Bathtubs Over Broadway
Bathtubs Over Broadway is a 2018 American documentary film directed by Dava Whisenant. Comedy writer Steve Young’s assignment to scour bargain-bin vinyl for a late-night segment becomes an unexpected, decades-spanning obsession when he stumbles upon the strange and hilarious world of industrial musicals. The film premiered at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival and was released on November 30, 2018 by Focus World.[1]
Bathtubs Over Broadway | |
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Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Dava Whisenant |
Produced by | Dava Whisenant Susan Littenberg Amanda Spain |
Written by | Ozzy Inguanzo Dava Whisenant |
Starring | Steve Young |
Music by | Anthony DiLorenzo |
Cinematography | Nick Higgins Natalie Kingston |
Edited by | Dava Whisenant |
Production companies | Cactus Flower Films Blumhouse Productions Impact Partners |
Distributed by | Focus World (USA) (theatrical) Netflix (USA) (TV) |
Release date |
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Running time | 87 minutes |
Country | USA |
Language | English |
Synopsis
Steve Young is a comedy writer working for the Late Show with David Letterman. In 1993, his assignment to scour comedy vinyl records for a late-night segment leads him to an industrial musical produced by General Electric. Over the next two decades, Steve collects rare and unreleased recordings of industrial musicals, traveling across the country to meet and trade with other record collectors. Steve also tracks down the surviving composers and stars of many musical productions in order to map out the timespan of what he considers to be the strangest entertainment industry in America, from its rise in the 1950s to its eventual decline by the late-1980s.
Credits
- David Letterman
- Martin Short
- Chita Rivera
- Susan Stroman
- Florence Henderson
- Sheldon Harnick
- Jello Biafra
- Steve Young
- Don Bolles
- Melody Rogers
- Willi Burke
- Peter Shawn
- Sandi Freeman
- Patt Stanton Gjonola
- Hank Beebe
- Sid Siegel
Reception
Bathtubs Over Broadway has received acclaim from critics and audiences on the festival circuit, earning multiple awards.[2][3][4][5] The film was included in Robert DeNiro's top 6 picks for the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival.[6]
Festival Premiere
Bathtubs Over Broadway premiered on April 21, 2018 at the BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center as part of the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival. The film's director, Dava Whisenant, won Tribeca's Albert Maysles Award for Best New Documentary Director.
Tribeca Jury: “The winner of the Best New Documentary Director goes to a film that we chose for many reasons. The story, the specific subject, the journey into a world we never knew existed. This film also has an element every great film, doc, and story needs...heart.”[7]
Described as "the most feel-good film event of the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival," the premiere featured post-screening live performances, including a duet about motion-activated faucets that reunited the stars of American Standard's cult favorite industrial show The Bathrooms Are Coming! [8][9]
Accolades
Film Festival / Organization | Award | Recipient(s) | Result |
---|---|---|---|
Tribeca Film Festival[10] | Albert Maysles Award for Best New Documentary Director | Dava Whisenant | Won |
Vancouver International Film Festival[11] | Most Popular International Documentary | Bathtubs Over Broadway | Won |
Nantucket Film Festival[12] | Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature | Bathtubs Over Broadway | Won |
Hamptons Film Festival Summer Doc Series[13] | Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature | Bathtubs Over Broadway | Won |
Naples International Film Festival | Jury Award: Best Documentary Feature | Bathtubs Over Broadway | Won |
Sidewalk Film Festival[14] | Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature | Bathtubs Over Broadway | Won |
HotDocs[15] | Top 10 Audience Favourite (#6) | Bathtubs Over Broadway | Won |
Heartland Film Festival[16] | Humor and Humanity Award | Bathtubs Over Broadway | Won |
Traverse City Film Festival[17] | Special Award for Exuberance in Documentary Filmmaking | Bathtubs Over Broadway | Won |
Nashville Film Festival[18] | Special Jury Prize for Creative Obsession | Bathtubs Over Broadway | Won |
Alamo Drafthouse Lost Weekend X[19] | Best Documentary | Bathtubs Over Broadway | Won |
Alamo Drafthouse Lost Weekend X[20] | Audience Favorite | Bathtubs Over Broadway | Won |
Teaneck International Film Festival[21] | Audience Award: Best Documentary | Bathtubs Over Broadway | Won |
Cinema Eye Honors[22] | Audience Choice Prize | Bathtubs Over Broadway | Nominated |
Cinema Eye Honors[23] | Outstanding Achievement in Graphic Design or Animation | Syd Garon, Anton Goddard, Chris Kirk | Nominated |
IDA Documentary Awards[24] | Best Music Documentary | Bathtubs Over Broadway | Nominated |
IDA Documentary Awards[25] | Best Score | Anthony Di Lorenzo | Nominated |
AARP Movies for Grownups Awards[26] | Best Documentary | Bathtubs Over Broadway | Nominated |
Philadelphia Film Festival[27] | Student Choice Award | Bathtubs Over Broadway | Nominated |
Palm Springs International Film Festival[28] | John Schlesinger Award | Bathtubs Over Broadway | Honorable Mention |
Fargo Film Festival[29] | Best Documentary Feature | Bathtubs Over Broadway | Won |
Writers Guild of America Awards[30] | Best Documentary Screenplay | Ozzy Inguanzo & Dava Whisenant | Won |
Rotterdam International Film Festival[31] | Audience Award | Bathtubs Over Broadway | 2nd Place |
Sedona Film Festival[32] | Best of Fest Award | Bathtubs Over Broadway | Won |
Chita Rivera Awards[33] | Outstanding Documentary | Bathtubs Over Broadway | Nominated |
ACE Eddie Awards[34] | Best Edited Documentary (Non-Theatrical) | Bathtubs Over Broadway | Nominated |
Film Threat's AWARD THIS![35] | Best Pop Culture Documentary | Bathtubs Over Broadway | Won |
Music
Soundtrack
The digital version of the soundtrack for Bathtubs Over Broadway was released by Back Lot Music on August 16, 2019. It was produced by Ozzy Inguanzo and Dava Whisenant, and features a collection of "rare, original cast recordings from the golden age of industrial musicals, as depicted throughout the film. Many of these vintage tracks have never been made commercially available and have been restored from their original vinyl recordings."[36] Among the now-famous Broadway talent included on the album are Fiddler on the Roof songwriters and Tony Award winners Sheldon Harnick and Jerry Bock as well as Tony Award-winning actor Hal Linden. The soundtrack also includes an original score by Anthony DiLorenzo as well as original songs with lyrics by Steve Young, the main subject of the film. A vinyl configuration of the soundtrack is planned for a Fall 2019 release.[37]
References
- "Focus Features' Bathtubs Over Broadway Gets Release Date". Focus Features. Retrieved 2018-11-20.
- "Bathtubs Over Broadway, Documentary About Industrial Musicals, Wins Albert Maysles Award at Tribeca Film Fest | Playbill". Playbill. 2018-04-27. Retrieved 2018-10-05.
- "Review: 'Bathtubs Over Broadway' – Point of View Magazine". povmagazine.com. Retrieved 2018-10-05.
- "Tribeca 2018 Dispatch: Showbiz Documentaries". ScreenAnarchy. 2018-04-27. Retrieved 2018-10-05.
- "The Best and Worst Documentaries of the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival". Flavorwire. 2018-04-30. Retrieved 2018-10-05.
- "Robert De Niro's Top Picks for the Tribeca Film Festival". Retrieved 2018-09-30.
- "Bathtubs Over Broadway, Documentary About Industrial Musicals, Wins Albert Maysles Award at Tribeca Film Fest | Playbill". Playbill. 2018-04-27. Retrieved 2018-10-05.
- "'Bathtubs Over Broadway' Brings Joy and a Hospital Gurney to the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival (Watch) - The Culture Files". www.theculturefiles.com. 2018-04-26. Retrieved 2018-10-05.
- Passy, Charles (April 18, 2018). "New at This Year's Tribeca Film Festival: A Piece of Live Theater". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
- "Bathtubs Over Broadway, Documentary About Industrial Musicals, Wins Albert Maysles Award at Tribeca Film Fest | Playbill". Playbill. 2018-04-27. Retrieved 2018-10-05.
- "Bathtubs Over Broadway at the Vancouver International Film Festival". viff.org. Retrieved 2018-10-23.
- Littleton, Cynthia (2018-06-25). "'Burden,' 'Bathtubs Over Broadway' Take Top Honors at Nantucket Film Festival". Variety. Retrieved 2018-10-02.
- "Hamptons International Film Festival: BATHTUBS OVER BROADWAY + Short - Southampton Arts Center". Southampton Arts Center. Retrieved 2018-10-05.
- "2018 Sidewalk Film Festival Awards | Sidewalk Film Center & Cinema". Sidewalk Film Center & Cinema. Retrieved 2018-10-05.
- Sumi, Glenn (2018-04-23). "Hot Docs review: Bathtubs Over Broadway". NOW Magazine. Retrieved 2018-10-05.
- "Heartland International Film Festival Announces 2018 Jury Winners and Awards, Bestows More Than $80,000 in Cash Prizes - Heartland Film". Heartland Film. 2018-10-21. Retrieved 2018-10-23.
- "2018 TCFF Award Winners - Traverse City Film Festival". Traverse City Film Festival. 2018-08-05. Retrieved 2018-10-05.
- "Feature Award Winners - Nashville Film Festival". Nashville Film Festival. Retrieved 2018-10-05.
- Cinema, Alamo Drafthouse, BATHTUBS OVER BROADWAY | Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, retrieved 2019-03-03
- Cinema, Alamo Drafthouse, BATHTUBS OVER BROADWAY | Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, retrieved 2019-03-03
- "Awards". Teaneck International Film Festival. Retrieved 2019-03-03.
- "Here are the First Honors Announcements for 2019 - The 2019 Cinema Eye Honors for Nonfiction Filmmaking". The 2019 Cinema Eye Honors for Nonfiction Filmmaking. 2018-10-25. Retrieved 2018-10-29.
- "Here are all the Nominees for the 12th Annual Cinema Eye Honors". The 2019 Cinema Eye Honors for Nonfiction Filmmaking. 2018-11-09. Retrieved 2019-01-14.
- Pedersen, Erik (2018-10-24). "IDA Documentary Awards Nominations Revealed". Deadline. Retrieved 2018-11-20.
- Pedersen, Erik (2018-10-24). "IDA Documentary Awards Nominations Revealed". Deadline. Retrieved 2018-11-20.
- Appelo, Tim. "2018 Movies for Grownups Awards Nominees". AARP. Retrieved 2019-01-16.
- "27th Philadelphia Film Festival". Philadelphia Film Society. Retrieved 2019-01-24.
- "30th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival Announces Award Winners | Palm Springs International Film Festival". www.psfilmfest.org. Retrieved 2019-01-24.
- "FFF19 Official Selections and Category Winners Announced". Fargo Film Festival. Retrieved 2020-03-08.
- McNary, Dave (17 February 2019). "WGA Awards 2019 Winners: 'Can You Ever Forgive Me?,' 'Eighth Grade' Win Screenplay Awards". Variety. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
- "Rotterdam 2019: What The Audiences Liked Best". ScreenAnarchy. 2019-02-18. Retrieved 2019-03-03.
- "2019 Audience Choice Awards". Sedona International Film Festival. Archived from the original on 2019-03-06. Retrieved 2019-03-03.
- "Nominations". www.chitariveraawards.com. Retrieved 2019-05-09.
- "'Joker,' 'Irishman,' 'Parasite' Receive ACE Eddie Awards Nominations". Variety.com. Retrieved 2020-01-23.
- "Congratulations to the 2020 AWARD THIS Winners". www.filmthreat.com. Retrieved 2020-03-08.
- Desk, BWW News. "BATHTUBS OVER BROADWAY Documentary Original Soundtrack Out Now". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2019-08-19.
- Desk, BWW News. "BATHTUBS OVER BROADWAY Documentary Original Soundtrack Out Now". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2019-08-19.