In doing research for an upcoming poll, I happened across a bit of ephemera that is worthy of mention.
During the 1950s (and afterward) during the heyday of the American dream and the nuclear family, many companies commissioned musicals for their corporate board gatherings and distributor and shareholder meetings. The songs were composed by well-known Broadway composers and lyricists, such as Kander and Ebb (who wrote a musical for GE called
Go Fly A Kite), and while aimed
squarely at Joe Division Manager and Bob Vice President of Sales, they had some fairly serious production values, and also rampant misogyny brought about as a backlash to the rise of feminism.
But we're not here to discuss women entering the workforce in large numbers and the effect that had on the male power structure--we're here to talk about a musical about bathrooms. That would be American Standard's
The Bathrooms Are Coming!Some excerpts (misogyny alert!):
Napoleon's image was famous
And Josephine brought him that fame
She won't be forgotten
Her cooking was rotten
That's what gave him all of that pain.
My bathroom
My bathroom
Is my very special room
Where I primp and fuss and groom
Where I can get away from all
And really feel in bloom.
Time to write a musical for Google?