The Weird and Wonderful World of Industrial Musicals
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Diesel Dazzle … Got to Investigate Silicones …The Bathrooms Are Coming …? Welcome to the bonkers alternate universe of industrial musical theater, presented by Letterman and Simpsons writer Steve Young.
Steve Young discovered corporate musicals while gathering obscure albums for the Letterman show’s "Dave’s Record Collection" comedy bit. Years later, Young is the world’s authority on the bizarrely entertaining shows created for company conventions and sales meetings from the ’50s to the ’80s that the public was never meant to see. The star of Dava Whisenant’s award-winning documentary Bathtubs Over Broadway, Young loves to bring the jaw-dropping delights of industrial musicals to audiences, featuring ultra-rare films from his collection that can’t be seen anywhere else. Thrill to cheerfully twisted in-house musical propaganda from General Electric, Kellogg’s, American-Standard, Citgo, Purina, and more, with affectionately snarky commentary (and even a bit of live music). It’s a secret world of Americana that will astonish, amuse, perplex—and just might make you want to go out and sell, sell, sell!
The MFAH film department is supported by Tenaris; The June Leaf and Robert Frank Foundation; the Vaughn Foundation; The Consulate General of the Republic of Korea; Nina and Michael Zilkha; Franci Neely; Carrin Patman and Jim Derrick; Ms. Laurence Unger; L’Alliance Française de Houston; and ILEX Foundation.
The Weird and Wonderful World of Industrial Musicals
Directed by Steve Young
(USA, 105 minutes, in English)
Lynn Wyatt Theater