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Northwestern University’s 70th Annual Dolphin Show to be 42nd STREET

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Northwestern University's Dolphin Show, America's largest student-produced musical, is proud to announce its 70th annual production, 42nd Street with music by Harry Warren, lyrics by Al Dublin, and book by Mark Bramble and Michael Stewart. This year's show, to be produced by School of Communication students Lucas McMahon and Jeremy Shpizner and directed by rising Communication senior Emily Maltby, will open on January 20, 2012 in Cahn Auditorium on Northwestern's Evanston campus.

"This year marks our 70th anniversary, so we were looking for show with a sense of celebration and the possibility of surprising and delighting our audience in a new way," said Maltby. "42ndStreet requires that every person involved, be they a performer, a designer, or a member of the business team, brings all of their talents and imagination to create that special theatre magic that can only be found in a show like this."

42nd Street is the story of Peggy Sawyer, an aspiring actress trying to make it during the Great Depression, who lands a role in the ensemble of Broadway's next sensation directed by living legend Julian Marsh. At its core, it is the celebration of the pursuit of a dream, the story of the underdog who finds her way into the spotlight. This tap dancing Tony-award winning musical boasts some of the most spectacular and iconic musical numbers in Broadway history with a score by Hollywood legends Warren and Dublin.

Boasting professional production values, impressive fundraising campaigns, a team of over one hundred and forty passionate students, and an incalculable number of man-hours, The Dolphin Show is truly epic in scale. From its humble roots in a swimming pool in 1940 as a fundraiser for the Dolphin Club to its status as the nation's largest student-produced musical now housed in Northwestern's Cahn Auditorium, The Dolphin Show has been a Northwestern tradition enjoyed by thousands over the past seventy years.

As this Northwestern tradition celebrates its seventh decade as a campus fixture, The Dolphin Show looks forward to expanding outreach and programming in the greater Chicagoland community in addition to mounting this spectacular and exciting theatrical event of professional caliber. This year's Dolphin Show is committed to creating partnerships with communities both on campus and off to share this musical celebration with as many people as possible.

Please visit www.NUDolphinShow.org for more information.

Theater Fans' Choice Awards
2026 Theater Fans' Choice Awards - Live Stats
Best Direction of a Play - Top 3
1. Joe Mantello - Death of a Salesman
19.7% of votes
2. Duncan MacMillan, Jeremy Herrin - Every Brilliant Thing
17.4% of votes
3. Whitney White - Liberation
9.8% of votes

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