Martin Short, Eugene Levy, and More Revisit Legendary Toronto Godspell in New Documentary

You Had to Be There, a new documentary about the legendary 1972 Toronto production of Godspell, which launched the careers of Martin Short, Gilda Radner, Eugene Levy, and others, will open nationwide in September.

Directed by Nick Davis, who co-wrote the film with Jane Mendelsohn, You Had to Be There revisits the storied Canadian staging of Stephen Schwartz and John-Michael Tebelak’s musical that assembled a cast of then-unknown performers who would go on to create the last 50 years of entertainment. The company included Martin Short, Eugene Levy, Gilda Radner, Victor Garber, Andrea Martin, among others, with Paul Shaffer serving as musical director.

The film features new interviews with surviving cast members Short, Levy, Garber, Martin, Shaffer, Valda Aviks, Avril Chown, Jayne Eastwood, Don Scardino, Rudy Webb, and Dave Thomas, alongside interviews with Mike Myers, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and more.

While only a small piece of footage from the actual production exists, the film makes use of a clandestine audio recording made by Short, who secretly placed a microphone and tape deck onstage during one of the performances. Among the most intimate discoveries are recordings and footage of the cast socializing at Short and Levy’s apartment at 1063 Avenue Road, offering a glimpse of the friendships and creative camaraderie that developed among the young performers, and their friends including John Candy and Catherine O’Hara.

You Had to Be There opens at Film Forum in New York City September 18 and across the country September 25.