The 69th annual Dolphin Show will be “Ragtime,” the show’s executive producers said.

The musical, written by Terrence McNally, Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, is based on the E.L. Doctorow novel of the same name and tells the story of three people from different walks of life at the turn of the 20th century in New York.

The show’s executive producers, Communication junior Julie Boor and Communication sophomore Lucas McMahon, said they selected “Ragtime” after about two weeks of reading scripts with the musical’s director, Michael Holtzman.

“We’ve read almost every musical you can think of,” McMahon said. “At the end of the day, this show really spoke to us as something that is going to get a passionate reaction from this campus.”

Holtzman, a Communication junior, said the show would speak to an array of people in that it is about “creating the idea of what our country would stand for.”

“Ragtime” calls for an ethnically diverse cast, which Holtzman said he will build by raising awareness of the show with a wide pool of students.

“I just know that if we reach out, people will be excited about this show,” he said.

Boor said she hoped to include people from across campus and the outside community in the “Dolphin experience” through outreach events and initiatives leading up to the show.

In the history of the Dolphin Show, which originated as a showcase of swimming and musical talents, only “Evita” and “Gypsy” have been performed more than once.

“Since Dolphin moved from the pool and into Cahn, there’s actually not been that much repeating of shows,” Boor said.

The producers said as far as they could tell from their research, this will be the first performance of “Ragtime” at NU.

The musical will be cast during Northwestern Student Theatre Coalition’s audition process in October and will open Jan. 21.

“We’re looking for a story and project that people will get excited about on campus,” Boor said. “This is a big undertaking, and we’re so excited to get started.”

– Ali Elkin