Bathtubs Over Broadway

Screens:
Saturday, February 23 – 2:15 pm
Sunday, February 24 – 8:00 pm – festival closer

Uptown Theatre, 55 Dunlop St. W., Barrie

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Co-written and directed by: Dava Whisenant
With: David Letterman, Florence Henderson, Jello Biafra, Martin Short and Chita Rivera
Comedy/Documentary, PG for brief language, 87 minutes (USA)

“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

 

“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

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 theater, but these recordings delighted him in a way that nothing ever had. 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.

Awards: 10 Wins, 10 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

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