Bathtubs Over Broadway is 2019 documentary about a Late Night comedy writer who stumbles upon a hilarious, hidden world of entertainment and finds an unexpected connection to his fellow man.
If you’re any kind of fan of the old Mystery Science Theater 3000, you no doubt already know what corporate musicals are, the show riffing on many short films not made for consumers but salespeople to show off new products. They are goofy and absurd and endlessly curious works of art never meant to be seen or heard beyond sales meetings and conventions. How strange. And that’s right where director Dava Whisenant plops us in his latest documentary Bathtubs Over Broadway, a look beyond the curtain if you will of what these shows were about and a man absolutely obsessed with finding, preserving, and collecting more.
His name is Steve Young, and while you might not know his name, if you watched The Late Show with David Letterman, you saw his work. He served as a longtime comedy writer on the show and we learn that over the years as he searched for material for a bit about Dave’s Record Collection, he came upon these odd recording tucked away in small boxes in the back of record stores. These were records of people singing about products, from Citgo to Lipton to McDonald’s to tractors, insurance, travel and more. Anything corporate was in on the fun, producing huge musical stage shows and ‘commercials’ for their eyes only. He was immediately hooked.
And he wasn’t alone. Turns out quite a few collectors were also interested, and Young became part of a small group of people looking to find and preserve these pressings. What Young discovered though was that these recordings and videos weren’t some thrown-together bits made on a dime but extravagantly made productions written and performed by some of the most renowned in the entertainment business. And they were making a lot of money.
Young tracks down some of the players in this old game, from Florence Henderson and Chita Rivera to Martin Short and Sheldon Harnick and more. They tell of their time making these lengthy sales pitches and the fun it was in doing so, even though their fan base would never seen them, knowing that a steady paycheck was better than nothing. With big money behind these shows, they grew to enormous sizes with entire stage productions made about selling Xerox machines or making Ford automobiles and lots, lots more. And with talent like John Kander and Fred Ebb – artists behind such hits as Cabaret and Chicago – creating these things, it’s easy to see why they deserve a closer look.
Bathtubs Over Broadway isn’t cynical about it though, Young a genuine lover of the musicals, never making fun or downplaying this strangely mysterious chapter in corporate trade, only looking to find out more and making sure it gets some light. He’s great fun to listen to and watch as he uncovers more and more secrets behind this fascinating lost world of advertising. An absolute must see.
Bathtubs Over Broadway is now streaming on Netflix.