Bathtubs Over Broadway (Steve Young, David Letterman, Chita Rivera, Florence Henderson, Martin Short) – How often do you get to cackle at a documentary? Steve Young wrote jokes for David Letterman as one of the staff writers for The Late Show. An odd duck, Young was the writer behind some of Letterman’s most far-out gags. By all accounts, he was the most enigmatic of the writers. He just saw comedy and, presumably, life differently than most humans … and most comedy writers.
One of the regular Letterman bits that he helmed, Dave’s Record Collection, involved finding seemingly stupid songs and albums. For example, he unearthed the 1968 William Shatner album, The Transformed Man, that included a version of Mr. Tambourine Man (go ahead, Google it).
Little did he know that this assignment would lead him to a lifelong obsession. Looking for nutty songs and albums led him to unearth a form of musical theater that few people ever heard of: the “Industrial” musical. Unbeknownst to most of us, many of the nation’s largest corporations commissioned corporate musicals for use at their major sales meetings or celebrations. With budgets that often dwarfed Broadway shows, these musicals served as a breeding ground for young talent and as moonlighting assignments for both established and budding songwriters.
Occasionally, these extravaganzas were filmed and/or recorded. Some were turned into albums that were sent to the executives or sales team after the events to mark the occasion. Most ended up in the scrap heap, long archived corporate records, or in the basements or attics of participants across the country. Young made it his life’s mission to find the recordings, videos/films, and the people who performed in them.
Bathtubs Over Broadway takes its name from a musical called The Bathrooms Are Coming, a musical written for salesmen (yes, all/almost all were men) of bathroom fixtures like toilets, faucets, and tubs/showers. Its big ballad was a song called My Bathroom with lyrics that began “My bathroom, my bathroom is a private kind of place. Very special kind of place.” Go ahead, Google it.
Bathtubs Over Broadway is the chronicle of his 25-year adventure. It features interviews with stars like Chita Rivera, Florence Henderson, Susan Stroman and Martin Short, all of whom appeared in these shows on their way up. His old boss, Dave Letterman, who served as an executive producer of this documentary, also makes an appearance.
There were hundreds of these musicals. They are a remnant of a bygone era after World War II when corporate America saw almost boundless growth. From the 1950s through the ‘70s, these shows often featured original music focused on the profits of their corporate sponsors: Coke, J.C. Penney, John Deere, Ford, American Standard (the bathroom people), State Farm, and more. Some shows just used newly minted, company-related lyrics to well-known songs.
In the film, we meet some of the songwriters who made these musicals. Some of them also wrote Broadway shows like Fiddler on the Roof and Cabaret but most toiled in the anonymity of the Brill Building or commercials. The money was good and the work steady. We also meet a couple of the stars of the shows, most of whom never played Broadway but squeaked out a living on the industrial stage and at auto shows.
What fun! Bathrooms Over Broadway is a slick production by documentary standards with a slam-bang ending and enough raw footage to keep you interested and entertained for 87 minutes. Look for it in your local art-house or film festival.