‘You Had to Be There’ Trailer -Documentary Captures Martin Short, Eugene Levy, Gilda Radner’s Early Career Performance

The official trailer has been released for 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), a documentary directed by Nick Davis.

The film, from Executive producer Judd Apatow, examines the 1972 Toronto production of Godspell, where Martin Short, Eugene Levy, Gilda Radner, Victor Garber, Paul Shaffer, Andrea Martin, Dave Thomas, and other performers appeared early in their careers.

Through archival footage and interviews with surviving cast members and others connected to the production, the documentary explores the relationships formed during the musical and its influence on comedy, theater, television, and film.

You Had to Be There premiered at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival in the Special Presentations program, and later screened at additional festivals, including the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. The documentary will open at New York’s Film Forum on September 18 before expanding to theaters across the United States later this fall.

Here is the film synopsis: “Martin Short, Eugene Levy, Gilda Radner, Victor Garber, Paul Shaffer, and other comedy and theater icons got their start in a 1972 Toronto production of the musical Godspell. Featuring interviews with the surviving cast members, plus Lin-Manuel Miranda, Mike Myers, and more, the film recounts a pivotal moment in comedy history, in hilarious and inspiring detail.”

The documentary follows the story of the production and examines how the experiences connected a group of young performers whose careers later expanded across multiple areas of the entertainment industry.

Watch the official trailer for You Had to Be There above.