“A sweet and endearing film, a fun celebration of an extremely narrow subculture, and a rare example these days of obsessed fandom being wielded for good and not for bad (Broad Street Review)” – Stephen Silver, Splice Today
“By presenting the gleeful idiosyncrasy of these artists' flamboyantly poetic renderings of arch-prosaic subjects, Young and Whisenant confront colossal matters of aesthetic theory with a sly wink.” – Richard Brody, New Yorker
“Anyone who loves musical theater owes it to themselves to see "Bathtubs Over Broadway," a delightful deep-dive documentary into one man's obsession with the obscure world of industrial musicals...” – Peter Debruge, Variety
When he started as a comedy writer for the LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN, Steve Young had few interests outside of his day job. But while gathering material for a segment on the show, Steve stumbled onto a few vintage record albums that would change his life forever. Bizarre cast recordings - marked “internal use only” - revealed full-throated Broadway-style musical shows about some of the most recognizable corporations in America: General Electric, McDonald’s, Ford, DuPont, Xerox. Steve didn’t know much about musical theatre, but these recordings delighted him in a way that nothing ever had. BATHTUBS OVER BROADWAY follows Steve Young on his quest to find all he can about this hidden world. While tracking down rare albums, unseen footage, composers and performers, Steve forms unlikely friendships and discovers that this discarded musical genre starring tractors and bathtubs was bigger than Broadway. With David Letterman, Chita Rivera, Martin Short, Florence Henderson, Susan Stroman, Jello Biafra and more.
Awards: 8 Wins, 9 Nominations:
Winner, SummerDocs Audience Award, Hamptons International Film Festival, 2018
Winner, Humour & Humanity Award, Heartland International Film Festival, 2018
Winner, Audience Award, Nantucket Film Festival, 2018
Nominee, Top 20 Audience Favourites, Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, 2018
Winner, Albert Maysles New Documentary Director Award, Tribeca Film Festival, 2018
Winner, Most Popular International Documentary Film, Vancouver International Film Festival, 2018
Winner, Exuberance in Documentary Filmmaking, Traverse City Film Festival, 2018
Winner, Honorable Mention, Gibson Music Films/Music City Corporation, Nashville Film Festival, 2018
Winner, Audience Choice Award, Sidewalk Film Festival, Birmingham, Alabama, 2018
Nominated, Audience Award/Outstanding Achievement in Graphic Design or Animation, Cinema Eye Honours Awards, US, 2019