"You Had to Be There" review: Martin Short, Eugene Levy, and other comedy legends reveal their shared showbiz start
Even the most devoted comedy nerd may not realize how many truly iconic comedies of past and present might never have existed if it weren't for a single theatrical production. Everything from Only Murders in the Building and Schitt's Creek to SCTV and Saturday Night Live can be linked back to a 1972 Toronto production of Godspell, which boasted such not-yet-famous performers as Martin Short, Eugene Levy, Gilda Radner, Victor Garber, Andrea Martin, Dave Thomas, Jayne Eastwood, and Paul Shaffer. Incredibly, over its much raved about (and protested) 14-month run, not a soul thought to video record this production for posterity. So, 53 years later, documentarian Nick Davis aims to bring us back to this pivotal time and place with the preposterously and perfectly titled 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). For the sake of brevit...