‘Doctor Zhivago’ Theater review

Based on a sweeping historical novel crammed with characters and incident, “Doctor Zhivago” follows the fortunes of a heroic man with a divided heart across decades of turmoil and revolution, as he is hounded by a self-righteous upholder of justice. Sounds a little like “Les Misérables,” non? But we already have a pale imitation of that long-running juggernaut; it’s called “Les Misérables” and it’s playing at the Imperial. Zhivago, on the other hand, is Jean Valjean with a poetic streak and a medical bag. There are crucial differences between the shows, of course: “Les Miz’s” epic narrative is far better organized, and the music is bombastic, but effective. “Zhivago,” based on Boris Pasternak’s 1957 doorstop (which also inspired the great David Lean film) is a dauntingly interior novel to distill into a musical.