The original 1971 off-Broadway production of the musical Godspell starred Stephen Nathan as Jesus, David Haskell as John the Baptist/Judas and such fellow talents as Herb Braha and Peggy Gordon who went on to… well, I’m not exactly sure what they went on to (not to be mean about it).
Contrast that with the cast of the 1972 Toronto production of Godspell which starred then unknowns Gilda Radner, Martin Short, Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin, Dave Thomas, Victor Garber as Jesus – not to mention Paul Shaffer as the show’s musical director — who would all go on to fantastic careers in entertainment. The story of how that amazing group came together and became lifelong friends in the process is told in You Had to Be There, which premiered Saturday at the Toronto International Film Festival.
The documentary directed by Nick Davis comes with the explanatory subtitle 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), a suitably meandering addendum for a delightful romp down memory lane that takes surprising twists and turns.
The film begins with a notation that Short illegally recorded one performance of the show by attaching two microphones to a chain link fence that served as Godspell’s spare backdrop. And thank goodness he did; it’s the only audio that exists from the production, outside of brief footage of a rehearsal that captured the boundless energy of the young cast. It turns out Short was an inveterate recorder of parties, get-togethers and his own adolescent crooning in the attic of the family home (he could sing like Sinatra at the age of 15. One digression in the film shares his mother’s endearing notes on Short’s youthful vocal forays, where she awards up to three and a half stars for his efforts, apparently seeing at least a half-star’s room for improvement).
Short pressed play on his tape recorder at Friday night post-show hangouts where the performers assembled at a house he rented with his best buddy Levy (at 1063 Avenue Road in Toronto). It’s priceless to hear their banter and bonhomie, and especially poignant, almost haunting, to discern Radner’s voice in the group, knowing that fame would come her way but so would an untimely end at the age of 42.
You Had to Be There abounds in hilarious anecdotes, like the story of Levy, who eventually took on the lead role of Jesus after Garber went to make the movie version of Godspell and Garber’s initial replacement – Don Scardino – also left the show. Garber and Scardino bore more of a resemblance to the Jesus of Renaissance paintings – golden hair and all that – whereas Levy describes himself as the show’s “first Jewish-looking Jesus.” Knowing that Jesus first takes the stage clad only in boxer shorts, the show’s producers asked the impressively hirsute actor if he wouldn’t mind waxing to remove some of that carpeting from his chest. Levy declined, so they clapped a tank top on him fearing the sight of his naked torso would frighten children in the audience.
Romances developed among cast members – Short and Radner, who would stay together off and on for about two years, Levy and Jayne Eastwood who evidently had a dalliance; Short, after his breakup with Radner, dating and then marrying Nancy Dolman. Shaffer describes the dynamic as somewhat incestuous.
Toronto boy Lorne Michaels would hire Radner when he launched Saturday Night Live in 1975, raiding the local talent pool for Dan Aykroyd as well (Short would join SNL much later). The documentary makes the argument that the 1972 Godspell production planted seeds that would grow into a tree of many branches – one branch being SNL, another SCTV, and then leafing out into comedies like Best in Show starring Levy and SCTV alum Catherine O’Hara. Mike Myers, a Canadian comedy titan of a later generation, says it was the likes of those Godspell cast members who inspired him to pursue performing and to give him confidence he could make it in the U.S.
Inevitably, not every Godspell cast member from the ’72 Toronto production became a household name in America or abroad. But they all enjoyed success – Jayne Eastwood and Rudy Webb in Canada, and Valda Aviks in the UK. Avril Chown – who had brought Paul Shaffer along to play piano at her original Godspell audition, which led to him being scooped up as musical director – landed a lead role on the CBS kids’ show The Hudson Brothers Razzle Dazzle Show. She reveals she was sexually assaulted by a performer on that series – a horrid counter example to the camaraderie she had felt on Godspell.
You Had to Be There leverages wonderful animation to make up for the absence of original Godspell footage; it’s rendered in perfectly fitting ‘70s style. At the end of the film the surviving cast gets together for a reunion, with Shaffer back on the piano and Garber, Martin, Short, Levy et al jumping right back into Godspell tunes. When a documentary director goes to the trouble of shooting such a scene, they have a temptation to use too much of it; I would have counseled cutting that way back on the theory that less is more. In a similar vein, Mike Myers’ commentary is useful, and recent SNL star Heidi Gardner lends a zing, but I don’t think fellow commentators Lin-Manuel Miranda and Janeane Garofalo add much. These are minor complaints about a film that takes one along for a funny and moving ride.
“You had to be there” is a phrase sometimes used with a snicker – like, “I can’t be bothered to explain what you missed out on, loser.” Here, we’re all invited to participate. And it’s a joyous experience.
Title: 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)Festival: Toronto (Special Presentations)Director: Nick DavisScreenwriter: Nick Davis, Jane MendelsohnSales agent: CAARunning time: 1 hr 38 min.
The post ‘You Had To Be There’ Review: Delightful Romp Recalls 1972 Toronto ‘Godspell’ That Launched Martin Short, Gilda Radner, Eugene Levy & More – Toronto Film Festival appeared first on Deadline.
