The Dolphin Show is a non-profit student theatre organization that annually presents a large-scale student-produced musical theatre production at Northwestern University.
The Dolphin Show is a non-profit student theatre organization that annually presents a large-scale student-produced musical theatre production at Northwestern University.
A group of Northwestern University men formed the Dolphin Club in 1939 to compete in Chicago area swimming meets. In 1940, the 15-member team held a swim carnival to raise money to attend a meet in Florida. The carnival and the meet were both successful, so the water show was repeated in 1941 and 1942. When World War II forced the cancellation of the annual Waa-Mu Show, the club combined their tradition with some students from Waa-Mu to present an evening of song and dance called the Dolphin Show. The 1944 Dolphin Show was a musical revue called "Wela Kahau" including women's water ballet and the men's Dolphin Club. Proceeds from this show bought war bonds. In 1948 audiences returned to see a musical-comedy revue around the original Patten Gymnasium pool. The Dolphin Show became jointly produced by the female Lorelei swimming club in 1949, but drifted away from its aquatic origin. [1] The Dolphin Executive Board gave equal representation to both clubs who chose a theme for each year's show. In 1963 the production was no longer raising funds for the swim clubs. In 1964 the show presented Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado around the pool. In 1970, the group performed the musical Mame on stage at Cahn Auditorium. [2]
Alumni include actors David Schwimmer, Warren Beatty, Richard Kind, lyricist Sheldon Harnick, musical director Keith Dworkin, singer Ardis Krainik and Kate Shindle who was Miss America 1998. [1] [2] [3]
The productions have been awarded Northwestern University's Center for Student Involvement's "Outstanding Theatrical Production", "Outstanding Producers", and "Outstanding Director" awards, as well as William Daniels Awards, including "Best Musical." [4]
| Year | Show | Directors | Producers | Music Directors | Choreographer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Kinky Boots the Musical | Alexa Goldstein | Daniel Maton Ryan Nguyen Rachel Olkin | Otto Vogel | Lily Nevo |
| 2023 | Matilda the Musical | Lucy Harrington | Arella Flur Daniel Maton Rachel Schmaier | Kevin Park | Kristen Waagner |
| 2022 | Merrily We Roll Along | Nora Geffen | Owen Kiley Simran Deokule | Cameron Miya Shraman Ghosh | Sammi Tapper |
| 2021 | Pippin | Mary Tomei | Paia Amelio Emma Flanders Rachel Khutorsky | Ezri Killeen Lorenzo Pipino | Sammi Tapper |
| 2019 | Hello, Dolly! | Isabel Perry | Casey Watson Andrew Harlan Austin Manross | Joe Badion Louis Danowsky | Tucker DeGregrory |
| 2018 | Ragtime | Michael Herwitz | Michael Kelleher Prateek Singh | Noah Landis Bryan Eng | Tucker DeGregrory |
| 2017 | Little Shop of Horrors | Maggie Monahan | Bailey Sutton Janie Dickerson | Landon Hegedus Matthew Burgess | Lauryn Schmelzer |
| 2016 | Gypsy | Aaron Simon Gross | Brandon Nadig Alex Wolfe | Jonathan Bauerfeld Geoffrey Ko | Rosie Jo Neddy |
| 2015 | Titanic | Brendan Flynn | Jack Eidson Isabel Garcia | Jason Shuian Andrea Swanson | |
| 2014 | Shrek the Musical | Marlee Rich | Rachel Marchant Brandon Johnston | Ellen Morris Adam Rothenberg | |
| 2013 | My Fair Lady | Tristan Powell | Louis Schermerhorn Rachel Birnbaum | Ellen Morris Kevin Scott | |
| 2012 | 42nd Street | Emily Maltby | Jeremey Shpizner Lucas McMahon | Patrick Sulken | |
| 2011 | Ragtime | Michael Holtzman | Julie Boor Lucas McMahon | Liz Doran Patrick Sulken | |
| 2010 | Parade | Scott G. Weinstein | Zachary Baer Tom Casserly Jamie Lynn White | Ian Weinberger | |
| 2009 | The Wizard of Oz | Katie Spelman | Zachary Baer Tracy MacKenzie Kyly Zakheim | Will Curry Liz Doran | |
| 2008 | Carousel | Tyler G. Beattie | Brittney Anne Bahlman Deanna Hope | Eugenio Vargas | |
| 2007 | Into the Woods | Travis Greisler | Dave Leuchter Evyn Williams | Joel Esher | |
| 2006 | On the Town | Josh Penzell | Abra Chusid Whitney Frick | Keith Dworkin | |
| 2005 | How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying | Evan Brody | Abby Wolbe Rachael Scholten | ||
| 2004 | Gypsy: A Musical Fable | Sloan Gordon Grenz | Danna Ginsberg Dana Oppenheim | ||
| 2003 | Evita | Jonathan Saylors | Chris Plevin Amy Ludwigsen | Cory Hills Daniel Singer | |
| 2002 | Damn Yankees | Jessica Redish | Megan Felsburg Geeta Kharker | Greg Brown | |
| 2001 | The Secret Garden | Matthew Trombetta | Kate Webster Karyn Meltz | ||
| 2000 | Kiss of the Spider Woman | Mikie Garver | Claire Yoon and Kim Kelly | ||
| 1999 | Guys and Dolls | ||||
| 1998 | Sweeney Todd |
James Paul Montgomery is an American former competition swimmer, four-time Olympic medalist, and former world record-holder. Montgomery was the first man to break the 50-second barrier (49.99) in the 100-meter freestyle, at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, where he won three gold medals and one bronze.
Andrew Lippa is an American composer, lyricist, book writer, performer, and producer. He is a resident artist at the Ars Nova Theater in New York City.
North Central College is a private college in Naperville, Illinois. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church and has 73 undergraduate majors of study, 17 minors, 25 graduate programs, and 4 certificate programs offered by four undergraduate colleges/schools and one School of Graduate and Professional Studies.
Beloit Memorial High School is a public, four-year comprehensive high school in Beloit, Wisconsin.
Jeremy Porter Linn is an American former competition swimmer, Olympic medalist, world record-holder and current swim coach. Linn set an American record in the 100-meter breaststroke while winning the silver medal in that event at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, in a time of 1:00.77. With a burst of speed in the final stretch, he finished just .12 seconds behind the gold medal winner from Belgium who had previously set the World Record.
André Robin De Shields is an American actor, singer, dancer, director, and choreographer. He has received numerous accolades including an Emmy Award, Grammy Award, and Tony Award.
Scotch'n'Soda is a student-run theatre organization that resides on the campus of Carnegie Mellon University. Its initial dedication was the creation and production of original musicals, but has now taken to performing both professionally published and student-written materials. Students are welcome to write, compose, design, direct, perform in, and otherwise become involved with every aspect of each production. The organization is open to all Carnegie Mellon students from all backgrounds who are interested, and all performances are public with varying ticket prices.
The Northwestern University Virginia Wadsworth Wirtz Center for the Performing Arts exists as a for-profit operational and administrative body in association with the Northwestern University School of Communication with the specific charge of producing, managing, funding and administering the performing arts productions of the School of Communication, Department of Theatre and Department of Performance Studies, including programmatic responsibility for theatre, music theatre and dance. The Theatre and Interpretation Center was built in 1980, and renamed in 2015 to the Virginia Wadsworth Wirtz Center for the Performing Arts. The building contains a 450-seat thrust stage theater, a 350-seat proscenium theater, two smaller black box theaters, a dance performance space, full theatrical production facilities, and offices for the center. Its plain white exterior walls and boxy, utilitarian shape stand in stark contrast to the nearby University Library, and earned it the nickname "The Box The Library Came In" among Northwestern students.
Sheldon Arthur Patinkin was a chair of the Theater Department of Columbia College Chicago, artistic director of the Getz Theater of Columbia College, Artistic Consultant of The Second City and of Steppenwolf Theatre and co-director of the Steppenwolf Theatre Summer Ensemble Workshops.
William Albert "Bill" Yorzyk Jr. was an American competition swimmer, Olympic champion, and one-time world record-holder.
The Joseph Jefferson Award, more commonly known informally as the Jeff Award, is given for theatre arts produced in the Chicago area. Founded in 1968, the awards are named in tribute to actor Joseph Jefferson, a 19th-century American theater star who, as a child, was a player in Chicago's first theater company. Two types of awards are given: "Equity" for work done under an Actors' Equity Association contract, and "Non-Equity" for non-union work. Award recipients are determined by a secret ballot.
Albert L. Schwartz was an American attorney who practiced in California and a competition swimmer who represented the United States at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California. Schwartz received a bronze medal for his performance in the men's 100-meter freestyle, finishing third in a time of 58.8 seconds in the event final. His win came after the reign of actor Johnny Weissmuller as Olympic swimming freestyle sprinting champion, after Weissmuller accepted a Hollywood movie contract.
Boca Raton Community High School is a magnet school that is part of the School District of Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The high school has been rated an "A" school each consecutive year by the Florida Department of Education since 2005 and was ranked 62nd on the list of America's Best High Schools by Newsweek in 2010.
Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water. Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic sports, with varied distance events in butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, freestyle, and individual medley. In addition to these individual events, four swimmers can take part in either a freestyle or medley relay. A medley relay consists of four swimmers who will each swim a different stroke, ordered as backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly and freestyle.
Larry Grossman is an American composer for theatre, television, film, concerts, and cabaret.
William Tripp Woolsey was an American competition swimmer for McKinley High School and Indiana University, who captured an Olympic gold medal in Helsinki in 1952, and a silver medal in Melbourne in 1956.
Brownbrokers is a student-run theater group at Brown University. Together with Brown's Theatre Arts and Performance Studies faculty, Brownbrokers develops and produces a full-length, student-written musical every other year. Founded in 1935, it is one of the oldest undergraduate producing bodies devoted to new student-written musical theatre, both comedic and dramatic, in the United States. The group is run by The Brownbrokers Board, an organization of self-elected students from the Brown student body. In addition to the biennial full-scale production, Brownbrokers produces smaller events such as the annual miniMUSICAL Festival and staged readings of the musicals in consideration for production the following year.
Richard Tsugio Tanabe Jr., is a former American competition swimmer, teacher, and swim coach, who represented the United States at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. A native Hawaiian, he taught and coached at the Kamehameha Schools outside Honolulu for over thirty years.
The Waa-Mu Show; wah-mew; is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization within Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, that produces student written, orchestrated, produced, and performed original musical theatre work every year. The song lyrics, script, and music are developed in a series of classes. It is the institution's longest standing theatrical tradition and is held in Cahn Auditorium on Northwestern's campus. This tradition began as a musical revue, showcasing several different student-written Northwestern-inspired vignettes connected by one single theme. By 2013, the Waa-Mu show evolved into an original full-length musical.
Nude swimming in US indoor pools was common for men and boys from the late 1880s until the early 1970s, but rare for women and girls. For much of that time period, indoor pool use was primarily for physical education or athletic competition, not recreation. Male nude swimming had been customary in natural bodies of water, which was not viewed as a social problem until the 18th century. When the tradition of skinny-dipping in secluded spots had become more visible with urbanization, indoor pools were first built in the 19th century in part to address this issue by moving male swimming indoors. For the first decades of the 20th century, male nude swimming was associated with a trope of the "old swimming hole" as representing childhood innocence and adult masculinity. In their own classes, nudity was rare for girls based upon an assumption of modesty, but might include young children. Prepubescent boys might be nude in mixed-gender settings, including the presence of female staff, public competitions, and open houses for families.