Day by Day (1973) 2/22/20

Some of my theatre colleagues have asked if I would be featuring any showtunes in my "Great Songs of the '70s" blog.

The answer is Yes.

But today's song is more than just a showtune, it's a prayer, and an old one at that--dating back to 13th-century English bishop Saint Richard of Chichester.

Of course, composer Stephen Schwartz updated the language for 20th Century purposes when he wrote the score for the musical "Godspell."The show was originally a Master's Thesis by Carnegie-Mellon University student John-Michael Tebelak and based on the Biblical book of Matthew. It was tinkered with quite a bit before fellow student Schwartz came aboard...but from there, it really took off.

The hit song from the show, "Day by Day," was credited to the entire cast of "Godspell," but was actually sung by cast member Robin Lamont--with the chorus, of course.

The show was an off-Broadway hit in the early '70s, and the song itself went to #13 on the US Hot 100.

A film version was made in 1972, with Victor Garber as Jesus. Robin Lamont appeared as "Robin."

TRIVIA: Also in '72, Victor Garber played Jesus in the legendary Toronto production, which was loaded with INCREDIBLE talent, before anyone knew who they were. In addition to Garber, who seems to be everywhere these days, including "The Orville," the cast included Gilda Radner, Martin Short, Eugene Levy, Dave Thomas, and Andrea Martin! The Music Director was a youngster named Paul Shaffer!

It finally made it to Broadway as a revival in 1976, with Garber as Jesus...and Paul Shaffer on keyboards.

MORE TRIVIA: With the exception of the Toronto production, Robin Lamont was with the show from the very beginning at Carnegie-Mellon...and was still in the cast when it hit Broadway in '76. Another original Carnegie-Mellon cast member, Sonia Manzano, left the show after its initial run to join the cast of "Sesame Street," where she played "Maria" from 1971 to 2015!