You Had to Be There (2025)

Original title

You Had to Be There: How the Toronto Godspell Ignited the Comedy Revolution...

Directed by

Nick Davis

Genre

documentary film

Country

United States

Runtime

1h 38m

Rated

NR

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

This documentary looks back at a 1972 Toronto production of the musical Godspell. Many cast members from that show later became key figures in comedy, working on The Second City and Saturday Night Live.

nostalgiccelebratorywarmlivelyinformativeaffectionatereverentupbeat

What happens

You Had To Be There: How the Toronto Godspell Ignited the Comedy Revolution, Spread Love & Overalls, and Created a Community That Changed the World (In a Canadian Kind of Way) is a 2025 American documentary film, directed by Nick Davis. The documentary film centers on a 1972 production of the stage musical Godspell at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto, Ontario, from which many of its cast members would soon go on to have a transformative impact on both Canadian and American comedy through their involvement in projects such as The Second City and Saturday Night Live. Cast members in the production included Martin Short, Eugene Levy, Dave Thomas, Gilda Radner, Victor Garber, Andrea Martin and Jayne Eastwood, with Paul Shaffer serving as musical director. At TIFF, the film was second runner-up for the People's Choice Award, Documentary. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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