The work combines the talents of Michael Weller, Lucy Simon, Michael Korie and Amy Powers with La Jolla artistic director Des McAnuff for a run July 26-Aug. 21. It's part of the theatre's developmental Page to Stage initiative.

Doctor Zhivago is based on the famous 1958 Nobel Prize-winning novel by Russian author Boris Pasternak — who was forced to decline the literary prize by the Russian government. Set against the backdrop of the snowy country before and after the Russian Revolution, the work was later adapted for the screen as the 1965 film starring Omar Shariff as the surgeon-poet Yurii Zhivago and Julie Christie as his muse Lara.

Michael Weller (Loose Ends, Spoils of War) will provide the libretto for the new musical. The Secret Garden composer Lucy Simon is penning original music with lyrics by Michael Korie (Doll) and Amy Powers (Lizzie Borden). McAnuff (700 Sundays, Dracula) will direct the new work.

Among other works developed through the Page to Stage program at La Jolla Playhouse include Billy Crystal's 700 Sundays — the comedian's solo show currently playing on Broadway — and Doug Wright's I Am My Own Wife, which went on to earn the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony Award for Best Play.

The complete La Jolla 2005 season will include the world premieres of the Lee Blessing's The Scottish Play, the musicals Palm Beach and The Essential Alice, the return of I Am My Own Wife, and a new adaptation of Moliere's The Miser. La Jolla Playhouse is located on the corner of La Jolla Village Drive and Torrey Pines Road in La Jolla, CA. For more information on the company, visit www.lajollaplayhouse.com.