Dava Whisenant is a Los Angeles-based filmmaker making her directorial debut with “Bathtubs Over Broadway.” She served as editor on docs “Two Trains Runnin’,” “Under the Electric Sky,” and “Merle Haggard: Learning to Live with Myself.” Whisenant is a 2016 Sundance Fellow.
“Bathtubs Over Broadway” will premiere at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival on April 21.
W&H: Describe the film for us in your own words.
DW: “Bathtubs Over Broadway” is a comedic documentary about a cynical writer for David Letterman who stumbles on a bizarre, secret world of corporate musicals. The catchy and inadvertently hilarious songs from these private, big-budget, Broadway-style shows ignite a decades-long obsession in him, and in an effort to track down the last remaining cast recordings, he forms unexpected friendships and begins to see life and art in a new way.
The film is funny and heartwarming, with lots of surprises. It’s about finding hidden value in what others have overlooked, and it allows us to explore an untold story about a huge part of American business and entertainment history.
W&H: What drew you to this story?
DW: I met Steve Young, the film’s protagonist, when we worked together at the “Late Show with David Letterman” several years ago, so I knew about his gift for comedy, and his fantastically unusual perspective. When he played me some examples of the corporate musicals, I couldn’t believe they were real and that no one knew about them, so that was certainly intriguing. But what really sucked me in were the personal connections he was making with the people who created the shows. He would get teary telling me about them, and that wasn’t the Steve I knew. I wanted to explore what was happening there.
I started my career as an editor, so having that perspective also plays a role in why I was drawn to this story. Editors work behind the scenes, and what they do is supposed to be invisible, so that certainly informed my view of the work the industrial show creators were doing.
The film is for and about the people who work behind the scenes — in any job — doing their best regardless of whether or not they will be recognized for it. It was very satisfying to be able to shine a light on some extremely talented but unsung composers and performers who assumed their work had been discarded and forgotten.
W&H: What do you want people to think about when they are leaving the theater?
DW: I want people to feel they’ve been shown something wonderful that they didn’t expect. I would like them to be thinking about music, theater, and corporate America in a new light.
W&H: What was the biggest challenge in making the film?
DW: Because industrial shows were private, most people have never heard of them, so there were a lot of inaccurate assumptions about what the film would be. It’s not an educational film explaining these musicals. It’s about a comedy writer who discovers them and how his life changes because of this.
Steve wasn’t a fan of musical theater at the outset, and neither was I, but you don’t actually need to like musicals to enjoy his story. And if you do enjoy musicals, there’s a lot of rather excellent work featured in the film that is pretty mind-blowing.
So, because of these misconceptions, we had to work a lot harder to fund the film, and to find partners who understood the amazing story we had on our hands. We didn’t give up, though, and we did find the best partners we could have hoped for in Impact Partners and Blumhouse.
W&H: How did you get your film funded? Share some insights into how you got the film made.
DW: We started the traditional way for an independent production, with a fiscal sponsor and private donations. We pitched at Sheffield Doc Fest’s MeetMarket and at IFP’s Spotlight on Documentary. A
fter a scrappy first two years, we were invited to participate in the Sundance Institute’s Creative Producing Program in 2016, and from there we were introduced to Jenny Raskin at Impact Partners. Jenny saw the potential in our film right away, and she and Dan Cogan brought Impact Partners on board soon after, as well as Jason Blum and his fantastic team at Blumhouse. With investment from these two wonderful companies we were able to finish the film, and to finish it with complete creative freedom.
In the course of this four-year filmmaking journey, we were also awarded a Pacific Pioneer Grant and the Denver Film Society’s “Music On Film Film On Music” grant which were extremely helpful.
W&H: What does it mean for you to have your film play at Tribeca Film Festival?
DW: Having our world premiere at Tribeca is absolutely perfect for this film, because it was essentially born in NYC, and a good portion of it takes place in the city. The industrial shows came about during the golden age of Broadway, and Steve stumbled onto the souvenir albums from the shows when he was a new writer for Dave Letterman.
As part of Steve’s story we were also filming during the last days of the “Late Show,” and that show is part of the fabric of New York City, so the film is very connected to this town, and being able to open the film here is really a dream come true for us.
W&H: What’s the best and worst advice you’ve received?
DW: Best advice: Seek out the people whose work you admire, and try to work with them.
Worst advice: Don’t worry about it. Everything will work itself out. Trust me.
W&H: What advice do you have for other female directors?
DW: Trust your instincts. Only you know exactly the film you’re trying to make. People will try to get you to make the film they’re comfortable with. It’s good to listen to advice but you have to read between the lines sometimes.
If you’re just starting out, try to find a mentor. Don’t be afraid to ask questions.
W&H: Name your favorite woman-directed film and why.
DW: I would have to say “The Piano” by Jane Campion. I saw it when I was in college, and I’m pretty sure it was the first time I noticed a woman director. It was a gorgeous, moody, sexy film, and it showed a strong female character like I’d never seen before. It’s so much about passion and repression, and freedom — it’s very much about the female experience, and I still think of it to this day.
W&H: Hollywood and the global film industry are in the midst of undergoing a major transformation. Many women — and some men — in the industry are speaking publicly about their experiences being assaulted and harassed. What are your thoughts on the #TimesUp movement and the push for equality in the film business?
DW: I’m still stunned that it’s actually finally happening. I don’t know a woman who hasn’t dealt with some kind of harassment, or being demeaned or underestimated on some level. I hope we can continue to unify, and to help our female colleagues move up, and show the world what we have to offer when presented with great opportunities.
