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PeoPle & Arts Tuesday 24 april 2018
New film explores the best Broadway musicals you never saw

By JOHN CARUCCI would hire us to sing and as “The Producers,” ‘’Crazy
Associated Press dance about the product. For You” and “Show Boat”
NEW YORK (AP) — If you’ve And, in fact, that’s how I feels these shows were “a
never heard of lavish musi- really got started choreo- stepping stone for where I
cals like “The Bathrooms Are graphing and directing,” needed to be.”
Coming” or “Diesel Dazzle” Stroman said. “They could be very silly.
you’re not alone. Yet, these Broadway legends Bob But in fact they were the
elaborate productions Fosse, Chita Rivera, and way we made a living
have borrowed the talents Sheldon Harnick also waiting for our Broadway
of some of Broadway’s big- loaned their talents before show, or waiting for our off-
gest names. making it big. And songwrit- Broadway show,” she said.
Tony-winning director Su- ing duo John Kander and “The industrial shows kept
san Stroman admits she Fred Ebb wrote a musical us alive.”
“cut her teeth” on what for General Electric called Back in the day, Coca Cola,
was known as the indus- “Go Fly a Kite” before tack- Detroit Diesel, Ford, Xerox
trial musical — extravagant ling shows like “Chicago” and others financed these
productions the general and “Cabaret.” productions. But unless you
public never got to see. In- The film does not have a were at a sales meeting for
stead, they were meant for release date, though it’s In this April 10, 2014 file photo, director Susan Stroman attends American Standard deal-
corporations to show to cli- scheduled to appear in the after party for the opening night of “Bullets Over Broadway” ers in 1969, you would not
ents, dealers and investors. some upcoming film festi- in New York. have seen “The Bathrooms
Now, a new documen- vals. Associated Press Are Coming.”
tary called “Bathtubs Over It was the brainchild of for- corporate musicals that a huge part of American Stroman laughed at some
Broadway” allows audi- mer “Late Show with David no one had ever heard entertainment and cul- of the silly ideas.
ences into this secret world. Letterman” writer Steve of. It was a secret world,” ture that the public was “I did a show for Miller
Stroman, along with the Young, who began col- Whisenant said. completely unaware of beer, where I had big girls
film’s writer, director and lecting souvenir recordings Young said he was happy because it was private, be- dressed in beer bottles
some of its actors peeled after learning about these to “drag these shows from hind closed doors for com- dancing around the set.
back the curtain Saturday special productions. It is di- the abyss” to let people pany meetings,” Young Or, you know, we did some
at the film’s world premiere rected by Dava Whisenant. know about these amazing said. for Honeywell Computers
at the Tribeca Film Festival “It follows Steve on a jour- productions. Stroman, the five-time Tony where we did a takeoff on
in New York. ney where he meets all the “It’s going to be a taste of winning director and cho- ‘How to Succeed in Busi-
“A lot of corporations people that made these a hidden art form that was reographer of such shows ness,’” she said.q

Ellen DeGeneres is A new book of short

critical of police

shootings of black men fiction by Lionel Shriver

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Ellen By ANN LEVIN investigating what hap-
DeGeneres says she’s “fu- Associated Press pens when Jillian Frisk’s
rious” that so many black If Lionel Shriver weren’t best friend, longtime ten-
men have been shot by such a terrific writer, she nis partner and former lov-
police and “nothing seems might have had a glorious er Weston Babansky, aka
to change.” career as a sociologist. In Baba, decides to marry an-
Speaking with CNN’s Van her latest book, “Property,” other woman, Paige Myer,
Jones on her show on Fri- she explores a host of con- and Paige lays down an ul-
day, DeGeneres said she’s temporary social issues in- timatum: her or me.
“ashamed.” cluding freeloading young Baba is stricken. When
Jones said “it’s not just the Americans abroad (“Kilifi Paige accuses him of still
police.” He said that when Creek”), adult children harboring feelings for Frisk,
he was at Yale University, who won’t leave home he undertakes some soul-
students did drugs and (“Domestic Terrorism”) and, searching. “He supposed
were sent to rehab while in a story titled “Negative that, looked at a certain
black kids in a nearby proj- In this Jan. 18, 2017 photo, Equity,” the housing debt way, some of his girlfriend’s
ect were sent to jail for do- Ellen DeGeneres, winner of the that forces some divorcing accusations were sort of This cover image released
ing the same thing. awards for favorite animated couples to stay together true. Frisk was a little self- ... by HarperCollins shows
Jones said there’s “some movie voice, favorite daytime under the same roof be- self-centered, self-involved, “Property: Stories Between
TV host, and favorite comedic
malware glitch going on in collaboration, speaks at the cause they can’t afford to self-absorbed? But who Two Novellas,” by Lionel
our brains” when it comes People’s Choice Awards in sell. The common denomi- wasn’t self-something? It Shriver.
to gun violence and racial Los Angeles. nator of the 10 stories and might not have been ob- Associated Press
inequality in America.q Associated Press two novellas is property, vious from the outside, but pearance was utterly in-
both the spaces we live he himself was wholly and separable from the whole
in and the stuff that we fill unapologetically self-ab- of her: the whooping laugh,
them with, including kooky sorbed.” the zany ideas, the unreli-
art projects such as the “He treasured her pres- able crosscourt backhand.
one at the center of “The ence. He was accustomed So the answer to his point
Standing Chandelier.” to her presence, at ease in of inquiry was a worthless I

linda.reijnders@cspnv.com It’s the best of the bunch, her presence, and her ap- don’t know.”q