You Had to Be There - Director Nick Davis

YOU HAD TO BE THERE is a hilarious, emotional, and revelatory documentary about the legendary 1972 Canadian production of Godspell that changed entertainment forever. The Toronto production of the musical about the life of Jesus starred a then-unknown cast of Martin Short, Eugene Levy, Gilda Radner, Victor Garber, Andrea Martin, Dave Thomas, et al, with Paul Shaffer serving as musical director – a crazy confluence of talent rivaling ‘Paris in the 20s.’ The production lit the spark that ignited the comedy revolution that followed, leading to Saturday Night Live, SCTV, and a host of movies and TV shows all the way up to Schitts’ Creek and Only Murders in the Building. The film features interviews with all the surviving members of the cast, plus Lin-Manuel Miranda, Mike Myers, and other show business luminaries who testify to the production’s profound and lasting influence. YOU HAD TO BE THERE is a hilarious, emotional, and revelatory documentary about the legendary 1972 Canadian production of Godspell that changed entertainment forever. The Toronto production of the musical about the life of Jesus starred a then-unknown cast of Martin Short, Eugene Levy, Gilda Radner, Victor Garber, Andrea Martin, Dave Thomas, et al, with Paul Shaffer serving as musical director – a crazy confluence of talent rivaling ‘Paris in the 20s.’ The production lit the spark that ignited the comedy revolution that followed, leading to Saturday Night Live, SCTV, and a host of movies and TV shows all the way up to Schitts’ Creek and Only Murders in the Building. The film features interviews with all the surviving members of the cast, plus Lin-Manuel Miranda, Mike Myers, and other show business luminaries who testify to the production’s profound and lasting influence.

About the filmmaker - Nick Davis is a filmmaker and writer. Most recently he directed and produced YOU HAD TO BE THERE, a documentary about the 1972 Toronto production of Godspell. His film TED WILLIAMS: “THE GREATEST HITTER WHO EVER LIVED,” aired in 2018 on PBS’ American Masters series. Among his other films are BLOOD, SWEAT + GEARS, a documentary about a cycling team devoted to riding clean, JACK: THE LAST KENNEDY FILM, an Emmy-Award winning portrait of John F. Kennedy, which Davis directed for CBS. He performed with Gotham City Improv and You And What Army, and graduated from Harvard, where he was a founding member of the improv group On Thin Ice. He and Jane Mendelsohn recently formed Series of Dreams, whose current film is THIS ORDINARY THING, a film about non-Jews who helped Jews during the Holocaust. Featuring the voices of Helen Mirren, Jeremy Irons, Stephen Fry, Carrie Coon, and F. Murray Abraham among others, the film was nominated for a Cinema For Peace Dove Award and is currently streaming on iTunes, Amazon Prime, and other major streamers.