Industrial Strength Broadway

Steve Young, star of the acclaimed documentary Bathtubs Over Broadway, pulls back the curtain on one of the strangest, most improbable realms of show business: musicals written for corporate events. Steve, a longtime writer for David Letterman, accidentally discovered the hidden world of Broadway-style shows created for sales meetings and conventions from the 50’s to the 80’s. Now he’s coming to the McCallum to share a cornucopia of unlikely gems.

Emceeing live performances of striking numbers from shows such as The Bathrooms Are Coming! (American-Standard) and Diesel Dazzle (Detroit Diesel), Steve gleefully reveals a world that transcends kitsch to reach a surprising level of profundity. He also shares ultra-rare film clips and jaw-dropping album covers from productions the public couldn’t see — and which sometimes involved famous names like Kander & Ebb (Cabaret, Chicago) and Harnick & Bock (Fiddler on the Roof).

Don’t miss this one-night extravaganza of musical theater we were never supposed to know, served up by the collector who rescued it from the shadows.

Presented through the generosity of James Walter “Jim” Neuman