Published in The Washington Post [PDF]
They all still remember when Gilda Radner sang “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah.”
It was the final callback auditions for a 1972 production of “Godspell,” and the Stephen Schwartz musical about ragtag, hippie disciples of Jesus was the most sought-after gig in Toronto, hot off its off-Broadway success the year before.
Eugene Levy sat in the auditorium near his college buddy Martin Short, whom he introduced to his friend Andrea Martin. Victor Garber brought a guitar. Paul Shaffer was there to accompany two auditioners on piano.
This improbable lineup of ambitious 20-somethings would all end up onstage at the June 1 opening night, before they became famous through Second City, “Saturday Night Live,” “SCTV,” movies, Broadway and more. For several, “Godspell” at the Royal Alexandra Theatre was their first major job, the moment that nudged their life’s trajectory toward show-business stardom. They formed relationships that have lasted 50 years — all while in a musical that is literally about exuberant comedic strangers learning to connect with one another.
At that callback, many felt bad for Radner, onstage in pigtails and singing a children’s tune. But the creators weren’t looking for polish. They were looking for raw talent. “It was the cutest thing in the world,” Shaffer says now, “but she knew exactly what she was doing.”
Many of them did not. This is an oral history of that production, in interviews that have been condensed for concision and clarity.
Continue reading "They all starred in ‘Godspell.’ Then they became comedy legends." »