[music: “Impossible/It’s Possible” from Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella, live from Cahn Auditorium]
YT: This weekend is the last chance to see Northwestern’s 82nd annual Dolphin Show, the largest student-produced musical in America. This year, they’re performing “Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella” – a classic story with a modern twist.
RACHEL RUBIN: I just love this version of Cinderella especially because it’s really hopeful, and it’s a story ultimately about, like, what happens when we believe in the impossible, and we be brave, and make bold choices, and the transformation that can occur when we do that. And also, this version is about making the world a better place, and contributing kindness and hope to your community, and I don’t know, it just has a lot of wonderful messaging that I feel like the world and the school could really use right now.
YT: That was Rachel Rubin, a senior theatre major and the director of this year’s Dolphin Show. While this version of “Cinderella” has a lot of important messaging, the script only tells half of that story. Here’s senior theatre major Sofi Pascua, Dolphin’s very own Cinderella – or in this case, Ella.
SOFI PASCUA: Something that I didn’t see growing up was, like, princesses that looked like me. It really hit me when I was doing the library meet-and-greet with all the kids that like, you know, Evanston is a diverse community and, you know, the little girls with, like, darker skin and darker hair are gonna see someone on stage, like, portraying a princess that actually looks like them. Which, you know, when I was growing up, like, we didn’t get that for a while. Like, Pocahontas and Jasmine were all that I had for–for a lot of years. It’s gonna be a really heartwarming moment hopefully for, like, not even the kids who are seeing it, but also, you know, the parents, like the older people who didn’t grow up with that, hopefully, like, they’re getting some, like, the same amount of joy from it as the children too.
[“In My Own Little Corner (Reprise)” from “Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella,” live from Cahn Auditorium]
YT: With a six-figure budget, Dolphin’s designers are able to make magic come to life. Here’s third-year RTVF major Paris Bozzuti, Cinderella’s sound designer.
PARIS BOZZUTI: I think what is really, really fun about doing sound on this show, even though I’m not mixing it… just getting to be around for setting up all the sound and dealing with all the equipment, it’s equipment on, like, a level that I probably never would have interacted with in my life. And I’m getting to use, you know, ethernet and all of these, like, professional things that you don’t get typically as a student. So, getting access to being able to use those and learning, you know, how they work and taking that experience, I think is something that if I wanted to go do sound professionally somewhere, like, this would be a level that I wouldn’t be able to get maybe in other places.
Particularly for Cinderella, because it’s so magical and fantastical and there’s gonna be so many kids watching it, it was really fun to, like, put together sounds that were using, like, these kinds of cartoonish things and not realistic sounds, so there’s things in here that have, like, the sounds of, like, balloons blowing up, and, like, drums and, like, bottles popping and kind of things that are all meshed together to make… kind of a, just like, a more cartoonish fun soundscape for people to listen to, and to make sure that any of the action moments aren’t really scary for kids too.
YT: (laughs) Yeah, true.
[“The Prince Is Giving a Ball” from “Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella,” live from Cahn Auditorium]
YT: To a lot of people in the Northwestern theatre community, the Dolphin Show isn’t just a show – it’s a four-year family.
YT: To me, as somebody who’s never worked on Dolphin, you’re kind of, like, the face of Dolphin at this point. How does it feel to be graduating and, like, leaving it behind?
RACHEL OLKIN: It’s really exciting and really terrifying. A lot of– I mean, a lot of what I think I’ve spent this year doing is trying to set other people in the organization who are, you know, freshmen, sophomores, juniors, up for success in future years, because I’m really excited that I get to graduate and move on and do other things. And I’m, you know, I’m happy with all the work that I’ve done for this, but, you know, I know everyone will be fine without me, but I also want to make sure that everyone has what they need to be successful. Because yeah, I do, I feel like I’ve sort of taken the organization, like a lot of the people under my, under my wing. It’s weird. It’s really, it’s really weird. And I have been thinking about that a lot, where I’m like, “Oh, the show is gonna be over in two-and-a-half weeks, and then who will I be, as I have been working on Dolphin since October of my freshman year?”
YT: (laughs) Well yes.
RACHEL OLKIN: And I’ve seen it through the good and the bad, and I– every year it’s gotten better. Like in terms of people’s, you know, mental health, in terms of our ability to…just sort of, like, work together and collaborate as people, and I think part of that also is like coming out of COVID, everyone was kind of like, “How do I be in a room with people again?” But I really just hope that it only continues to get better.
YT: That was senior theatre major Rachel Olkin, second-time co-producer of the Dolphin Show.
[“Your Majesty” from “Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella,” live from Cahn Auditorium]
YT: Even though it’s in Cahn Auditorium, the Dolphin Show isn’t only for Wildcats to enjoy. Here’s director and senior theatre major Rachel Rubin with who she wants to see in Cahn this weekend.
RACHEL RUBIN: I think that’s what’s so special about the Dolphin Show, is that it’s not– it is for the Northwestern community, but it’s not just for the Northwestern community. It really does reach the larger Evanston community, so yeah, I’m excited to see a blend of people from different communities.
It’s gonna be so much fun. It’s a lot of magic, a lot of whimsy, maybe some puppets, oh? Some beautiful ballgowns and ballroom dancing. I mean, what’s not to love?
[music fade in]
YT: “Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella” has three more shows at Cahn Auditorium this weekend. Run to see it before the clock strikes midnight – and be sure to hold onto your glass slippers.
For WNUR News, I’m Yumi Tallud.
[“The Prince Is Giving a Ball” from “Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella,” live from Cahn Auditorium]
