The 1972–1973 Toronto production opened at the Royal Alexandra Theatre and was intended to be a run of a few dozen performances for a subscription audience. The cast was drawn entirely from local performers, instead of a touring cast. After an enthusiastic response from the audience, the scheduled run at the Royal Alexandra ended and the show moved uptown to the Bayview Playhouse in Leaside. The Bayview Playhouse production ran until August 1973, with a then-record run of 488 performances. The Toronto production launched the careers of many actors, including Victor Garber, Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin, Gilda Radner, Dave Thomas, Jayne Eastwood and Martin Short, as well as the show's musical director, Paul Shaffer. Howard Shore played saxophone for this production. You Had To Be There, a documentary film by Nick Davis about the 1972 Toronto production, premiered at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival.