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. 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. 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. '' == Shows ==