‘The contributions they’ve made not just to Canadian theatre but to comedy in North America are now part of history’
I’ve been involved behind the scenes with many shows over the past 50 years or more, and without any hesitation I can say I never had as much fun as I did working on “Godspell.”
The funny thing is, I almost turned the job down. I had a husband and four young children to look after and help only one day a week. I didn’t see how I could do it. It was the wonderful producer and manager Marvin Krauss from New York who talked me into it. He was like a mentor to me. I learned so much from him. My official title was company manager, but in those days you did just about everything.
“Godspell” opened as part of the Mirvish subscription series at the Royal Alex, but I don’t think anyone quite expected the show to take off the way it did. Ed Mirvish had another show coming in that September so Marvin had to transfer it to the Bayview Playhouse where it ran for another year almost.
The musical “Hair,” which I’d worked on earlier, had become a huge sensation before the Toronto production. Because of the subject matter, “Hair” had stirred up a good deal of controversy. People knew a lot of the songs already. I don’t think it was like that with “Godspell.” People didn’t know that much about it. Although Victor Garber had been making a name for himself as a folk-rock singer, I think it’s fair to say the cast were really a bunch of young unknowns. But, oh my word, did that change fast.
We had a week of previews, which built some excitement, and there was a decent amount of advance press coverage. But opening night was an unimaginable sensation. I still don’t think I’ve experienced such an ovation. It just exploded. Audiences loved the show with its very human and relatable themes. And they loved the cast, its sheer exuberance and, of course, amazing talent.
It was really those marvellous young people that made working on “Godspell” such a delight. They were having fun doing it, but they were also really professional. They took the job very seriously. A few of them already knew each other, which helped, but they were very much individuals. I mean Marty, he had so much energy all the time. Andrea could be a handful but the nicest kind of handful. Dear Gilda, such a huge personality. It was sad when she left. She gave us all a T-shirt that said, “I made it through six months of Godspell.”
Rudy had this gorgeous voice, but he was the quiet one offstage, not a big partier. Rudy was a bit older and I think already married with a kid. Paul Shaffer I remember was also a little shy but such a sweet, humble guy. He just loved being a musician.
And then of course Victor. He wasn’t with us for very long because they whisked him away to make the “Godspell” movie in New York. Victor was just perfect for the Jesus role: a great actor; a wonderful singer; a strong stage presence and drop-dead gorgeous. He was always the nicest person, a total gentleman.
Naturally, we had some moments. One night Gerry, who was Judas, got accidentally stabbed with a flagpole that was being waved about. He played the rest of the show bleeding, but he said he didn’t even notice. I guess if he felt he was dying I think he’d have let us know. Everybody was so upset about it afterwards.
Then there was the Sunday afternoon during the Bayview run when a gas furnace exploded and blew out the two back rows and a lot of the lobby. It was about two hours before the start of a matinee. It’s a miracle nobody was killed. There was just one kid in the box office who escaped unharmed. The theatre was good about getting repairs done as fast as possible, but we still lost 10 days. I remember phoning Marvin in New York right away. “The theatre blew up,” I said. He replied: “I’ve never had that happen before. I wonder if we have insurance for it.”
Really, that cast was so easy to deal with. We had lots of parties back at our house on Roxborough. I suspect the ones over at the house Eugene rented on Avenue Road were wilder. There was a party around Christmas at our house when Marty said: “Let’s go carolling. If we get any money we can give it to charity.” “Great idea,” said I. So off we went around Rosedale. You should have seen the looks on people’s faces when they realized who these young people were. And, of course, they sang so beautifully.
There were times when I felt a bit like a Mother Superior. Those kids were young and there was a lot of loving going on, so to say. My husband was a family doctor and he joked that I got more night calls than he did, dealing with various romantic maladies.
The extraordinary career paths of those Toronto “Godspell” performers, the contributions they’ve made not just to Canadian theatre but to comedy in North America are now part of history.
There have been many productions of “Godspell” around the world, but there’s a good reason Toronto’s has become legendary. I feel so blessed to have shared in the experience.
‘‘ Opening night was an unimaginable sensation. I still don’t think I’ve experienced such an ovation. MARLENE SMITH