Godspell 1972

Former LATE NIGHT WITH DAVID LETTERMAN bandleader Paul Shaffer made quite a first impression on Ray Charles the first time they played together.

Arizona Broadway Theatre will present PIPPIN with an all-female creative team and circus-inspired staging featuring aerial arts and acrobatics. The production runs through early November.

Rise and shine, BroadwayWorld! It is September 23, 2026 and it's time to catch up on all of the theatrical happenings you may have missed in the last 24 hours.

More than five decades after a now-legendary production of Godspell brought together some of Canada's brightest young talents, a new documentary is looking back at the show that helped launch an extraordinary generation of performers. Watch the full interview with Davis, Mendelsohn and Shaffer as they look back on the friendships, talent and unlikely circumstances that made the 1972 Toronto production of Godspell such a singular moment—and how You Had to Be There brings that story back to life.

Reviews are in for Nick Davis' You Had to Be There, the documentary about the legendary 1972 Toronto production of Godspell featuring Martin Short, Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin, Gilda Radner, Victor Garber and more. See what critics are saying.

Greenwich Entertainment has outlined its upcoming theatrical slate, including new titles A GIRL UNKNOWN, LIGHT PILLAR, RUN AMOK, and NAGI NOTES alongside previously announced releases.

Nick Davis' documentary on the 1972 Toronto production of GODSPELL, which launched the careers of future SNL and SCTV stars, is set for its U.S. theatrical premiere at Film Forum.

What did our critic think of PIPPIN at Short North Stage? Production director Edward Carignan said PIPPIN is a “legacy” show – a performance that can be pulled out of the vault, dusted off, and re-released every five years or so. SNS last did this Stephen Schwartz musical (a personal favorite of Carignan’s) in 2019. However, this time it isn’t simply a rehash of the past production. It’s a reinvention.

You can now get a first look at the trailer for the story behind Toronto's 'Godspell' in the documentary, YOU HAD TO BE THERE, directed by Nick Davis, and starring Martin Short, Eugene Levy, and more.

It's a very rare treat—particularly all the way here in Orange County, California—to hear Broadway songs and the stories behind them performed directly by the legendary composer himself, even for just a one-night-only event. But that is exactly the gift bestowed upon a rapt audience recently when the Irvine Barclay Theatre presented DEFYING GRAVITY: AN EVENING WITH STEPHEN SCHWARTZ & FRIENDS to a sold-out crowd on the evening of May 23, 2026.

The nominations are here for the 2026 Tony Awards. This year, a high number of titles have onscreen counterparts, and we have rounded up how to watch these versions at home, from The Lost Boys to Schmigadoon!

Greenwich Entertainment has acquired the North American rights for the documentary about the original Toronto production of Godspell. It will hit theaters this September.

The Florida Film Festival has announced the film lineup and events schedule for next month’s 35th edition, featuring a documentary about the original Toronto production of the musical Godspell, the dark comedy Over Your Dead Body, and more.

The iconic rock musical Hair is back in a bold new Brazilian production directed by Charles Möeller and Claudio Botelho. Opening at São Paulo’s BTG Pactual Hall, the show celebrates the spirit of the 1960s counterculture — peace, love, and rebellion — through powerful anthems like Aquarius and Let the Sunshine In. With a cast of 30 led by Rodrigo Simas and Eduardo Borelli, this vibrant staging fuses rock, poetry, and raw emotion to explore freedom, identity, and protest in a turbulent era. Nearly six decades after its debut, Hair still pulses with youthful defiance and idealism, inviting audiences to sing, reflect, and feel the rhythm of a revolution that never truly ended.

The new documentary about the original Toronto production of Godspell, directed by Nick Davis and produced by Judd Apatow, will make its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival this September.

This 1972 musical written by Roger O. Hirson with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz – yes of Godspell and Wicked fame – and directed by Bob Fosse, is the current production at BrightSide Theatre. It originally stared John Rubenstein as Pippin and Ben Vereen as Leading Player.

The Perelman Performing Arts Center (PAC NYC) will welcome back award-winning comedian and television broadcaster David Letterman to host “Conversations: David Letterman with Paul Shaffer” on April 10, 2025 at 7:00PM.

Producers Ken Davenport and Bob Gaudio have announced full casting for the multi-year North American Tour of A BEAUTIFUL NOISE: THE NEIL DIAMOND MUSICAL.

Pittsburgh CLO's production of YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN has been extended due to popular demand. Learn how to purchase tickets.

Pittsburgh CLO has revealed the Cast and Creative Team for YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN at the Greer Cabaret Theater. See who is starring and learn how to purchase tickets.

Chess the Musical will be brought to life by 17 actors and a 24-piece orchestra in a gorgeous open air venue in Central Pennsylvania.

Heart House Inclusive Productions will present PIPPIN, a musical about the eldest son of Charlemagne seeking meaning in life. Learn how to purchase tickets.

This time, the reader question was: What is a rock opera, and what is their history on Broadway?

Jeanna de Waal, Jay Armstrong Johnson, Kevin Chamberlin, George Abud, Kimberly Immanuel, Adrianna Hicks, Ann Harada, Lara Teeter, Eric Jordan Young, Danny Gardner, Spencer Jones and Joe Capstick will star in the Muny production of Anything Goes.

Broadway came to Long Island recently as a range of vocalists and musicians gathered to honor and induct award-winning Broadway and movie lyricist and composer Stephen Schwartz into the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame on March 23rd at its Stony Brook Museum location.