Review Roundup: YOU HAD TO BE THERE Explores Toronto GODSPELL That Launched Comedy Legends

Reviews are in for Nick Davis’ documentary 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), arriving Friday, September 18. See what critics are saying about the film below!

The documentary examines the 1972 Toronto production of Godspell, whose cast included Martin Short, Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin, Gilda Radner, Dave Thomas and Victor Garber as Jesus, with Paul Shaffer serving as musical director.

Though initially booked for a short run, the production became a hit and played for more than a year and a half. Martin and Levy went on to become founding members of SCTV, while Garber starred in the feature film adaptation of Godspell. Radner’s performance also caught the attention of Toronto native Lorne Michaels, who later cast her as the first performer hired for a new NBC late-night show.

You Had to Be There features interviews with surviving cast members as well as Godspell composer Stephen Schwartz, Shaffer, Dan Aykroyd, Mike Myers and Lin-Manuel Miranda.

The film had its world premiere in the Special Presentations lineup at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival and subsequently screened at festivals around the country. It is presented with support from The Roy Lichtenstein Foundation Fund.

Jason Zinoman, The New York Times: *Critic’s Pick* Show business success depends on talent, but requires much more than that. “You Had to Be There” understands this, while never losing its sweetly sentimental streak. What it captures best is not a specific show but the more universal overheated feelings of being at the start of your artistic career and falling in love with performance. It’s a reminder that as ephemeral as theater can be, some aspects last forever.

Donald Liebenson, Rogert Ebert: What is particularly joyous about “You Had to Be There” is the primal glee of watching wonderful, talented, and creative people find themselves and each other while putting on a show. More Short-recorded audio captures Friday night cast parties that came to be known as “Friday Night Services.” Unlike fleeting “Hollywood friendships,” one notes, the sincere close bonds that formed between the cast members remain to this day.