Three years before the first episode of SNL. Four years before the first episode of SCTV. Martin Short, Eugene Levy, Gilda Radner. Andrea Martin and later Dave Thomas, co-starred in a legendary production of a musical called Godspell at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto.
The show that launched the careers of a whole generation of comedians is now the subject of a new doc at TIFF. Appropriately titled, You Had to Be There: How The Toronto Godspell Ignited the Comedy Revolution, Spread Love and Overalls, and Created a Community that Changed the World (In a Canadian Kind of Way).
Today we speak with someone who had a front row seat to it all. Paul Shaffer, of Letterman fame, but who back in the days of Godspell was just a kid from Thunder Bay gigging in strip clubs on Younge Street. That is, until he landed the job of musical director for the play that would change the comedy world as we know it.
Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor), Bruce Thorson (Senior Producer), max collins (Director of Audio), Jesse Brown (Editor and Publisher)
Reported by Ilana Gordon
Fact checking by Julian Abraham
Additional music by Audio Network
Further Reading:
You Had to Be There at TIFF
You Had To Be There - IMDB
You Had To Be There - Trailer
Sponsors:
Squarespace: Check out Squarespace.com/canadaland for a free trial, and when you’re ready to launch use code canadaland to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.
Douglas: Douglas is giving our listeners a FREE Sleep Bundle with each mattress purchase. Get the sheets, pillows, mattress and pillow protectors FREE with your Douglas purchase today. Visit douglas.ca/canadaland to claim this offer.
oxio: Head over to canadaland.oxio.ca and use code CANADALAND for your first month free!
Article: Article is offering our listeners $50 off your first purchase of $100 or more. To claim, visit article.com/canadaland and the discount will be automatically applied at checkout.
If you value this podcast, support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch at our store, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody.
Can't get enough Canadaland? Follow @Canadaland_Podcasts on Instagram for clips, announcements, explainers and more.
You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music—included with Prime.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
