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日瓦戈医生1
日瓦戈医生1
日瓦戈医生1
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 father’s 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, DON’T 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 father’s 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. You’re
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.)
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 dressmaker’s dummy. MRS.
GUISHAR gazes around the space.)
KOMAROVSKY
The owner agreed to offer a very low rent, and with your
daughter’s help - she’s 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,
THAT’S 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 IT’S 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
We’ll 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 can’t
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 I’VE BEEN GIVEN.
WORKING FOR THE GOOD OF ALL,
FINDING MY ROLE,
PURPOSE AND GOAL.
TONIA
THAT’S 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! What’s wrong?
PASHA
The strike is on for tonight. Hide this. If you hear I’ve been
arrested throw it in the river.
Doctor Zhivago
LARA
When will I see you again?
PASHA
(with a shy smile)
Very soon. I’m a cat; nine lives!!!
(PASHA slips away and MUSCOVITES
outside sing through LARA’S
actions... she conceals the bundle
up the hollow at the bottom of the
tailor’s 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, you’re not finished dressing for
tonight.
YURII
They’ve sent Cossacks to the protest. There’s going to be
trouble.
(MORE)
Doctor Zhivago
MARKEL
Come inside, young master, it’s too dangerous out there.
YURII
Bring me my bag, Markel. They’ll need help in the square..
TONIA
No, Yura, don’t leave the house tonight, everyone’s expecting us
downstairs.
(But YURII is gone and we are
inside...)
SCENE 1-F: THE DRESS SHOP
(KOMAROVSKY is pulling off LARA’s
silk stocking, making love to her.)
LARA
No, Victor, I can’t 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 boy’s 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 tailor’s
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
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 can’t contain it)
Our daughter is marrying Yurii Andreyevich.
ALEX
(fondly) Thank you dear.
ANNA
A doctor!
ALEX
If I may call on Moscow’s 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)
“KOMAROVSKY’S TOAST”)
KOMAROVSKY
LOVELY LITTLE TONIA,
LOOK AT HOW YOU’VE GROWN.
MARRYING THIS DOCTOR...
AND A “POET” AS HE’S 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 THAT’S 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
I’ve never seen you before, are you a friend of Counsellor
Komarovsky... ?
(LARA dances until she’s standing
directly before KOMAROVSKY.)
LARA
I should have done this long ago.
(She pulls Pasha’s 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, there’s 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 KORNAKOV’S hand,
YURII watches LARA through an open
door to the Ballroom.)
KORNAKOV
These revolutionists have only one answer to every problem:
BANG!!! “You don’t agree with me, BANG.” “You don’t like my
boots; BANG!” Bang. Problem solved!”
YURII
She doesn’t look like a radical to me.
KORNAKOV
Anyone at a university’s 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
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 YURII’s 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, wasn’t it!?
KOMAROVSKY
Young Zhivago, some advice: you’ve enjoyed a fine start in
society; doctor; poet! and now it appears you’ve 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 you’re entitled to know another gentleman’s private
business.
Doctor Zhivago
YURII
I heard enough lectures in medical school; I don’t need another
from you.
KOMAROVSKY
I’m a useful friend to have, Zhivago. And a very dangerous enemy.
Come, they’ll 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 IT’S THERE,
A SHADOW ON THE SNOW...
THE DRAMA HAS PAST
IT’S 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? They’re 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
TUSIA
(interrupting, tipsy)
Friend Pasha, enough speeches! We all know you’re a deep
thinker, a great leader, an exemplary Marxist, but how can it be
that on the day of your wedding we still don’t 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.”
TUSIA’S FIANCÉE
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, we’re starting to miss you already, and your train
doesn’t even leave till morning. But maybe when you’re away from
Moscow you’ll miss us, too. So... we’ve 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... it’s sweet, it’s... very thoughtful. No truly
it’s...it’s...
(Song: “IT’S A GODSEND”)
PASHA
IT’S A GENTLE GIFT,
SENTIMENTAL GIFT
YET A GIFT OF GREAT GOOD TASTE,
FOR I CANNOT THINK OF ANYTHING WE’D 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!
IT’S A GODSEND!
STUDENTS
IT’S A GODSEND!
Doctor Zhivago
PASHA
TO REMIND US OF THE DECADENCE WE LEAVE HERE,
IT’S A GODSEND!
STUDENTS
MY SUBVERSIVE FRIEND!
PASHA
WHEN WE’RE SHIV’RING IN THE COLD
WITH OUR BODIES TURNING BLUE
AND THE FIRE IS DWINDLING
AND WE’RE LOW ON KINDLING
WHEN WE NEED TO LIGHT THE STOVE TO COOK,
IT’S A GODSEND -- THIS BOOK!
STUDENTS
(ad lib)
Gifts! Gifts. More gifts. (etc)
TUSIA
(handing PASHA a gift)
This one’s from us.
PASHA
(with veiled irony)
A sewing kit, just what Lara wanted!
TUSIA’S FINACÉE
It’s 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.
(TUSIA’s fiancée takes his hand in
solidarity)
PASHA
(imitating his forthright manner)
Thank you, Modern Tusia. In the name of Workers everywhere, I vow
I’ll learn to sew and cook and launder my own clothes... and Lara’s!
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
TUSIA’S FIANCÉE
WHEN A WOMAN WEARS THE PANTS!
STUDENTS
TO BEGIN WITH SHE’LL LAY THE SCHOOLHOUSE BRICKS
WITH A FRESH NEW BATCH OF CEMENT SHE’LL MIX!
PASHA
THEN SHE’LL PATCH THE ROOF I DECLINE TO FIX,
WHILE I READ MARX AND NAP.
BUT TO BE FAIR,
I’LL DO MY SHARE...
I’LL CROCHET A SLEEPING CAP!
STUDENTS
(Women cheer; Men groan)
PASHA
NO ORDINARY GIFT YOU IMPART HERE.
IT’S A GODSEND!
STUDENTS
IT’S A GODSEND!
PASHA
TRUE EQUALITY FOR RUSSIA HAS TO START HERE.
WOMEN
IT’S 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
Great’s 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 can’t possibly bring all this with us to
Yuriatin.
Doctor Zhivago
STUDENTS
Speech!
Speech!
PASHA
PASHA
(also shy)
Sit.
LARA
Oh, Pasha, not the serious face tonight, everything is finally
perfect!
PASHA
(awkwardly forging ahead)
I’m 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, I’m afraid I’m
as innocent as you...
(Lara rises, agitated.)
Are you...disappointed?
LARA
(quickly)
You’ll never disappoint me, Pasha Antipov. And I promise, I’ll
try and be the best wife on earth for you.
PASHA
Darling Lara, if our marriage is half as perfect as you, I’m the
luckiest man in Russia. I want us to be equal in all things;
no bourgeois secrets and games, we’ll keep nothing from each
other, ever, let’s 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, I’ll tell you everything, but only if you make me one
promise.
PASHA
We shouldn’t bargain over the truth, Lara.
LARA
Promise me, Pashenka, promise that when I’m done, if you have
the smallest doubt you can accept me as I am, you’ll 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 CAN’T 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
Pashenka!!!
(Thunder. She gathers her coat tight
around her. YURII steps from the
shadows holding an umbrella.)
YURII
YURII
(thinks a moment, then:)
I don’t know. (then, blurting:) I do know, but - (then:) I
thought there was something you could tell me, but now that I’m
here...
LARA
You’re a soldier?
YURII
Medical Corps. Germans attacked our western border. The Tsar’s
army needs doctors.
LARA
(not sure what to say)
I’ll 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 you’ll excuse me -YURII
(with sudden urgency)
No, please... he killed my father. Not literally... he was our
family lawyer; encouraged all Father’s weaknesses; gambling,
drinking, women. I thought perhaps Komarovsky took advantage of you
like he did my -LARA
(interrupting, firmly)
It’s the past. It’s 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
I’d regret most is never having known... never having found
you to ask what it’s 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)
-- I’m sorry to disappoint you, soldier, but I’m not in the
habit of shooting people who wrong me.
YURII
Of course not. What did I imagine you’d say? I must seem
ridiculous to you.
Doctor Zhivago
LARA
(amused) I think more -- unexpected.
YURII
Please forgive my presumption... Miss Guishar.
LARA
“Antipova’s 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, that’s the past. It’s the past.
and a soldier now; nothing more.
I’m 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
I’m 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 Napoleon’s 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 Czar’s
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 I’d 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; he’d want you to
have it.
(YURII examines it a moment, then
hands it back.)
YURII
If it found its way into your hands, I’m sure that’s where it
should stay.
(curtly)
Hurry, Markel, we’ll miss the train.
(BOOM! BOOM! Cannon fire as he takes
MARKEL side, speaking quietly)
I can’t possibly bring all this to the front. Wait til I’m 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, I’ll 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
YOU’LL 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 I’LL BE THERE.
(YURII reappears at the war front.
He now wears a doctor’s lab coat)
Doctor Zhivago
Put it between your teeth and twist. You get a better grip that way.
LOOKOUT
(re-enters quickly)
SOLDIER 1
IF I DON’T 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,
I’M 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.
LARA
(flustered)
I’m - 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
Don’t believe reports, it’s mostly propaganda to keep the Tsar
happy, not that he cares what’s happening at the front. If your
husband’s alive, wait for him at home, that’s where most
deserters head.
LARA
(irritated)
My husband volunteered; he’s not a deserter.
YURII
(knowing he went too far)
Forgive me; I’m sure he served bravely.
LARA
(waving it off)
It’s 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 isn’t your business. I’ve 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?
(LARA’s 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 don’t mention my poetry to anyone here. They’d think it
frivolous, and they’d be right. Verses are no use in times like
this; Russia needs scientists - engineers, doctors, serious men.
LARA
Poetry isn’t “serious”?
YURII
It’s not... useful.
LARA
You know that everyone’s 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 I’m hurt.
Doctor Zhivago
Gently.
YANKO
I don’t feel any pain.
(They lay him down. An emergency - nearby
patients raise themselves to see.)
YURII
If he goes into shock we’ll lose him.
LARA
Start working, I’ll keep him awake.
(YURII begins moving the blanket
away.)
Try and relax, soldier.
YURII
A VISION TAKING HOLD,
ORIGINAL AND BOLD...
ALL THREE
A VOICE THAT CAN’T BE STILLED...
TONIA
IT’S 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 CAN’T 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
IT’S 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 we’re 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 she’s ironing.)
LARA
Now look what I’ve done!
(YURII moves to help.)
- just leave it, I’ll manage.
YURII
(suddenly aware of what happened)
I’m 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
THERE’S 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
they’re trying to mount.)
SOLDIER ONE
Germans broke through our northern line, we’re done for...
SOLDIER TWO
We have no orders to retreat...
Doctor Zhivago
SOLDIER ONE
To hell with orders, there’s the supply train, take command of
it and move out -
SOLDIER THREE
(various)
Retreat!!! Retreat!!!
Retreat!!!
YURII
We can’t leave these men behind to die. Are you refusing a
written command?
(The QUARTERMASTER shrugs.)
We’ll 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)
There’s nothing wrong with this money!
LARA
If you try spending it and get caught, don’t point a finger at
me.
(The QUARTERMASTER catches on. He looks
cagey. Lara gives him more money.)
Now where’d you say we could put the wounded?
QUARTERMASTER
(points off down the train)
There’s 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 don’t know what we’d have done without you Nurse Antipova.
(lost for words)
I’m 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, there’s always work to be done. And you?
YURII
Moscow. Won’t 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
I’ve managed on my own for a long time. Never worry on my
account.
YURII
How can I not?
(searching for words)
The time we’ve spent together, these talks of ours, I’ll never
forget a moment LARA
Yes. How lucky that we found each other’s company.
(Both want to say more; to kiss)
YURII
I thought I’d 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) I’m
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 I’ve 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)
...I’M LYING IN THIS TENT
AND THERE’S NOT MUCH LIGHT
AND I CANNOT WRITE FOR LONG
BUT THESE WORDS I’VE NEVER SAID
KEEP HAUNTING ME
AND I KNOW THEY CAN’T BE WRONG.
AND I’M STILL A LITTLE SHY
TO SPEAK MY MIND
BUT THE TRUTH JUST WON’T STAY DOWN.
FOR HERE IN THE NIGHT
THERE’S NO WRONG AND NO RIGHT.
THERE IS ONLY THE DARK.
I’M ALONE WITH MY HEART...
AND NOW...
I NEED TO TELL YOU NOW
I NEED TO TELL YOU HOW
YOU MAKE ME FEEL.
YOU’RE LIKE A SONG.
I SING YOU ALL DAY LONG.
A MELODY SO STRONG
AND SWEET AND REAL.
AND I DON’T KNOW
IF YOU’LL EVER FEEL THIS WAY
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, it’s all over.
SOLDIER 1
Leave what you can’t carry...
SOLDIER 2
They’re firing on the camp, everyone move out...
(LARA’s 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 don’t need the honor
of dying for my country!
I leave that honor to you!
Die gloriously!
I’ll 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 DON’T 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 YANKO’s 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.
YOU’RE 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.)
NOW WE ARE
THE PEOPLE’S ARMY!
NOW WE ARE
THE PEOPLE’S ARMY!
HOMEWARD I GO,
SOLDIER NO LONGER.
WISER,
THE FUTURE’S BEGUN!
Hello?
YURII
(calling)
Markel? Nana? Tonia?
(A tiny sinister man appears; SHULYGIN.)
May we see
TONIA
(with meaning)
We were generously allocated the entire top floor.
YURII
What, the attic?
(Now TONIA turns to SASHA.)
TONIA
Look who’s 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 YURII’s face)
I don’t know you.
(SASHA
SHULYGIN
(eyes YURII’S bag)
Will the Comrade kindly explain what he’s carrying over his shoulder?
YURII
A hunter I met on the train home gave it to me.
SHULYGIN
It’s a duck!!!
TONIA
We haven’t 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. We’ll determine the fairest
division of the meat, and deliver your share to you.
YURII
My share?
TONIA
(suddenly careful)
Yurii, give her the duck. They’ll 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 can’t 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
What’s 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 WE’VE 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
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 BREAD’S 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, we’ve studied your report on Medical Unit 12’s
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
doctor’s 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
KOMAROVSKY
Why is it you so distrust me, Zhivago? People never seem to
understand, I’m helpful by nature when I’ve nothing to lose.
But somehow everything I do causes resentment - I’ve been
slandered, vilified, insulted -- even shot at once -(then:)
That’s right, you were there, I remember now!
YURII
You’re drunk.
KOMAROVSKY
That young lady married, you know. Pity about her husband killed in the war. It seems she’s 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
Let’s 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 can’t 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 can’t 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 it’s always been. Some things never change,
thank Heaven.
YURII
(after a moment)
Why couldn’t we go there? Live quietly, no one to spy on us we’d grow our own food, I’d 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, I’m sure they’d make us welcome.
YURII
It’s decided then! First thing tomorrow I’ll 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. They’d arrest us all if word got out.
YURII (cont’d)
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 FAMILY’S 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,
I’LL 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 (cont’d)
Remember the life you’ve 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 Gromeko’s Attic.)
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!