elstaffe’s Reviews > Everything's Coming Up Profits: The Golden Age of Industrial Musicals > Status Update

"But what's the deal with a female cast member singing 'Give me Dictaphone, give me Wang'? Oh, never mind, now I get it" (217). From a 1982 musical for advertisers. oof.

"Quite a few industrial tunes catalogue the woes of mangers or salesmen, then suddenly, unconvincingly, insist that it's all worth it in the end. Understandable; the corporations weren't paying for shows that would send the team into a tailspin of existential despair" (207). This re: Side by Side 75, which includes parodies of songs from Sondheim's Company.

"A parody of 'There's Nothing Like a Dame' from South Pacific...
'Women turn to us for reliable contraceptive action!
Not to mention healthy female sexual satisfaction?

Though a married female's problems may be myriad,
Thanks to us she can usually expect her period!'

Note that she's a 'married female.' The notion of unmarried women using birth control was still politically incorrect in 1971" (189).

"Here is a record that you might want to play in your showroom at Public Announcement. It's gay and sprightly—and most appropriate" (29). That mdash at the end there is not convincing me of the propriety.