL THE APRIL THAW?
WILL THERE BE A NAME UPON MY GRAVE
HELP ME HIDE MY FEAR AS THE BULLETS FLY,
SHOW THE OTHER SOLDIERS I AM TRYING.
AND I ONLY PRAY IF I HAVE TO DIE
LET KATARINA KNOW THAT I WAS BRAVE.
ALL EXCEPT YANKO
FORWARD, FORWARD...!
(The prayer ends; time to attack.)
GINTS & SOLDIERS
ON THROUGH WIND, RAIN AND COLD!
NO MORE FEARSOME SIGHT TO BEHOLD
THAN A STEADFAST HUSSAR
WITH A SHARP SCIMITAR
MARCHING FORWARD! FORWARD!
FORWARD! FOR THE TSAR...!!!
Doctor Zhivago
(pointing)
You start first thing in the morning; sign in.
Doctor Zhivago
LARA
(flustered)
Im - looking for my husband, Pasha Antipov. He was serving here
when he disappeared in a German ambush. Reports say some men
survived the attack.
YURII
Dont believe reports, its mostly propaganda to keep the Tsar
happy, not that he cares whats happening at the front. If your
husbands alive, wait for him at home, thats where most
deserters head.
LARA
(irritated)
My husband volunteered; hes not a deserter.
YURII
(knowing he went too far)
Forgive me; Im sure he served bravely.
LARA
(waving it off)
Its alright, everyone thinks the same thing. The truth is, it
was never entirely right between us. He wanted a reason to
leave, defending the motherland was a noble excuse! My husband
always acts on principle.
(pause, flustered)
This isnt your business. Ive embarrassed you.
YURII
I embarrassed you once, if memory serves. Shall we call it even,
Nurse Antipova?
(A sudden intense feeling paralyzes them,
then they try to regain equilibrium.)
LARA
I can start right away if you need some rest.
YURII
I have work to finish; medical reports. But thank you.
LARA
Til the morning, then.
(She starts away, turns back to say
something and catches him staring at her.)
YURII
(embarrassed, formal)
Is there a problem?
(LARAs expression is suddenly mischievous)
Doctor Zhivago
LARA
Your medical reports... is it possible I read one of them in a
poetry journal in Moscow? Or could there be another Y.A.
Zhivago who wrote Waiting In the Rain?
YURII
(serious)
Please dont mention my poetry to anyone here. Theyd think it
frivolous, and theyd be right. Verses are no use in times like
this; Russia needs scientists - engineers, doctors, serious men.
LARA
Poetry isnt serious?
YURII
Its not... useful.
LARA
You know that everyones talking about your poem; how you show
Russia standing between the past and the future, waiting for her
greatness to be discovered, what a gift to make readers feel
such love for their land!
YURII
My subject was Russia, but what I saw when I wrote was a woman
standing by a bridge, in the rain.
LARA
A woman?!
YURII
The poem is about her.
LARA
She must be a remarkable woman to make you feel so much.
YURII
She is.
LARA
(suddenly realizing; overwhelmed)
You have work to finish, I should go.
(Sudden explosions. Several WOUNDED
SOLDIERS wake. LARA rallies and starts to
check patients. YURII does the same.
Explosions... YANKO, a boy, wanders in
with a blanket at his abdomen.)
YANKO
(feeble but polite)
I think Im hurt.
Doctor Zhivago
Gently.
YANKO
I dont feel any pain.
(They lay him down. An emergency - nearby
patients raise themselves to see.)
YURII
If he goes into shock well lose him.
LARA
Start working, Ill keep him awake.
(YURII begins moving the blanket
away.)
Try and relax, soldier.
Im called Yanko.
LARA
What village are you from, Yanko?
YANKO
Varchovoy, where old Yegors field ends. You can see our church
from three hills away.
YURII
I have to move this metal without puncturing his aorta...
(he gives Lara a look that says this
is hopeless, but...; then, to Yanko)
Listen, son; this may hurt badly, but thats a good sign, it
means you havent gone into shock.
LARA
(distracting Yanko)
Do you have a sweetheart waiting back home?
YANKO
Theres Katarina. But I havent told her how I feel. When I try
the words stick in my throat.
LARA
Dont wait. The moment you recover, tell her everything.
YURII
Hold him tightly!
Doctor Zhivago
Doctor Zhivago
Doctor Zhivago
YURII
A VISION TAKING HOLD,
ORIGINAL AND BOLD...
ALL THREE
A VOICE THAT CANT BE STILLED...
TONIA
ITS RESTLESS AND PACING...
YURII & LARA
BREATHLESSLY RACING
DEEP INTO UNCHARTED WATERS...
ALL THREE
... FOR SOMETHING IN THE AIR HAS CHANGED.
TONIA
SOMETHING TROUBLING I STILL CANT EXPLAIN...
YURII & LARA
ALL WE HAVE DREAMED OF IS HERE AT LAST.
ALL THREE
HOW FIERCE AND FAST
THE TIDE IS TURNING...
YURII
... RIPPING OFF THE ROOFTOPS!
LARA
WHISTLING THROUGH THE VALLEYS...!
TONIA
ECHOING IN ALLEYS...
ALL THREE
ITS A FORCE OF NATURE REAL AND TRUE,
AS CLOSE AS I AM HERE TO YOU...
(YURII moves closer to Lara.)
YURII
(Excited, Yurii moves to LARA)
Everything on earth has a hidden desire, something it longs for.
If were lucky enough to find it, but too afraid to speak our
desire out loud because the world thinks it wrong, or forbidden (Both are still. YURII reaches for LARA.)
LARA
Yurii Andreievich, no!
Doctor Zhivago
YURII
Too much silence kills us.
(Another pause. Lara starts; she burned a
hole through the sheet shes ironing.)
LARA
Now look what Ive done!
(YURII moves to help.)
- just leave it, Ill manage.
YURII
(suddenly aware of what happened)
Im sorry, I distracted you...
(returns to his desk)
Go on with your work, Nurse Antipova.
(As YURII and LARA separate, and
lights on TONIA fade, the NURSES
sing. Perhaps one reads a
NEWSPAPER, one a letter of news
from home; ALL sense a change in
the air.)
NURSES
SOMETHING IN THE AIR HAS CHANGED.
IN AN INSTANT THE WORLD REARRANGED.
SOMETHING ELECTRIC EMBRACING YOU,
ALIVE AND NEW,
OUT OF THE BLUE.
WHERE WILL IT LEAD US?
WE HAVE NO NOTION WHERE...
WE ONLY KNOW
THERES SOMETHING IN THE AIR...
(The ORCHESTRA swells, playing the
theme as the NURSES experience the
almost visceral feeling of imminent
change... until the air is rent by
loud explosions.)
SCENE 9; A RAIL SIDING NEAR THE FRONT LINE
(SOLDIERS enter in panic and confusion.
Gints tries to push them off a rail car
theyre trying to mount.)
SOLDIER ONE
Germans broke through our northern line, were done for...
SOLDIER TWO
We have no orders to retreat...
Doctor Zhivago
SOLDIER ONE
To hell with orders, theres the supply train, take command of
it and move out -
SOLDIER THREE
(various)
Retreat!!! Retreat!!!
Retreat!!!
Doctor Zhivago
YURII
We cant leave these men behind to die. Are you refusing a
written command?
(The QUARTERMASTER shrugs.)
Well have to look further back.
(YURII and the NURSE start to go. LARA
removes something from her pocket and
approaches the QUARTERMASTER.)
LARA
Listen, brother. Be on the lookout for these counterfeit rubles;
some men tried to pass them off for a place on the sick list.
QUARTERMASTER
(inspecting the notes)
Theres nothing wrong with this money!
LARA
If you try spending it and get caught, dont point a finger at
me.
(The QUARTERMASTER catches on. He looks
cagey. Lara gives him more money.)
Now whered you say we could put the wounded?
QUARTERMASTER
(points off down the train)
Theres an empty car third back from the engine.
YURII
(to the NURSE)
Load the wounded, start with the most severe cases.
NURSE
Yes, sir...
YURII
I dont know what wed have done without you Nurse Antipova.
(lost for words)
Im sorry you never found your husband.
(pause)
What will you do now?
LARA
Travel with the wounded till we find a hospital with room for
them well behind the lines. Then... home.
(clarifying)
Yuriatin.
YURII
Yuriatin?
Doctor Zhivago
LARA
I was born there, in the Ural Mountains. They held my old
teaching job open. And I can volunteer at the clinic and the
library, theres always work to be done. And you?
YURII
Moscow. Wont it be strange, returning to our old life?
LARA
(looking on the bright side)
There is no old life now, the revolution swept it away; only
greatness lies ahead for Russia.
YURII
It might not be so simple. (then:) If only there was a way to
know you were safe, that someone was looking after you.
LARA
Ive managed on my own for a long time. Never worry on my
account.
YURII
How can I not?
(searching for words)
The time weve spent together, these talks of ours, Ill never
forget a moment LARA
Yes. How lucky that we found each others company.
(Both want to say more; to kiss)
YURII
I thought Id never see you again after we spoke that night in
the rain. I wanted to go back and stop time, to live that moment
over and over, without a past or a future... (confused) Im
talking nonsense.
(almost breaking)
How will we suvive without... (stops himself)
LARA
(with dread, and yearning)
Say goodbye, Yurii Andreievich.
(They stand frozen. A sudden series of
explosions. Soldiers flee across the
stage.)
SOLDIER
The Huns broke through.
(YANKO enters wobbling, with a bad
chest wound. YURII and LARA see him.)
Doctor Zhivago
YURII
Yanko...!!!
YANKO
You patched me up so smart, now Ive gone and made a mess of it.
(YANKO sinks to his knees and topples.
They rush to his side. LARA checks YANKO
for vital signs. Yurii closes his eyes.)
YURII
He turned fifteen last week. Lied to get in the army, he told me.
LARA
Yanko...poor child.
(LARA finds a letter tucked under
his tunic. She reads the envelope)
LARA (cont'd)
If you find this letter, please send it to Katarina in the
village of Varchovoy.
(She shows YURII the letter.)
(Song: NOW)
YURII
Dear Katarina...
(reading letter)
...IM LYING IN THIS TENT
AND THERES NOT MUCH LIGHT
AND I CANNOT WRITE FOR LONG
BUT THESE WORDS IVE NEVER SAID
KEEP HAUNTING ME
AND I KNOW THEY CANT BE WRONG.
AND IM STILL A LITTLE SHY
TO SPEAK MY MIND
BUT THE TRUTH JUST WONT STAY DOWN.
FOR HERE IN THE NIGHT
THERES NO WRONG AND NO RIGHT.
THERE IS ONLY THE DARK.
IM ALONE WITH MY HEART...
AND NOW...
I NEED TO TELL YOU NOW
I NEED TO TELL YOU HOW
YOU MAKE ME FEEL.
YOURE LIKE A SONG.
I SING YOU ALL DAY LONG.
A MELODY SO STRONG
AND SWEET AND REAL.
AND I DONT KNOW
IF YOULL EVER FEEL THIS WAY
Doctor Zhivago
Doctor Zhivago
YURII
AND I NEED TO TELL YOU NOW.
LARA
I NEED TO TELL YOU
BOTH
I NEED TO TELL YOU NOW.
(They kiss suddenly then, with a supreme
effort, LARA turns away to leave.
Explosions rend the air. Music.
SOLDIERS flood on from the direction of
battle. LIBERIUS leads a group.)
LIBERIUS
Everyone on board, its all over.
SOLDIER 1
Leave what you cant carry...
SOLDIER 2
Theyre firing on the camp, everyone move out...
(LARAs gone, but YURII remains. GINTS
jumps on the train, acting as a
barricade for the other SOLDIERS, as he
tries to lead them back to battle.)
GINTS
Back, men, reinforcements are on the way from Petrograd - one
more day and we can hold the line.
(Reprise: FORWARD MARCH FOR THE TSAR)
GINTS
FORWARD MARCH FOR THE CZAR
OR BE HUNG
FOR THE TRAITORS YOU ARE!
AND WITH GOD ON OUR SIDE,
WE WILL WIN THE FIGHT!
SEND THE KAISER FLEEING
TO BERLIN IN FRIGHT!
ON THROUGH WIND, RAIN AND COLD!
NO MORE FEARSOME SIGHT TO BEHOLD
THAN A STEADFAST HUSSAR
WITH A SHARP SCIMITAR
MARCHING FORWARD!
FORWARD!
FORWARD..!
I order you forward!
(MORE)
SOLDIERS
Go rot in hell!
Hang you, hang the army!
And hang the Czar!
Where was God when
we needed him?
When Our Brothers were
turned into canon fodder?
Retreat! Retreat!
Retreat and damn the Czar!
I dont need the honor
of dying for my country!
I leave that honor to you!
Die gloriously!
Ill die in my bed!
Doctor Zhivago
BLOODIED SOLDIER
BLOOD ON THE SNOW,
THE BLOOD OF MY BROTHERS
SPILLED FOR A WAR
THERE IS NO PURPOSE FOR.
I WILL LAY DOWN MY GUN
THOUGH SOME CALL IT TREASON.
BLOODIED SOLDIER & SOLDIER 2
WHY SHOULD I DIE
WHEN I DONT HAVE A REASON?
ONE MORE DEATH
MEANS NOTHING TO ANYONE.
BLOODIED SOLDIER & SOLDIERS
HOMEWARD I GO,
A SOLDIER NO LONGER
WEARY BUT STRONGER
MY DAYS ON THE BATTLEFIELD ARE DONE.
(LIBERIUS steps forward and sees his
trench friend, YANKO, laying dead
on the train from his war wound.
With a mixture of sadness and
furious defiance, LIBERIUS applies
his handkerchief to YANKOs wound,
soaking it in his blood. Then he
fashions the bloody handkerchief
into a red armband which he knots
and slips onto his arm.)
LIBERIUS
FAREWELL, MY FRIEND.
YOURE NOT FORGOTTEN.
YOUR BLOOD WILL BRING US UNITY.
(Entering NURSES
armbands out of
of the wounded,
as more join in
fashion more
the bloody sheets
and distribute them
the rising chorus.)
Doctor Zhivago
NOW WE ARE
THE PEOPLES ARMY!
NOW WE ARE
THE PEOPLES ARMY!
HOMEWARD I GO,
SOLDIER NO LONGER.
WISER,
THE FUTURES BEGUN!
Doctor Zhivago
Hello?
YURII
(calling)
Markel? Nana? Tonia?
(A tiny sinister man appears; SHULYGIN.)
May we see
Doctor Zhivago
TONIA
(with meaning)
We were generously allocated the entire top floor.
YURII
What, the attic?
(Now TONIA turns to SASHA.)
TONIA
Look whos home, Sasha!
(YURII kneels and opens his arms to
SASHA, who TONIA brings to him. )
YURII
(approaching his son)
Come, son, let your father hold you.
SASHA
(slaps YURIIs face)
I dont know you.
(SASHA
SHULYGIN
(eyes YURIIS bag)
Will the Comrade kindly explain what hes carrying over his shoulder?
YURII
A hunter I met on the train home gave it to me.
SHULYGIN
Its a duck!!!
TONIA
We havent seen fresh meat in Moscow for months!
(showing her reticule)
I found a half loaf of bread today...we can welcome you with a
feast!
GULYOBOVA
Leave the bird with us, comrade. Well determine the fairest
division of the meat, and deliver your share to you.
YURII
My share?
TONIA
(suddenly careful)
Yurii, give her the duck. Theyll bring us the correct portion.
Doctor Zhivago
GULYOBOVA
The days of bourgeois ownership are over, Comrade. The new
order is built on logic; logic says many are hungry, this bird
will feed many.
(She extends her hand for the bird.)
YURII
You cant just take it away, it was a gift, it belongs to my
family.
(Song: THE PERFECT WORLD)
SHULYGIN
YOURS IS NOT TO SAY
WHAT IS YOURS, WHAT IS NOT.
GULYOBOVA
WHAT IS WHAT IS THE SAY OF THE PEOPLE.
YURII
Whats going on here, Tonia?
GULYOBOVA
WE HAVE BEEN ASSIGNED TO DECIDE -SHULYGIN
TO DIVIDE -GULYOBOVA
WHAT YOU NEED TO SUBSIST -SHULYGIN
JUST ENOUGH TO EXIST.
BOTH
EVERYONE WILL HAVE EVERYTHING THEY NEED.
SHULYGIN
EVERYONE THE SAME.
ANY MORE WOULD BE GREED!
GULYOBOVA
EVERYONE HAS GOT
A PORTION OF THE POT.
IF JUST A LITTLE
IS THE MOST WEVE GOT,
SHULYGIN
FEED
THE NEEDY!
THE NEEDY!
NOT TO BE SELFISH.
BOTH
GETTING JUST A LITTLE IS A LOT!
YURII
But this is completely mad.
Doctor Zhivago
Doctor Zhivago
NADIA
YOURS IS NOT TO THINK,
TO REVIEW OR OPINE
BUT TO HEW TO THE LINE OF THE PARTY.
YURII
Why so formal, dear friend.
TONIA
PATRONIZING WORDS CAN OFFEND.
ALEX
SUCH AS FRIEND.
ANNA
FRIEND IS BAD.
NADIA
SAY COMRADE.
ALEX
AND OF COURSE -ALL
LENINGRAD!
(SHULYGIN and GULYOBOVA Enter from
downstairs to join the family)
NADIA/GULYOBOVA/SHULYGIN
EVERYONE BELONGS
TO A SINGLE CLASS.
BOURGEOIS DAYS ARE DONE!
WHEN THE BREAD IS LATE,
THEN EVERYONE MUST WAIT.
TONIA/ALEX/ANNA/SASHA
WE ARE ONE SINGLE CLASS!
WHEN THE BREADS LATE
WE ALL WAIT!
SASHA
NO ONE IS STARVING
IN THE CLASS-LESS STATE.
NADIA/GULYOBOVA/SHULYGIN
EVERYONE HAS SOMETHING
ON THEIR PLATE!
SHULYGIN
Eat well!!
Doctor Zhivago
ALL
IN THE PERFECT WORLD.
THE PAST WILL BE REDRESSED
BY THE PARTY WHICH WE SERVE.
IN THE PERFECT WORLD,
THE PEOPLE WILL BE BLESSED
WITH THE FUTURE THEY DESERVE
IN THE PERFECT WORLD.
SCENE 10C: THE HOSPITAL
(YURII appears in a medical coat,
facing a MEDICAL COMMITTEE. They
critique his report.)
(The choreography on stage turns ALL
secondary characters machine-like,
moving as automatons.)
COMMITTEE MEMBER 2
Comrade Doctor, weve studied your report on Medical Unit 12s
recent performance...
COMMITTEE MEMBER 1
Why do you claim that patients are dying of Typhoid Fever in
greater numbers than ever before.
COMMITTEE MEMBER 3
-- an obvious falsehood; just look how many empty beds there are
in unit 12.
COMMITTEE MEMBER 4
-- How can beds be empty unless people are being cured COMMITTEE MEMBER 1
WHY DO YOU WRITE OF QUARANTINES.
COMMITTEE MEMBER 2
NO ANTISEPTICS.
COMMITTEE MEMBER 3
NO VACCINES.
ENTIRE COMMITTEE
FACT: THE END
WILL JUSTIFY THE MEANS
AS WE BUILD THE PERFECT WORLD.
(They tear his report in half. All form
a moving wall to exclude YURII.)
GULYOBOVA
ONE MANIFESTO
Doctor Zhivago
SHULYGIN
AND NO DISSENT.
NADIA
ALL AGREE.
MEDICAL COMMITTEE
ALL WILL BE
ALL
EQUALLY CONTENT
COMMITTEE MEMBERS
THE WORKER AT HIS FORGE
GULYOBOVA/SHULYGIN/NADIA
THE PEASANT AT HIS PLOUGH
COMMITTEE/GULYOBOVA/SHULYGIN/NADIA
THE HAMMER AND THE SICKLE,
UNITED NOW.
ALL
AS A BRIGHT NEW DAY
OF FREEDOM IS UNFURLED
IN THE FLAG OF THE FUTURE!
(The Family, Medical Committee and
Members of the Party more grotesquely
mechanical in their choreography humorous and frightening at once while THREE MEN in doctors whites are
put in blindfolds by soldiers.
ALL (cont'd)
IN THE PERFECT WORLD
ALL WORKERS WILL ARISE
IN A DREAM OF MARX FULFILLED!
REVOLUTION WON,
WE LIFT A NATIONS EYES
TO THE FUTURE WE WILL BUILD
IN THE PERFECT WORLD!
IN THE PERFECT WORLD!
THE PERFECT WORLD!
(The DOCTORS fall at the end of ropes,
hung. NADIA screams. BLACK OUT.)
Doctor Zhivago
Doctor Zhivago
KOMAROVSKY
Why is it you so distrust me, Zhivago? People never seem to
understand, Im helpful by nature when Ive nothing to lose.
But somehow everything I do causes resentment - Ive been
slandered, vilified, insulted -- even shot at once -(then:)
Thats right, you were there, I remember now!
YURII
Youre drunk.
KOMAROVSKY
That young lady married, you know. Pity about her husband killed in the war. It seems shes a dangerous woman to know.
YURII
Stay away from me, Komarovsky.
KOMAROVSKY
(Offers some eggs. YURII moves to refuse.)
Take the eggs; feed your family.
(YURII takes the eggs)
What times we live in, eh, Zhivago. Watch your back.
(KOMAROVSKY reels off down the street.)
SCENE 12A: GROMEKOS ATTIC
(Two small rooms. ALEX brings ANNA a
cup of broth. She naps in a chair with
a warming rug on her lap. YURII works
at his desk in the next room. TONIA
sets the table for dinner. SASHA sleeps
next to YURII as he works.)
ALEX
Wake up, my dear. Drink some broth.
ANNA
(sipping, in a reverie)
It used to take two whole days to ride around our estate, remember?
The river was ours, the forests. Even the sunshine belonged to us.
(shivers)
Why am I so cold?
ALEX
(to TONIA)
Put a fresh log on the fire.
TONIA
We used the last one this afternoon, Papa.
Doctor Zhivago
Lets eat.
(He goes to the next room. TONIA
collects SASHA.)
ALEX
(taking his seat)
Tonight we once again re-enact The Great Mystery of the Workers
Revolution; we each have a fork!
(holds up a fork)
We each have a plate.
(holds up a plate)
But where did the food go?!
(As ALEX chuckles at his gallows humor,
YURII tends to ANNA, stroking her hand.)
YURII
We need more wood for the fire, Nana must be kept warm.
(He takes his coat off a peg. TONIA
enters with SASHA, who whimpers softly.)
Doctor Zhivago
TONIA
You cant go out now, you need to eat something.
YURII
(outburst)
Everyone needs to eat something. Everyone needs to live, and
breathe, and speak his own thoughts, but no one is allowed to
any more in this wretched city.
(All turn to him. He catches himself.)
Forgive me...I wanted only to keep my family safe and
comfortable, but I cant even keep them from starvation.
ANNA
A whole forest...fresh game...
ALEX
(explains)
She reliving her childhood, back on the old Kruger Estate.
YURII
Yes, she used to tell us stories about it. What do you think became
of the old place?
ALEX
Rotting into the ground no doubt - like everything else in
Russia since the glorious workers took charge!
TONIA
(someone might be listening!)
Shh, papa.
ANNA
The estate is where its always been. Some things never change,
thank Heaven.
YURII
(after a moment)
Why couldnt we go there? Live quietly, no one to spy on us wed grow our own food, Id have peace of mind to write - a
medical history, translations; something, anything to show for
all these lost years.
TONIA
Could we really live there, mama, would the peasants let us?
ALEX
(overjoyed)
We were good to our people, Im sure theyd make us welcome.
YURII
Its decided then! First thing tomorrow Ill arrange for us to
board a train before anyone hears our plan.
(MORE)
Doctor Zhivago
YURII (cont'd)
(to SASHA)
In the meantime, not a peep. Theyd arrest us all if word got out.
Doctor Zhivago
Doctor Zhivago
YURII (contd)
ALL MY LIFE,
I HAVE TRIED TO LIVE WITH HONOR,
AS A SON IN A PROUD AND NOBLE LINE.
TO BE TRUE TO MY WORD,
STAND MY GROUND UNDETERRED,
AND LIVE UP TO THE NAME THAT IS MINE.
FOR THE SAKE OF MY FAMILYS SURVIVAL,
I WOULD GO TO THE FURTHEST OF EXTREMES,
FOR A MAN IS DEFINED
BY THE STRENGTH OF HIS MIND.
BY THE SUM OF HIS DEEDS,
NOT HIS HOPES, NOT HIS DREAMS!
(YURII crosses to the street lamp where he
and LARA first met. He holds his umbrella,
as he did at their first meeting.)
YURII (cont'd)
LEAVE THE STARS IN THE SKY.
LET THE NIGHT FIRES DIE.
HIDE THE SUN IN A CLOUD OF GRAY.
AND IF EVER I SHOULD MEET HER
ON A VILLAGE STREET,
ILL VERY CALMLY TURN
AND WALK THE OTHER WAY.
(YURII sees a young COUPLE kissing under
the street lamp where he first met LARA. He
pushes them back with his words.)
YURII (contd)
Remember the life youve made. Remember your name.
I AM YURII ANDREIEVICH ZHIVAGO!
I WILL NOT LEAVE A LEGACY OF SHAME.
FOR A MAN IS DEFINED
BY THE STRENGTH OF HIS MIND,
BY THE TRUTH THAT HE SPEAKS,
AND THE VOWS THAT HE KEEPS,
AND BY GOD, WHEN I DIE
LET MY SON KNOW THAT I
WAS A MAN WHO LIVED UP TO HIS NAME!
A MAN WHO LIVED UP TO HIS NAME!
(YURII has arrived home, crossing to
SASHA who is quietly reading at the
small table. They embrace, and we
are back in the Gromekos Attic.)
Doctor Zhivago
Doctor Zhivago
Doctor Zhivago
Doctor Zhivago
Doctor Zhivago
COMMUNISTS
BLOOD ON THE SNOW,
THE BLOOD OF THE MARTYRS
SPILLED FOR THE SAKE
OF A NEW WORLD WE MAKE!
COMRADE WORKERS UNITE
TO FIGHT IN A NEW WAY,
RED SUN AGLOW
AT THE DAWN OF A NEW DAY!
FAMILIES
DOWN THESE LANES
WOULD GO TO MARKET.
IN THESE EAVES
STARLINGS WOULD APPEAR.
THROUGH THE DAYS
THE SEASONS TUMBLED BY US
YEAR BY
YEAR BY YEAR.
FAMILIES
IN MY HEART
MOSCOW IS A YOUNG GIRL
BRIGHT WITH HOPE
EAGER EYES AGLEAM.
FAMILIES
LIVE IN ME,
AND WE WILL BUILD A NEW LIFE
DREAM BY DREAM
BY DREAM BY DREAM.
BY DREAM!
Doctor Zhivago
ACT TWO
SCENE 2-1: FARMLAND OUTSIDE YURIATIN
(A TRAIN FROM MOSCOW in the
distance; in the foreground WOMEN
work the earth for spring planting,
LARA among them, singing...)
(Song: BEING WRITTEN)
WOMEN/LARA
NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA
NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA
SPRING IN THE URAL MOUNTAINS,
TAKE TO THE FIELD AND PLOUGH.
WOMEN AND LITTLE CHILDREN
DO ALL THE WORK NOW.
ALL OF THE MEN CONSCRIPTED,
OFF TO THE ENDLESS WAR.
WOMEN, CHILDREN
KEEP THE EARTH GROWING.
MEN DIE NOT KNOWING
WHAT THEYRE DYING FOR!
BROTHER KILLS BROTHER,
RED MURDERS WHITE.
NO ONE IN BED
TO BOTHER ME AT NIGHT.
NO ONE TO BEAT ME,
NO ONE TO DRINK AND WHORE.
LEAVE ME THE VODKA,
THEY CAN HAVE THE WAR!
AFTER THE SENSELESS FIGHT ENDS,
GOD ONLY PRAY IT DOES -EVERYTHING WILL GO BACK
TO THE WAY IT WAS
WITH THE MEN IN THE GROUND OR WOUNDED
MISSING AN ARM OR EYE.
WOMEN, CHILDREN
KEEP THE WORLD TURNING
TOO BUSY EARNING
DAILY BREAD TO CRY.
(chanting as they work)
NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA
NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA
(YELENKA, a young townswoman runs in
looking for LARA.)
Doctor Zhivago
YELENKA
(very upset)
They took my Vasia, rode off with him in broad daylight!
LARA
Calm down, Yelenka, who did what?
YELENKA
Red army, white army, who can tell any more, none of them spoke
a word, oh dear God what will I do, Vasia just asked me to live
with him as a wife...
LARA
Hell find his way back.
YELENKA
Marfas fiance disappeared seven months ago, and not a word
since... they disappear and never come back.
LARA
Dont even think such thoughts, Yelenka. Who knows whats meant
to be until it happens - we must never lose hope.
(Light up on Yurii on the moving
TRAIN as Lara sings encouragement
to Yelenka.)
LARA (contd)
THE MOMENT YOU AWAKE
YOUR HEART BEGINS TO BREAK.
HES GONE, OH GOD HES GONE.
IT DOESNT HELP TO CRY,
BUT HOPE IS NOT A LIE.
ITS HOW YOU CARRY ON.
ITS ALWAYS INSIDE YOU,
HELPING TO GUIDE YOU,
GIVING YOU STRENGTH TO KEEP PRAYING
THAT SOMETHING IN THE AIR WILL CHANGE,
IN AN INSTANT THE WORLD REARRANGE.
HOLDING THE DREAM HELL RETURN TO YOU
WILL GET YOU THROUGH
YOUR DARKEST HOURS.
(LARA encourages YELENKA to stay and
work with her and the women.)
WOMEN
NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA
NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA
SPRING IN THE URAL MOUNTAINS
GONE IS THE ICE AND SNOW
HARVEST WILL BE HERE
BEFORE WE KNOW IT.
SOLDIERS DESTROY THE MEADOW.
Doctor Zhivago
(YURII,
YURII
Why isnt the Caretaker here to meet us?
TONIA
Watch our belongings, well ask inside.
Doctor Zhivago
ALEX
(to SASHA, handing him food)
You can have the rest of my apple, but it has to last until the
next meal, and we dont know when that will be. Stay close and
dont talk with strangers.
(ALEX joins TONIA. She addresses the
PEASANT standing nearby.)
TONIA
Excuse me, there was a man here a moment ago waiting for
someone, do you know where he went?
STATION MASTER
(steps forward, speaking quietly.)
Strelnikovs men took him.
TONIA
Strelnikov?
PEASANT
Shhh, little sister, not so loud, Strelnikov hears everything,
even the thoughts in your head.
TONIA
What are you talking about, who is this Strelnikov?
STATION MASTER
Commander of the Red Army Partisans; a man who makes Satan look
merciful.
TONIA
What business could he have with my husband, weve only been
here a few minutes.
STATION MASTER
If he wants him alive, thats good. He kills without a thought;
whole villages, old and young alike.
TONIA
Wheres the militia, they cant let this go on, its an outrage!
PEASANT
Leave it, missus. They wont go near Strelnikov. If I was in
your shoes, Id pray. Its your only hope now.
(TONIA EXITS with the PEASANT and the
STATION MASTER. The train revolves
to become Strelnikovs rail car
headquarters.)
Doctor Zhivago
YURII
I arrived in the district mere hours ago.
STRELNIKOV
(imitating him)
Mere hours ago! Such cultivated language! And a Moscow man,
by your accent. Imagine, two former Muscovites crossing paths
in this god-forsaken wilderness.
YURII
(controlling himself)
What do you want with me?
STRELNIKOV
You have no idea who I am, do you?
YURII
How could I know anything about you?
STRELNIKOV
The same way I know all about you with a single glance; typical
bourgeois, thinks the earth and everything on it is his by
right; houses, food, women - never considers that what he takes
for himself might be someone elses loss.
YURII
(flaring up)
Why do you Revolutionists see everything as a caricature, a
stereotype - Im an class enemy, a White. And youre a loyal Red
Bolshevik, but what does it finally mean? Were both Russians,
and when this civil war ends, itll make no difference which
side wins, the blood we spill was all Russian blood, and the
loss is Russias loss.
(remembers himself, falls silent a moment)
Forgive my outburst. The trip from Moscow was - tiring.
Doctor Zhivago
STRELNIKOV
(amused)
Im called Strelnikov.
(extending his hand, which YURII shakes.)
And if Im not mistaken, Im speaking with Yurii Andreievich Zhivago.
YURII
You know who I am?
STRELNIKOV
Did you really think a a bourgeois parasite like you, a Zhivago
no less, could travel the country invisibly? We watch every
train in and out of the district. Remarkable that youd stumble
into my hands like this.
YURII
What do you want with me?
STRELNIKOV
Ive heard interesting reports of your distinguished service
during the Great War.
YURII
I was a doctor, I did nothing special.
STRELNIKOV
A soldier I knew - from your division, in fact - vanished in a
German ambush, and his wife trained as a nurse so she could
search for him; perhaps you met her... doctor. With the Tsars
eighth infantry, field medics. Larissa Antipova?
YURII
(excited)
Lara! Of course, she was a wonderful nurse, everyone loved her.
You say you met her husband? Are they together again, do you
know if he survived the war?
STRELNIKOV
Laras husband died long ago.
(PARTISANS bring in a YOUNG PEASANT.)
PARTISAN GUARD
This one was laying explosives on the track; hes been reporting
every move we make to the Whites.
YURII
(a plea to STRELNIKOV)
Are you done with me?
STRELNIKOV
Dont you understand anything? Its all over for you; your privilege,
your sentimental verse, your arrogance; This is the reckoning, Zhivago.
Doctor Zhivago
YURII
Surely theres room in your revolution for an act of mercy.
STRELNIKOV
Blindfold him.
(STRELNIKOV nods and Partisans lead
him away, blindfolded.)
YOUNG PEASANT
(to STRELNIKOV)
I didnt blow up your train, Strelnikov; I swear by Saint
Sebastian Im innocent.
(STRELNIKOV cuts him coldly, watching
YURII outside as he sings.)
(Song: NO MERCY AT ALL)
STRELNIKOV
MEN OF YOUR KIND,
TRAITORS LIKE YOU
TALK ABOUT MERCY
BUT WHAT DID YOU DO
YOUNG PEASANT
WHEN THE POWER WAS YOURS?
I did nothing!
DID YOU PROTEST?
OR DID YOU JUST CLOSE
YOUR EYES LIKE THE REST...?
Close my eyes?
WELL, THE TABLES HAVE TURNED.
IM IN COMMAND.
DOCTORS AND LAWYERS AND POETS BE DAMNED,
ALL YOU PRIVILEGED MEN,
POMPOUS AND WISE
PUFFING CIGARS ON A MOUNTAIN OF LIES
BUT THE TRUTH CRIES OUT TO BE TOLD:
FOR A NEW WORLD,
EVERYTHING OLD HAS TO FALL.
NO MERCY AT ALL.
But Im a farmer.
STRELNIKOV
JUSTICE BE DAMNED.
LIFE ISNT FAIR.
YOUR BRAND OF JUSTICE
BROUGHT ONLY DESPAIR
TO AN INNOCENT GIRL,
VICTIM OF LUST,
USED FOR AMUSEMENT
THEN TOSSED IN THE DUST,
AND THERE IS NO JUSTICE FOR SWINE
TIL YOUR WHOLE CLASS
DIES IN A LINE AT THE WALL!
NO MERCY AT ALL!
YOUNG PEASANT
What girl?
Doctor Zhivago
YOUNG PEASANT
Sir, you have the wrong man -!
STRELNIKOV
HOW MANY NIGHTS
HAVE I DREAMED OF THIS DAY,
ACHING TO EVEN THE SCORE.
MEN OF YOUR KIND
GAVE HER CHOCOLATES AND BRANDY,
BUT I GAVE HER A WAR!
ALL I HAVE TO DO IS AIM THE GUN.
ALL I HAVE TO SAY... IS WHEN.
PURGE YOU ONE BY ONE,
AND WHEN I AM DONE
RUSSIA WILL BE PURE AGAIN...
(A commotion outside interrupts
STRELNIKOV. Several PARTISANS burst
on stage holding TONIA who pushes
her way through frantically.)
TONIA
Where is he?
(spots him across clearing)
Yurii, is that you?
(LIBERIUS hurries into the railcar.)
STRELNIKOV
What is it, Liberius - ?
LIBERIUS
Theres a woman here who says shes the prisoners wife.
STRELNIKOV
He has a wife?
(With sudden urgency STRELNIKOV looks
and sees TONIA embrace YURII.)
TONIA
Oh, my darling, youre safe, thank God...
STRELNIKOV
(turning to LIBERIUS)
Let him go.
(LIBERIUS moves to the YOUNG PEASANT)
Not him.
(LIBERIUS nods, goes out to issue order.)
Doctor Zhivago
LIBERIUS
(outside)
Let the prisoner go.
(YURII is released. He and TONIA exit.)
STRELNIKOV
(looking to where YURII has run off)
MERCY YOU PLEAD.
MERCY YOULL GET.
ILL BE HERE WAITING
AND WATCHING YOU SWEAT
LIKE A RAT IN A CAGE,
CRINGING IN DREAD,
CORNERED LIKE ME
WHEN THE GUTTER RAN RED
AND THE STEEL BLADES
TORE THROUGH OUR SKIN
AS THE TSARS GUARD
BELLOWED ITS INFAMOUS CALL
NOW REAP WHAT YOU SOW
NO MERCY AT ALL!
(STRELNIKOV coolly fires a bullet
into the PEASANTS head. He then
issues a quiet order to LIBERIUS.)
Throw him in the ravine.
SCENE 2-4: ROAD TO THE KRUGER ESTATE
(Immediately, the scene is a copse
of birch trees in snow.)
TONIA
This man Strelnikov watches everyone in the district, he has his
own partisan army, what could he possibly want with you, Yura YURII
A misunderstanding; were in no danger.
TONIA
Its happening everywhere, the White Guard is hunting down Reds
and killing them in the name of the Czar... were no safer here
than in Moscow, and weve no friends to tell us who to trust YURII
We cant keep living in fear, my darling. If we go quietly
about our business and stay out of sight, no one will even know
were here; were safe, Tonyetchka.
(YURII and TONIA cross back into the
Cottage at the Kruger Estate)
Doctor Zhivago
Doctor Zhivago
Read.
SASHA
Just the first page?
Doctor Zhivago
YURII
(sharper than he meant)
Sasha, thats enough; read!
ALEX
(off TONIAS look)
I think its someones bedtime. Come, young man, Ill tuck you
in and well pretend we live up the hill in the Kruger Mansion,
and you have your own bed in your own room, and this cramped
little cottage is just a horrible dream.
(ALEX takes SASHA to bed)
TONIA
How long are you going to keep putting it off, Yurochka?
YURII
Ive put nothing off.
TONIA
First you had to fix the roof, then you had to plant the garden,
now its the fence... you havent written a word since we
arrived. You must go to town, take books from the library,
start your research -YURII
Other work has to come first.
TONIA
Nothing comes before your writing, Yurochka. You brought us
here for peace of mind. We found it. Now its time to think
about yourself.
YURII
(considering it)
When the fence is done.
TONIA
Tomorrow! Dont argue, youll go to town first thing in the
morning.
(As TONIA leaves, LARA appears across the
stage, closing the Library. YURII rises,
turns and faces her -- an abstract shift
of location, and we are at...)
Doctor Zhivago
Its the
YURII
Lara!
(They run into each others arms, kiss,
helpless in the grip of passion.)
LARA
This is so dangerous. If Strelnikov finds out were meeting!
The Partisan commander?
YURII
Why would he care?
LARA
Hes my husband, or was when he called himself Pasha Antipov.
Dear God, I was his prisoner.
YURII
He asked me about you.
LARA
His spies are everywhere. Theres no telling what hed do if he
learned about the two of us.
YURII
Are you afraid?
LARA
Arent you?
Doctor Zhivago
YURII
There was a time I thought Id never see you again, I was afraid
then.
LARA
And I was afraid Id misunderstood everything that happened
between us at the front.
(They yield completely to a kiss.)
(Song: LOVE FINDS YOU)
ALL THE MIDNIGHTS FILLED WITH LONGING.
ALL THE HUNGER,
ALL THE TEARS,
ALWAYS SEARCHING FOR THIS MOMENT
AS THE MOMENTS TURNED TO YEARS.
DIDNT KNOW WHY I WAS WAITING
BUT NOW IN YOUR ARMS I DO.
YOU CAN LOOK,
BUT YOU DONT FIND LOVE.
LOVE FINDS YOU.
NEVER WHEN YOU ASK,
NEVER WHEN YOU GUESS,
SUDDENLY A RUSH OF HAPPINESS.
YURII
SLIPPING THROUGH THE DOOR,
SILENT AS A PRAYER.
ALMOST LIKE IT ALWAYS HAD BEEN THERE.
LARA
HOW ASTOUNDING YET HOW SIMPLE
ALL THE TIME I NEVER KNEW
THAT THE TRUTH IS
YOU DONT FIND LOVE.
LOVE FINDS YOU.
LARA (cont'd)
Come with me...
(They cross to Laras Apartment.)
LARA & YURII
HOW ASTOUNDING YET HOW SIMPLE
ALL THE TIME I NEVER KNEW
THAT THE TRUTH IS
YOU DONT FIND LOVE.
LOVE FINDS YOU.
Doctor Zhivago
Doctor Zhivago
STRELNIKOV
EVERY MEMORY IS A DAGGER
KOMAROVSKY
AND THE BLADE KEEPS PIERCING THROUGH
STRELNIKOV & KOMAROVSKY
FOR NO MATTER WHERE YOURE HIDING...
LOVE FINDS YOU.
TONIA
PEOPLE THINK THEY CHOOSE
THEY DONT HAVE A CHOICE.
SOMETHING TAKES CONTROL
KOMAROVSKY
STRONG AS YOU MAY SEEM
TONIA
A HEART ONE ITS OPEN
STRELNIKOV
BRAVE AS YOU MAY BE
ALWAYS CAN BE BROKEN
YURII
THERES A SECRET HIDING
IN YOUR SOUL
KOM & STREL
THERES A SECRET
HIDING...
(TONIA enters and sits in a rocking chair
in the Cottage. She is in very dim light.)
YURII
AND IT THRILLS YOU
LARA
AND IT THRILLS YOU
TONIA
AND IT HAUNTS YOU
STRELNIKOV
AND IT HAUNTS YOU.
KOMAROVSKY
IT GETS WORSE.
IT FORGIVES YOU.
YOURE SO ALONE
YURII
AT TIMES IT
TAUNTS YOU.
I NEVER KNEW
I NEVER KNEW
IT CAN SEIZE YOU
IN AN INSTANT
ANY TIME
BUT IT OWNS YOU
FOR A LIFETIME
WHEN LOVE
FINDS YOU
Doctor Zhivago
YURII
ITS A BLESSING AND ITS A CURSE.
KOMAROVSKY & STRELNIKOV
ITS A CURSE.
KOMAROVSKY/STRELNIKOV/YURII
IT CAN SEIZE YOU IN AN INSTANT
ANY TIME IT CHOOSES TO
BUT IT OWNS YOU FOR A LIFETIME
WHEN LOVE FINDS YOU.
LARA
LOVE ALWAYS
COMES IN AN INSTANT
WHEN IT CHOOSES,
BUT ITS FOR A LIFETIME
WHEN LOVE FINDS YOU.
Doctor Zhivago
LARA
Yes.
YURII
Tell me you know its true.
LARA
No.
(YURII forces himself to leave. She
watches him)
LARA (contd)
HOW ASTOUNDING YET HOW SIMPLE
AND THERES NOTHING YOU CAN DO
WITH THE HEARTACHE AND THE LONGING
WHEN LOVE...FINDS...
(She goes indoors, overwhelmed. YELENKA
enters with LIBERIUS and Partisan guards.)
YELENKA
(identifying the departing Yurii)
Thats him!
LIBERIUS
(blocking Yurii)
My men need a doctor.
YURII
Tell me where to go, Ill come first thing in the morning.
LIBERIUS
(grins)
Oh, itll take you a lot longer, doctor. Our camp is weeks away,
and never in the same place for very long. Youll become lost
without us.
(He nods to his men to take YURII away.)
YURII
But... my familys expecting me. My instruments are at home...
(They take YURII. STRELNIKOV steps from
the shadows. LIBERIUS hands YELENKA
money and she slips away, terrified.)
STRELNIKOV
You asked for a doctor, Captain Liberius; I give you a doctor.
Take him with you, treat him well... If he comes to harm, you
wont get another.
Doctor Zhivago
LIBERIUS
Anything else?
(Strelnikov watches Laras window.)
STRELNIKOV
Keep him far away from this town.
LIBERIUS
Yes, sir.
(STRELNIKOV exits. LIBERIUS watches him.)
SCENE 2-8: THE PARTISAN CAMP
(The stage fills with PARTISANS, some
throwing corpses into a fire pit,
ANOTHER pours kerosene over them.
SCREAMING WOMEN. YOUNG PARTISANS sit
randomly eating putrid food while they
watch the bodies burn.)
(Song: NOWHERE TO HIDE)
PARTISANS
WHEREVER YOU RUN,
THERES NOWHERE TO HIDE.
THE MOUNTAIN IS STEEP.
THE RIVER IS WIDE.
THE TRACKS ARE DESTROYED.
THERES NO TRAIN TO RIDE.
LIBERIUS
SO MAKE UP YOUR MIND.
YOU BETTER DECIDE
WHICH SIDE YOURE FIGHTING FOR.
PARTISANS
WHEREVER YOU RUN,
THERES NOWHERE TO HIDE.
THE GRAVEYARDS ARE FILLED
WITH TRAITORS WHO TRIED.
SO SLEEP WITH THE BONES
OF DEVILS WHO DIED.
LIBERIUS
YOU GIVE UP YOUR SOUL,
YOU FORFEIT YOUR PRIDE,
AND DIRT IS ALL YOURE WORTH...
LIBERIUS & PARTISANS
TILL THE LAST WHITE DOG
IS WIPED OFF THE FACE OF THE EARTH!
Doctor Zhivago
LIBERIUS
(issuing general orders)
We move camp at midnight, burn what you cant carry, bring no
wounded.
(TWO PARTISANS enter propping a
COMRADE between them - filthy,
weak, mouth clotted with blood.)
PARTISAN
One of ours, sir, the White Army got his tongue, but they got no
information with it...
YURII
He needs morphine, be quick...
LIBERIUS
(intercepting the syringe)
Ill take that. No use wasting good medicine on a dead man.
YURII
For pity sake why take me captive if you wont let me do my job,
that morphines for the wounded.
LIBERIUS
Comrade Doctor, arent we friends? I share my tent with you, we
have elevated conversations over dinner, philosophy and all
that, so why this tone of anger when you speak to me.
YURII
Lay off that poison long enough and maybe itll sink in; Im not
your friend, Im not your ally, Im your prisoner. All I want is
to go home to the people I left behind.
LIBERIUS
(an expansive gesture at the woods)
Be my guest. Of course I cant guarantee my men wont be tempted
to try a little target practice...
LIBERIUS & PARTISANS
WE KNOW THIS TERRAIN
AS YOU NEVER WILL!
THE FORK IN THE ROAD,
THE RIDGE ON THE HILL.
LIBERIUS
YOULL NEVER ESCAPE.
ITS CHAOS OUTSIDE.
IN RUSSIA TODAY
THERES NOWHERE TO HIDE.
Doctor Zhivago
Was there a
TONIA
Hes my husband.
LARA
The other two were stolen.
TONIA
He told me he came here to research a medical text.
met him?
Perhaps you
Doctor Zhivago
LARA
Im - rarely here. Im a volunteer.
TONIA
The regular librarians called Yelenka, I know.
LARA
Are you a friend of Yelenkas?
Shes been to visit me.
know.
TONIA
There were things she thought I should
LARA
(understanding at once)
Doctor Zhivago
LARA
LOST FOR WORDS.
TONIA
UNPREPARED.
BOTH
AN ANGUISH THAT I DARE NOT RISK REVEALING...
BUT IT COMES AS NO SURPRISE
TONIA
SHE IS GRACIOUS.
LARA
SHE IS KIND.
BOTH
MORE THAN I WOULD BE
IF I WERE IN HER PLACE.
TONIA
WHEN I DREAMED ABOUT THIS DAY
I WAS SURE OF WHAT ID SAY -BOTH
BUT ITS NOT AT ALL
THE WAY THAT I IMAGINED,
FACE TO FACE.
(LARA approaches TONIA at the shelves and
finds her the book shes looking for.)
LARA
Why dont you keep this.
TONIA
HAS SHE HEARD WHERE HE IS?
LARA
IF HES HURT?
TONIA
IF HE LIVES?
BOTH
I PRAY MY DARKEST FEAR ISNT SHOWING.
SO THE WORDS STAY INSIDE LARA
LIKE MY HOPE.
TONIA
LIKE MY PRIDE.
Doctor Zhivago
BOTH
AM I MORE AFRAID OF ASKING HER OR KNOWING?
BUT IT COMES AS NO SURPRISE
TONIA
SHES HIS PASSION.
LARA
SHES HIS WIFE.
BOTH
AND I KNOW I COULD NEVER INTERFERE.
AND A LITTLE OF ME DIES
WHEN I LOOK INTO HER EYES.
TONIA
IS IT ANGER?
LARA
IS IT SADNESS?
BOTH
IS IT MADNESS..
...THAT BRINGS US HERE?
LARA
SHOULDNT I BE CALM AND DISTANT?
TONIA
SHOULDNT I BE COLD AND PROUD?
BOTH
I KNOW THAT ITS THE WISER THING
TO STAY RESTRAINED,
BUT STILL I WANT TO SPEAK.
STILL I WANT TO SCREAM.
STILL I WANT TO CRY OUT LOUD...!
AND IT COMES AS NO SURPRISE
LARA
THERES FORGIVENESS IN HER EYES.
BOTH
AND ITS TAKING ALL MY STRENGTH
TO HIDE THE TEARS.
AND IT COMES AS NO SURPRISE
THAT HE NEEDS HER IN HIS LIFE,
BUT IT COMES AS A SURPRISE
I FEEL HIM CLOSER...
WHEN SHE IS NEAR.
I FEEL HIM CLOSER...
WHEN SHE IS NEAR.
Doctor Zhivago
PARTISAN 1
No more trouble from you.
(LIBERIUS enters with YURII, who has
a beard now. His eyes are sunken.)
LIBERIUS
We know shes been spying for the Whites, but she pulls a crazy
act when we try and question her.
YURII
If she wont talk under torture, what can I do?
LIBERIUS
Find out if shes really crazy or not, then get names, find out
which way the White armys headed.
YURII
You cant ask me to do that, Im not one of you, Im a prisoner.
LIBERIUS
Prisoner? Any time the past year you could have strolled off
into the woods. Youre here because you want to be. Better than
all the complications back home, thats the beauty of war, am I
right, doctor?
YURII
(after a moments hesitation)
Will you leave us alone?
PARTISAN 2
I wouldnt advise it; this ones strong as an ox... and violent.
(LIBERIUS and the TWO PARTISANS back
away. YURII sits beside KUBARIKHA.)
Doctor Zhivago
YURII
Im a friend, a doctor.
(YURII offers to take her hands. She
pulls them back. Yurii notices...)
Doctor Zhivago
Doctor Zhivago
Doctor Zhivago
PARTISANS
NOWHERE TO RUN AWAY!
YOU WOULDNT LAST A DAY
LOST IN A MAZE OF TREES,
HOW LONG BEFORE YOU FREEZE?
NO ROOF TO SHELTER YOU!
NO ROAD TO COVER YOUR
TRACKS IN THE SNOW
WE KNOW WHERE YOU CAN GO.
THERE IS NO
BREAKING FREE FROM US,
NOWHERE TO RUN AWAY
YOU WOULDNT LAST A DAY
WE FIND THE TRAIL BEHIND YOU.
ASHES, AND THE FOOTPRINTS
OF YOUR FEARS!
WOMEN REFUGEES
(Overlapping)
AH!
AH!
(The REFUGEES vanish with the train as
YURII leaps off. Abstractly, the PARTISANS
return, magnified in YURIIs head by fear
and exhaustion. The wall of PARTISANS
begins to push YURII back. They shine
their flashlights at him and the audience
as he tries to run for cover.)
LIBERIUS & PARTISANS
THE FARTHER YOU RUN,
THE HARDER YOU FALL!
THERES NOWHERE TO FLEE,
NO PLACE YOU CAN CRAWL!
WITH ICE IN YOUR VEINS
AND EYES GOING BLIND,
WERE ONE STEP AHEAD,
AND ONE STEP BEHIND!
Doctor Zhivago
ONE
AND
ONE
AND
STEP AHEAD,
ONE STEP BEHIND...!
STEP AHEAD,
ONE STEP BEHIND...!
LARA
Yurii!
(LARA appears and sees YURII just as
he collapses into her arms.
Underscore On the Edge of Time.)
(The PARTISANS
them through a
when they turn
abandoned room
Lara?
LARA
Youve been unconscious for days. We thought...
Wheres my family?
YURII
Wheres Tonia?
LARA
They fled to Moscow. The Red armys in control now, theyre killing
anyone without calloused hands. Were living on borrowed time.
(passing him an envelope)
This came from Moscow. Its for you.
(YURII reads - apart - as TONIA
appears in a spot, in traveling
clothes with valise.
(MORE)
Doctor Zhivago
TONIA
(reads aloud)
Dearest Yurii...I pray you live to read this; it seems nowhere
in Russia is safe for people like us any more. We leave for
Paris tonight - Papa died peacefully in his sleep and we buried
him beside Nana. Our son has been very brave through it all,
youd be proud of him. I met Lara Antipova. I wanted so much
to hate her...but in the end, I think I understood...
(Reprise: WATCH THE MOON)
TONIA
WATCH THE MOON
AND THINK OF ME.
WATCH THE MOON
ILL WATCH IT, TOO.
UNTIL THE DAY
THAT YOU RETURN
ILL WATCH THE MOON
AND THINK OF YOU...
YURII
(reads)
Shes the passionate flame you always
needed. How I wish I could have been
all things for you; wife, comfort, inspiration. Dearest, dear Yurochka,
my heart breaks when I think I may
never see you again. If you live
read this, do one thing for me;
go outside on a clear night, the way
we used to, remember...
(SASHA Enters with a suitcase and guides
TONIA offstage. YURII rises, weak.)
YURII
I have to get word to my family.
LARA
Theyve sealed off the province, no mail goes in or out. Our
only hope is to stay quiet and pray the soldiers pass us by.
YURII
Just sit here and wait for the end? Thats madness.
Its Russia thats mad.
together.
LARA
But the same madness brought us
YURII
Were fugitives, Lara. I deserted the partisans. Youre my
accomplice.
LARA
While you were missing I had time to see things clearly: how I
chose Pasha hoping he could answer for my past, make me pure
again... and Tonia answered your need for order and peace. But
our hearts were never answered until we found each other. And
right or wrong, for these few days... or weeks...
(MORE)
Doctor Zhivago
LARA (cont'd)
however long until they come for us, we can be together as we
never could when things were normal; together as husband and
wife. Youll write, well take care of each other. Its the one
happiness I always dreamed of... didnt you?
Doctor Zhivago
BOTH
ALL AT ONCE DISAPPEAR
LIKE MIST IN THE AIR,
LIKE MIST IN THE AIR!
LET ME SHARE UNHURRIED DAYS
WHAT DAYS ARE LEFT
IN YOUR LOVES PROTECTION.
YURII
HOLD YOU IN MY ARMS
SO I CAN FEEL
GOD IN HIS PERFECTION.
THIS IS WHY I LIVE.
THIS I KNOW IS REAL...
LARA
WHY I LIVE.
ONLY THIS IS REAL...
BOTH (contd)
TO FEEL THE WAY I DO,
FOREVER FREE. FOREVER TRUE.
ON THE EDGE OF TIME WITH YOU.
(They kiss tenderly. She takes his hand,
leading him to a portioned sleeping area.
Lights dim.)
SCENE 2-12: MILITARY HEARING
(STRELNIKOV stands guarded by Two
Officers of the People. A SECRETARY
for the Peoples Tribunal reads.)
SECRETARY
Commander Strelnikov, the Peoples Tribunal of Justice finds you
guilty of the crime of individualism and treason against the
Workers Revolutionary Party, whom you once claimed to support.
Do you have anything to say in your defense?
(STRELNIKOV is silent)
Your sentence is death. Take him away.
(An eerie wolf howl. Lights dim. We are
in...)
SCENE 2-13A: ABANDONED ROOM, KRUGER MANSION
(Another wolf howl. LARA appears behind
the curtains, holding a paraffin lamp.
Time has passed. YURII is behind her.)
LARA
The wolves keep moving closer every night.
Doctor Zhivago
KOMAROVSKY
Luckily they havent learned to open doors yet.
(VIKTOR KOMAROVSKY wrapped in a thick
fur coat, rises slowly from an easy
chair that concealed him.)
You were asleep when I arrived. I hated to disturb you. I had
a chair like this in Moscow once. Ideal for short naps.
LARA
How did you find us?
KOMAROVSKY
Youve been here two weeks...everyone in the district knows.
YURII
What do you want?
KOMAROVSKY
Allow me to do you both a favor.
LARA
Leave us alone, Viktor Ippolitovich.
KOMAROVSKY
The Red Army will arrive here any moment. Ive arranged a
private railway carriage east to the coast. From there we can
secure passage to Japan, then... wherever we like; Paris,
Vienna, San Francisco.
YURII
Why would you do this?
KOMAROVSKY
(watching LARA)
Im moved by many of the same things that move you.
LARA
We dont need your help. Please, go.
YURII
(to Komarovsky)
Thank you for the warning.
KOMAROVSKY
(to YURII, urgently)
May we speak in private, Zhivago?
(YURII beckons LARA to leave them
alone. She goes.)
YURII
She told me about the two of you.
Doctor Zhivago
KOMAROVSKY
Spare me a sentimental scene. Theres only one reason youre
still alive today, and it was just eliminated.
YURII
What, you?
Pasha Antipov.
KOMAROVSKY
Laras husband; youd know him as YURII
Strelnikov, yes.
KOMAROVSKY
But did you know he never stopped loving her? Followed her every
move. Hoped to win her back one day. He knew if you came to
harm, shed never forgive him. Now hes dead.
YURII
How?!
KOMAROVSKY
He fought for the Reds, but he was too... pure. Its time for
the politicians now; dreamers like Strelnikov frighten them.
You have no protector left on earth - except me.
YURII
How do you know all this?
KOMAROVSKY
Its my talent, and my curse, to know just a little more than I
should about everything... and to find myself, against all good
sense, trying to help you still.
YURII
Not me; Lara. (guessing) You fell in love with her, didnt you.
KOMAROVSKY
(his silence speaks volumes.)
All that matters now is Laras life, and she wont leave here
without you.
YURII
I cant come with you. Theres a reward for my capture.
KOMAROVSKY
Thats what you get for refusing to write what the authorities
asked. Worse, you wouldnt even defy them. You made verse as if
people in power didnt exist; you spoke your heart directly to
all Russia. That kind of courage they never forgive.
YURII
Lara has to leave with you.
Doctor Zhivago
KOMAROVSKY
We can travel together, I brought new identities for all of us;
passports, travel permits, everything -YURII
False papers would get us killed us on the spot. Without me, the two
of you stand a chance. Make her understand that.
KOMAROVSKY
She wont leave if you dont, and youll both die here, is that
what you want?
YURII
I want her to live... But traveling in my company shes as good
as dead.
(decides)
Tell her Ill join you both further down the line.
KOMAROVSKY
She wont believe me.
YURII
(Thinking it through)
Ill talk to her.
KOMAROVSKY
Laras not a woman easily swayed, Im sure youve noticed.
Swallow your pride and accept my help, Zhivago. We should start
at least an hour before daylight. Ill wait in the stables.
(KOMAROVSKY leaves...The slamming
door brings LARA back in.)
YURII
Its alright, hes outside waiting.
LARA
(hugging him, upset)
What does he want?
Hes our only hope, Lara.
YURII
You must go with him.
LARA
Both of us.
YURII
Of course. Travel with him by train out of Yuriatin while I pack
our belongings. Ill join you at the next station and well all
continue east together.
Doctor Zhivago
LARA
Please dont ask me to leave with that man.
(Underscoring begins: NOW)
YURII
We need him - for the moment.
LARA
Id rather stay here with you and accept what comes.
YURII
You know Id never let you out of my sight if I wasnt sure wed
be together soon; my life has no meaning without you. Go.
LARA
Promise on our love youll meet us.
Promise.
YURII
(after the briefest moment)
I promise.
LARA
Oh, Yurochka, do you mean it?
YURII
Have I ever lied to you?
(He brings her coat. A moment passes
while things sink in.)
These last ten days with you, its just the beginning.
(Reprise: NOW)
YURII
NOW.
THE ONLY TIME IS NOW.
A TIME THAT WILL ALLOW
YOU TO BE FREE.
GO WITH HIM NOW.
ILL FOLLOW YOU SOMEHOW.
ILL BE WITH YOU
AS SOON AS I CAN BE...
LARA
CAN I BELIEVE YOU?
YOU KNOW I NEED YOU.
PROMISE ME
WELL BE TOGETHER...
BOTH
AND THERE MAY NOT EVER BE ANOTHER DAY,
BUT I KNOW MY LIFE CANT END THIS WAY.
I LOVE YOU...
(Underscoring continues.)
Doctor Zhivago
LARA
(struggling with this)
I was going to tell you later, when I was sure, but you should
know; the first night we made love I felt something change inside
me. Its possible that two of us are waiting for you.
YURII
(nodding)
Hurry.
(They kiss, passionate, a moment to last
a lifetime. She rushes out. When LARA
leaves, YURIIS self-control cracks.)
NOW...
I NEED TO LET YOU LIVE
AND HOPE THAT YOU FORGIVE
WHAT I HAVE DONE.
BE STRONG AND PURE
THROUGH ALL YOU MUST ENDURE.
LET NOTHING DIM
THE BRIGHTNESS OF YOUR SUN.
I CAN SEE YOU SOARING
LIKE A BIRD IN FLIGHT,
AND I PRAY TO GOD
WHAT I DID WAS RIGHT.
(Music continues as he sees his writing
notebook on the table. He lights a
candle and...begins to write. Time
passes. YURII, exhausted from sleepless
days and nights writing in a semitrance, with little food, and only
vodka to drink, sits at his desk,
Trying out his poem, aloud.)
YURII
...Now...as shadows fall, you... you are the night. Softly you
surround me. Stars become your eyes. The wind your voice...
2-13B: THE ICE PALACE/STRELNIKOV
(Morning light streams in. A wolf howls. A
figure passes the window outside, then
vanishes. Moments later, the door opens
and a man with a wild beard, wearing a
tattered uniform, enters with pistol
drawn. He picks up a bottle of vodka and
approaches the table where YURII is
slumped over. He stirs, blurry-eyed from
lack of sleep.)
STRELNIKOV
Where is she?
Doctor Zhivago
Strelnikov?
YURII
I thought you were -
STRELNIKOV
So does everyone. Im a cat; nine lives. Ive come to say goodbye
to Lara.
YURII
Shes gone.
STRELNIKOV
Where?
YURII
Japan?
Paris?
I dont know.
STRELNIKOV
(eerie detachment)
In that case, Ill never see her again.
(raises bottle in a bitter toast)
To those well never see again.
(he chugs, then offers the bottle.)
Drink with me.
(YURII takes the bottle and drinks.)
Im her husband.
YURII
I know.
STRELNIKOV
(grins)
And youre her lover. What could I expect? I left her, after
all.. And shes a woman of strong appetite -- wouldnt you agree...
Zhivago?
YURII
Id rather not talk about her.
STRELNIKOV
(with a sneer)
No?
(he picks up a poem)
Isnt this talk?! Of course not, its poetry. But about her,
I bet. You cant help yourself, its what she does to a man.
(crumples poem, throws it on the floor.)
YURII
What are your plans?
First, Ill finish this vodka.
lover. Whose life I spared...
STRELNIKOV
In the company of my wifes
(MORE)
Doctor Zhivago
STRELNIKOV (cont'd)
Then, Ill dream about a young man I knew, a child in love with
a woman, who threw away his life to rid the world of everything
that corrupted her.
YURII
The wrong she did never touched her
STRELNIKOV
Dont lecture me about my wife. I gave my life to revenge her
shame. What did you do for her, except write poems?
YURII
I loved her.
Love! What is that?!
Words!
STRELNIKOV
Sentiment! Air!
YURII
(with compassion)
Theres food enough...
STRELNIKOV
(shakes his head)
No time, theyre after me. And you, too. An aristocrat, and a
railway workers son. You see, the revolution was a success;
it made us equals, two enemies of the state, sick with love for
the same woman...
(offering the vodka)
Have some, its your bottle.
(YURII instead tries to retrieve the poem
STRELNIKOV threw to the floor, and stumbles.
STRELNIKOV reaches to steady him.)
YURII
My heart... Sometimes it plays tricks on me.
(He sits without the poem. STRELNIKOV
offers the bottle. YURII takes it.)
STRELNIKOV
(watches him carefully)
Tell me, poet, whats it like for love to be enough?
YURII
Didnt you love the Revolution? What was that like?
STRELNIKOV
(after a moment)
Everything betrays us in the end.
Doctor Zhivago
YURII
Everything fills us with life if we let it.
STRELNIKOV
(a rueful laugh)
Very pretty. So you knew love, I knew glory. And in the end, what
difference does it make? Who can say which of us used his life well.
(He turns and starts for the door.)
YURII
Would you put my poem back on the table, please?
(STRELNIKOV picks up the page and
cant resist reading. He becomes
engrossed for a moment in spite of
himself. If we were close enough,
wed see his eyes tear.)
STRELNIKOV
(comments on the poem...)
This is Lara.
(STRELNIKOV sets the poem down and
starts out.)
The villagers thought I was Satan. Wait until they see the Russian
dreamers who take my place. Ill be remembered as a saint!!!
(STRELNIKOV draws his revolver and
walks out the door, a man ready to face
anything. The door swings shut behind
him. YURII, troubled, rises watching
the door. A cry rends the silence.)
STRELNIKOV (cont'd)
(off)
LARA!!!
(A gunshot. YURII, mortified, approaches
the door, afraid what might be outside.)
(Finally, he dares; as the door swings open...
... STRELNIKOV - gun in hand, head bloody lies dead. As YURII stares at the body,
martial music plays. The Red Flag of
Communist Russia lowers across the back of
the set. The Red Army marches triumphantly
across the stage, trampling STRELNIKOV,
while YURII stands to the side, a witness
to the march of history.)
Doctor Zhivago
Doctor Zhivago
MAN (contd)
(A Woman sobs. A Younger Woman offers
comfort.)
Go with God, Yurii Andreievich Zhivago.
LARA & KATARINA
Amen.
(The MAN leaves the graveyard,
checking around him to make sure he
isnt being followed. LARA and
KATARINA remain.)
LARA
Yurii, this is our daughter, Katarina. Her voice is so like
yours when she speaks. In Paris school children study your
poems, imagine? Its strange to hear our private moments
spoken in public. Sometimes Im embarrassed. Sometimes,
Im proud. And sometimes for a moment, I see myself through
your eyes, and feel you so close to me.
(LARA sobs, then brushes her eyes.)
Recite the poem for your father, darling.
to hear his words from you.
Hed be so happy
Doctor Zhivago
END OF PLAY
Draft 11-5-2010 (rev/asterisks)