Godspell: A Musical Based on the Gospel According to St. Matthew

A very young Victor Garber (like over 4 decades younger) plays a Messiah-like fellow in this hippie-era musical, which is NOT very scriptural, but is very tender. The highlight is the song DAY BY DAY, sung by all the colourfully-clad hippie types who engage in decorating & cleaning up a neighborhood. I wrote this review to relate an anecdote about Garber by Martin Short who, with his (then) girlfriend, Gilda Radner, was in 2 live musicals in Toronto with Victor Garber: HAIR & GODSPELL.

When Garber showed up to audition for the lead, no one competed with him-Martin said, in his bio, that it was a foregone conclusion. In fact, when Garber was singing-either for audition or rehearsal-the dressing rooms & lobby would empty and everyone would come to listen wistfully to him perform. You may know Garber as the ship designer in Titanic, or the super-spy's father in ALIAS. He is a great actor, too, but try to catch him anywhere singing, either on YouTube, or in these early musicals. You are in for a treat.