It’s becoming rarer, but some moments are truly lost to time. Important events too. The 1972 to 1973 production of Godspell in Toronto proved to be a landmark, being both a hit show and introducing people to the likes of Eugene Levy, Gilda Radner, Martin Short, Victor Garber, Andrea Martin, Dave Thomas, and Paul Shaffer. You can draw a straight path from that show to SNL and SCTV and all the history of comedy since then. Unfortunately, the show was never filmed. But, it doesn’t mean that the surviving cast can’t talk about it, hence: YOU HAD TO BE THERE.
First person recollections from the people that were actually there is director Mark Davis’s primary solution to the lack of footage, albeit there’s an illegal bootleg audio recording courtesy of Martin Short that’s also integral to telling the story. And, save for Gilda Radner, everyone is still with us and were more than willing to come on camera and tell their story. And, for the most part, they have plenty to say. Particularly Martin Short, who would date Gilda Radner for a while and also fill us in on her story. It certainly seems like it was a pivotal time in his life. Eugene Levy gets perhaps the next biggest spotlight.
Godspell emerged alongside the youth counterculture in the same mixture that produced musicals like Hair and Jesus Christ Superstar but with a more comedic intention. So naturally it attracted up and coming comedians. And also Victor Garber who could sing rings around the rest of the cast. Including Eugene Levy who wanted the main role that Garber ended up winning in audition. Aside from personal ambitions, the show clearly meant a lot to the entire cast, Levy, Garber, Martin, and Short in particular. So that stories are told about the audition process and how that worked and how they were delighted or, in a surprise, disappointed on how it worked out. At least initially. A process that’s repeated after the show opened and Hollywood came around while casting the movie.
What makes the film good rather than strictly a pleasant tour down nostalgia lane, is that everyone involved is quite candid about how they were feeling and changing at the time. And, of course, the cast members are all naturally talented and funny, which makes their tales both entertaining and surprisingly personal. The time they spent doing Godspell wasn’t just something they did before becoming, or not becoming, famous. It was a time for growth and change, professionally and personally.
It’s noted that theater is ephemeral during the film. To liven things up, the film deploys animation to recreate the time and place. It’s a trick to replace “lost media” that Doctor Who has utilized, with mixed results, for some missing stories. It’s successful here, because they don’t aim to do too much. 50+ year old memories aren’t enough to fill in the gaps, so thankfully they don’t try. Just here and there to give a visual flavor of the production.
And, of course, you can’t ignore the historic importance of the moment. I feel that this is part of the reason that Judd Apatow is listed as Executive Producer. He’s done documentaries recently on Garry Shandling, George Carlin, and Mel Brooks. He has a history with standup specials. You can’t look at the Toronto production of Godspell without realizing its importance to modern comedy. So, although this isn’t the same as capturing it, this is the next big thing to immortalize it and put it in context.
So, it’s an eminently watchable documentary featuring funny people being surpringly candid and open. I wish a little bit more time had been spent on the stories of some of the cast members that never quite made the star status of some members of the cast, but that’s a minor quibble at best. I’d probably be complaining that it’s too long if they did.
The 2026 Milwaukee Film Festival runs from April 16, 2026 until May 30, 2026. YOU HAD TO BE THERE has finished its run at the Milwaukee Film Festival, but you can still catch it at the Chicago Critics Film Festival. Tickets to other films at the Milwaukee Film Festival can be purchased at MKEFILM.ORG.
