EXCLUSIVE: It’s been a spell since Godspell debuted its Toronto production in 1972 with a cast of then-unknowns. In the interim, virtually every performer in that now legendary production went on to a huge career in entertainment: Gilda Radner, Eugene Levy, Martin Short, Andrea Martin, Victor Garber, Dave Thomas and others. Even the show’s musical director became a fixture of popular culture – Paul Shaffer.
The new documentary You Had To Be There: How The Toronto Godspell Ignited The Comedy Revolution…, directed by Nick Davis, examines how the Toronto production came together and – as the subtitle suggests – seeded modern comedy through Saturday Night Live, SCTV and more. Today, Greenwich Entertainment announced it has acquired North American distribution rights to the film and will release it in theaters nationwide in September.
The Series of Dreams production is executive produced by comedy maestro Judd Apatow. Along with interviews with most of the Toronto musical’s original cast, including Jayne Eastwood and Valda Aviks, it features Dan Aykroyd, Mike Myers, Catherine O’Hara, John Candy, Janeane Garofalo, and Lin-Manuel Miranda.
(L-R) Judd Apatow, Victor Garber, Valda Aviks, Paul Shaffer and Eugene Levy attend the premiere of ‘You Had to be There: How the Toronto Godspell Ignited the Comedy Revolution…’ at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival on September 6, 2025.
Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images
“You Had To Be There traces how a cast of virtual unknowns in a rock musical based on the life of Jesus lit the spark of a cultural explosion whose effects are still being felt today,” notes a release. “Long a well-known cultural landmark among comedy and theater aficionados, the Toronto Godspell has never before been the subject of a feature-length documentary film. The production of the Stephen Schwartz-written musical was the first-ever professional job for college friends Martin Short and Eugene Levy and marked early professional highlights in the careers of Gilda Radner, Victor Garber (who played Jesus), Don Scardino, musical director Paul Shaffer, Jayne Eastwood, and future SCTV stars Andrea Martin and Dave Thomas.”
In addition to directing You Had To Be There, Davis (One Upon a Time in Queens, This Ordinary Thing) also co-wrote the documentary with Jane Mendelsohn.
“I’ve always thought of the 1972 Toronto Godspell as the big bang of modern comedy Davis said, “this wild, joyful moment when all these future legends were just kids hanging out. Since all we have are traces – there’s no footage of the actual production — the legend has only grown over time. It was genuinely thrilling to talk to the people who were there and try to capture that sense of exhilaration – and even more of privilege to be welcomed into this wonderful, brilliant lifelong circle of friends. We can’t wait to share this joyful, funny, and moving story with the world.”
READ: Deadline’s review of You Had To Be There: “Delightful Romp”
Apatow’s comedy-themed documentaries include Mel Brooks: The 99-Year-Old Man!, Paralyzed by Hope: The Maria Bamford Story, George Carlin’s American Dream, and The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling.
“As a bona fide comedy nerd,” Apatow said in a statement, “I’ve long wondered what exactly brought that amazing group of people together to produce not just a fantastic theatrical event, but what came after: Second City Toronto, SCTV, and of course Saturday Night Live – not to mention a host of movies and TV from Splash to The Three Amigos to Schitt’s Creek and Only Murders in the Building. None of that would have happened in the way that it did without the Toronto Godspell.”
You Had To Be There is produced by Series of Dreams in association with CBC, XRM Media and Open Door Co. Producers are Nick Davis, Bonnie Comley and Stewart Lane, Tom Powers, and Sue Turley; executive producers include Judd Apatow, Sally Klingenstein Martell, Teresa Tsai and Glenn Kaino, Stephanie Hannon, Dr. Ryan Kotten and Stephanie Holder Kotten, and Jane Mendelsohn.
The acquisition was negotiated by Greenwich’s Andy Bohn with UTA Independent and CAA representing the filmmakers.
L-R Director Nick Davis, Paul Shaffer, Valda Aviks, and Victor Garber at the Deadline Studio during the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival held at BISHA Hotel on September 7, 2025.
Josh Telles for Deadline
At the Toronto International Film Festival, where the documentary premiered last September, Deadline spoke with Davis and multiple members of the original Toronto Godspell cast and production.
“The film is about trying to capture that moment in time and bring it forward and make you feel like you are there,” Davis told us. “It’s incredible because when you think about it, it’s like all these comic actors — on March 25th, 1972, it happens for them.”
“I do remember the feeling that I was surrounded by exceptionally talented people. I was amazed at, I knew it then, and it never wavered,” Garber told us. He was the only Toronto Godspell cast member who got invited to appear in the movie version, where he once again played Jesus. Speaking of the new documentary, he added, “This moment in time, for all of us who are still living, is just an extraordinary affirmation.”