Hear that sound? That was the record-shattering cha-ching from $61,000 in gross ticket sales of Matilda the Musical over five performances at Cahn Auditorium, the most in the 80 years of the Dolphin Show at Northwestern University.
This year’s show broke the sales record previously held by the 2014 production of Shrek the Musical by more than $11,000.
Since Shrek was also a family-friendly production, does that mean Dolphin will shift its focus to that type of show in the future? Previous shows have included Gypsy (four times), Guys and Dolls (three times) and Anything Goes (twice).
Rachel Schmaier, community producer for Dolphin, said in an email that, “Regardless of the title next year’s team produces, we are looking at ways that our future programming can continue to engage and build on this family audience.”
The Dolphin Show, a nonprofit student theatre organization that traces its roots back to 1939, is known for its annual production of the largest student-produced musical in the country. More than 150 students work together to do everything necessary to get the show off the page and onto the stage.
This year’s team, directed by Lucy Harrington, was especially effective. The 1,000-seat Cahn Auditorium sold out the final night of the show.
In a statement, Schmaier and her co-producers, Arella Flur and Daniel Maton, said, “It was a huge triumph to mount this production and its success is attributed to every single person on and off the stage.”