#6: Day By Day by Godspell

City: Saskatoon, SK
Radio Station: CFQC
Peak Month: June 1972
Peak Position in Saskatoon ~ #1
Peak Position in Vancouver ~ #18
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #13
YouTube: “Day By Day”
Lyrics: “Day By Day”

Godspell is the name of an Off-Broadway musical created in 1970, that began its run in 1971. The show features eight non-Biblical characters, who sing and act out the parables: Gilmer (silly, a great storyteller); Robin (a tomboy); Herb (goofy and entertaining); Jeffrey (happy and excited); Joanne (eager and enthusiastic); Lamar (clumsy and unintentionally funny); Peggy (shy and loyal); and Sonia (dramatic with a put-on sensuality). In the original script, licensed through Theatre Maximus, the “Christ” character and the “John” and “Judas” role are assigned the names of the original performers, Stephen and David. All ten actors are on stage throughout the entirety of the production. The score was based loosely on themes in the Gospel of Matthew. 

The original Godspell cast consisted of Lamar Alford, Peggy Gordon, David Haskell, Joanne Jonas, Robin Lamont, Sonia Manzano, Gilmer McCormick, Jeffrey Mylett, Stephen Nathan, and Herb Simon.

David Haskell (photo: 1971)

David Haskell was born in Stockton, California, in 1948. Concurrent to the Off-Broadway production of Godspell, Haskell appeared in the 1973 film adaptation in the dual roles of John the Baptist and Judas Iscariot. He appeared as a guest in The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Lou Grant, Knots Landing, Eight Is Enough, Knight Rider, Remington Steele, Mr. Smith, Paper Dolls, Highway to Heaven, Falcon Crest, Dallas, Matlock, Mork & Mindy, Home Improvement, and Scarecrow and Mrs. King. David Haskell appeared in 21 episodes of All That Glitters in 1977. In 1980, he acted alongside Chevy Chase and Goldie Hawn in the comedy film Seems Like Old Times. He starred in the 1983 comedy film Deal of the Century, again with Chevy Chase, and also Sigourney Weaver. David Haskell played recurring character Nick Hartley on the soap opera Santa Barbara from 1985-1986, the love interest of the character Kelly Capwell played by Robin Wright. Haskell can also be seen as the doctor who saves the life of the dog Jerry Lee at the end of the 1989 movie K-9. As well, Haskell played Rev. Matthews in 14 episodes of Generations between 1989 and 1991. He appeared in the 1984 neo-noir erotic thriller Body Double, and later The Boost, a 1988 film drama starring James Woods. In 200, David Haskell died of brain cancer at the age of 52.

Gilmer McCormick (photo: 1971)

Gilmer McCormick was born in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1947. During the Off-Broadway run, Gilmer McCormick was married to Stephen Reinhardt after a matinee performance of Godspell. All the caste attended the wedding. She gave birth to her son, Brian, in 1976. After her second child, Eve, was born in 1979, the couple moved to Los Angeles. While Gilmer pursued acting, teaching acting and directing, Stephen Reinhardt was in the L.A. production of Evita. Subsequently, he was music supervisor for General Hospital, and then for Day of Our Lives. The couple moved to Louisville in 2010. In the years that followed, Gilmer McCormick returned to the stage in Louisville.

Jeffrey Mylett (photo: 1971)

Jeffrey Mylett was born in Canton, Ohio, in 1949. He became a devotee of Indian avatar Meher Baba in the late 60s. While he was in Godspell, Mylett was also in the Lamar Alford play Thoughts at the La MaMa Theater. Mylett recreated his stage role in the 1973 film version of Godspell. In both the stage and film versions, Jeffrey Mylett sang lead for the song “We Beseech Thee”. In 1974, Mylett appeared in another Stephen Schwartz directed Broadway musical called The Magic Show. He hosted The Rock ‘n’ Fun Magic Show, a 1975 TV special featuring music, magic, and comedy. It featured guest appearances from Doug Henning, Bill Cosby, and the Hudson Brothers. He also appeared in the films Money Talks (1972), Brewster’s Millions (1985), and My Man Adam (1985). In early 1977, he participated in the workshop that created the musical Working. In 1986, Jeffrey Mylette died of complications from HIV/AIDS at the age of 36 in Los Angeles.

Joanne Jonas (photo: 1971)

Joanne Jonas was born in The Bronx in 1951. After Godspell, Jonas continued to act on stage into the mid-70s. She appeared in Death of a Salesman, and Candide. She also appeared in over a hundred TV commercials. In 1977, Jonas stepped away from theater. She told a reporter, “Godspell had a very spiritual effect on me. So much that I shifted my focus to sharing the essence of ‘Love thy neighbor as thyself’ with people in a nonreligious way.” She founded HeartMath, a system to train people to manage stress and align your heart and brain for more dynamic living. The project continues to the present with modules to provide a) Stress & Anxiety Relief, b) Health and Vitality Improvement, c) Emotional Balance & Self-Regulation, d) Mental Clarity & Peak Performance, and e) Meditation and Personal Growth.  

Lamar Alford (photo: 1971)

Lamar Alford was born in Troy, Alabama, in 1944. He was the youngest of five children. His father was a Baptist minister. By 1963 he moved to New York City, and within a few years was singing in the New York Opera as a tenor. From 1969, he appeared in multiple Eyen plays that year, including “Four No Plays by Tom Eyen” with the Theatre of the Eye Repertory Company. He also appeared in excerpts from the “Four No Plays” presented alongside excerpts from Why Hanna’s Skirt Won’t Stay Down and Who Killed My Bald Sister Sophie, both written and directed by Eyen. Eyen dedicated this production to the “West Village raid of June 26, 1969”, which would later be known as the Stonewall riots. In the production of Godspell, Lamar Alford sang the lead in “All Good Gifts”. In 1972, his play Thoughts was produced in 1972, 1973, and again in 1974, at the La MaMa theater. He was also a musical director at La MaMa for several productions in 1969-70. He appeared on Broadway in 1973 in Your Arm’s Too Short to Box With God. In 1982, Lamar Alford became a dramatist in residence at Moorehouse College in Atlanta. He founded the King Players theater group in Atlanta. He oversaw annual productions of his musical drama Martin, which chronicled the life of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and was performed during the college’s King Week Celebration; one such rendition in 1988 traveled to La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club in New York City, featuring a cast of 40 participants. Lamar Alford died in 1991 at the age of 46. His family has not publicly disclosed the cause of his death since Lamar Alford died. Some accounts suggest he died of AIDS, but this is unofficial.

Peggy Gordon (photo L: 1971 | photo R: 2018)

Peggy Gordon was born in 1949 in New York City, and grew up on Long Island. She co-wrote “By My Side”. She said of her experience of being in Godspell, “We were young and we just thought we could do it – it never occurred to us we couldn’t…The original cast was the basement for an infinite skyscraper.” Over the decades, her career has been a mix of theater, publishing, television, film and recordings. After the Off-Broadway production of Godspell, she co-wrote the Off-Broadway comedy Taboo in Revue, with Godspell alumni Robin Lamont. She has written music for the soap operas Guiding Light, As the World Turns, and Another World. In 1993, she co-wrote Mating Habits of the Urban Mammal. She also wrote a book titled Rotten to the Core, satirizing New York City mayor Ed Koch. In 2021, Peggy Gordon appeared as a guest in the TV show Stars in the House. 

Robin Lamont (photo: 1971)

Robin Lamont was born in Boston in 1950. She was in the drama department at Carnegie-Mellon. She sang the lead in the song “Day By Day”. After Godspell, she appeared in the Broadway musical Grease as the character Sandy, the love interest of the greaser Danny Zuko. She also performed in Stephen Schwartz’s 1978 musical Working. Lamont responded to an ad from a company hiring actors as private investigators. That led to her interest in law. She earned a law degree and served for many years as a district attorney in Westchester County, New York. She has also written a series of books, including If Thy Right Hand, The Trap, The Chain, The Experiment, and Wright for America

Sonia Manzano was born in 1950 in New York City. She studied drama at Carnegie Mellon University. While performing in Godspell, Sonia auditioned for the role of Maria in Sesame Street, at the start of the TV show’s third season. She portrayed the character on the TV show for 44 years, until her retirement in 2015. In addition, as a writer for the TV show she won 15 Emmy Awards. Alongside her regular gig with Sesame Street, Manzano appeared in numbers of productions including The Exonerated, The Vagina Monologues, and Love, Loss, and What I Wore. She is also the author of the young adult novel The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano. She has also written the children’s books Little Bill, Miracle on 133rd Street, and No Dogs Allowed! Manzano has appeared in Deathwish (1974) with Charles Bronson and Hope Lange, Follow That Bird (1985), and The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland (1999). In 2015, Sonia Manzano published her memoir Becoming Maria: Love and Chaos in the South Bronx. In addition, she has appeared on several occasions in The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Stephen Nathan (L) and David Haskell (R) (photo: 1971)

Stephen Nathan was born in 1948 in Buffalo, New York. He was cast in the role of Jesus in Godspell. His performance earned him a Variety Critics’ Poll Award for Best Actor in a Musical. In 1972, he was caste as a courier in the historical musical drama 1776. In 1976, he appeared in the Paramount Pictures musical comedy The First Nudie Musical. The following year he was cast in You Light Up My Life, from which the cover version of the theme song became a huge number-one hit for ten consecutive weeks for Debbie Boone in the fall of 1977. Stephen Nathan has been cast in Bonanza, Young Dr. Kildare, Rhoda, The Chadwick Family, McCloud, Everybody Loves Raymond, Laverne & Shirley, The Six Million Dollar Man, The Paul Lynde Show, Love & War, Tracy Takes On New York, Jesse, and Family Law. From 2003 to 2005, Nathan was the executive producer of the TV series Joan of Arcadia. He also created the BBC comedy TV show That’s It For Richard. From 2005 to 2017, he was the executive producer and writer for the FOX TV series Bones. 

Herb Braha (aka Herb Simon)

Herb Simon was the final member of the original cast in the Off-Broadway production of Godspell. He was born in Hyannis, Massachusetts, in 1946 with the birth name Herb Braha. He took the stage name Herb Simon ahead of the Off-Broadway fun. Following Godspell’s off-Broadway run, Braha went on to a successful career in film and television, appearing in such shows as Kojak, The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries, Soap, Remington Steele, Happy Days and Charlie’s Angels. His film credits included Child’s Play, The Howling, The Ski Bum (1971) with Charlotte Rampling and Rock ‘n’ Roll High, in which he played the Ramones’ agent. Among his achievements was establishing Richard the Thread, a successful fabric house that supplied material for opera, stage play and film productions, such as Pirates of the Caribbean and Iron Man franchises. He died at the age of 69 in February 2016.

The debut single release from the Off-Broadway production was “By My Side”. The song was written by Peggy Gordon, and originally titled “Marigold’s Song” for a production by The Open Players. The next single release from the Soundtrack album from Godspell was “Day By Day”.

Part way through the first act of Godspell, Jesus is teaching the law of the offering gifts at the altar. The cast makes offerings of themselves. They are taught that to approach God’s altar, they must be pure of heart and soul. They then act out the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant, a story of a master and a servant who owes him a debt. The servant asks his master for pity in repaying the debt, and the master absolves it. The servant then turns to a fellow servant who “owed him a few dollars” and demands that it be paid in full. The master, hearing this, then condemns the servant to prison. Jesus explains the moral: “Forgive your brothers from your heart.” The character telling the parable sings “Day by Day”, and the Godspell cast joins in.

Stephen Schwartz wrote “Day By Day”. Schwartz was born in New York City in 1948. He studied piano and composition at the Juilliard School of Music while in high school and graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in 1968 with a B.F.A. in Drama. Upon coming back to live in New York City, he went to work as an A&R producer for RCA Records, but shortly thereafter began to work in the Broadway theatre. His first major credit was the title song for the play Butterflies Are Free. The song, “Butterflies Are Free”, was eventually used in the movie version as well.

Stephen Schwartz (1971)

Stephen Schwartz received a Grammy Award in 1972 for Best Score From an Original Cast Show Album for Godspell. Schwartz received a Grammy nomination in the same category in 1973 for Pippin, and again in 1974 for The Magic Show. Both Godspell and Pippin received Tony Award nominations in 1973 and 1977 respectively. In 1978, he received Tony Award nominations for Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score, both for Working. He subsequently received another Best Original Score Tony Award nomination for Rags in 1987. In 1995, Schwartz won a Best Original Musical Academy Award for Pocahontas. As well, he won a Best Original Song Academy Award that year for “Colors of the Wind”. The following two years, Schwartz received more Academy Award nominations for Best Original Musical for The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), and The Prince of Egypt (1997). In 1998, Schwartz won a Best Original Song Academy Award for “What You Believe” from The Prince of Egypt. In 2007, he received three Best Original Song Academy Award nominations for songs from Enchanted titled “Happy Working Song”, “So Close”, and “That’s How You Know”.

His first opera, Seance On A Wet Afternoon, premiered at Opera Santa Barbara in the fall of 2009 and was subsequently produced by New York City Opera.

In 2004, he won a Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album for Wicked. In 2024, Stephen Schwartz received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Score for Wicked. In 2025, Schwartz received Grammy Award nominations for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media for Wicked: The Soundtrack, and Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media for Wicked.

Steven Schwartz has been inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame, the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Schwartz also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2015, he received the Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award for his humanitarian and mentorship contributions to the theatre.  A book about his career, Defying Gravity, has been released by Applause Books.

“Day By Day” is a sung prayer asking for three things in relationship to God: 1) “to see thee more clearly”, 2) “love thee more dearly”, and 3) “follow thee more nearly – day by day”.

“Day By Day” climbed to #1 in Saskatoon (SK), St. Louis, Harrisburg (PA), and Endicott (NY), #2 in Boston, and Dayton (OH), #3 in Waterbury (CT), and Allentown (PA), #4 in West Palm Beach (FL), #5 in Fresno (CA), Saginaw (MI), Syracuse (NY), Kansas City (MO), Indianapolis (IN), Tampa (FL), Reno (NV), and Flint (MI), #6 in Winnipeg (MB),  Pocatello (ID), San Francisco, Sarasota (FL), Saint Charles (MO), Lansing (MI), Rochester (NY), and Springfield (MA), #7 in Hartford (CT), Easton (PA), Stockton (CA), Denver, Cedar Rapids (IA), Tucson (AZ), Columbus (OH), Babylon (NY), and Minneapolis/St. Paul, #8 in Toronto, Milwaukee, Nashville, Fort Wayne (IN), Salt Lake City, Philadelphia, and Council Bluffs (IA), #9 in New Haven (CT), Albany (NY), Colorado Springs (CO), Omaha (NE), Escondido (CA), and Davenport (IA), and #10 in Hamilton (ON), and Sioux Falls (SD).

A followup single release from the Broadway soundtrack album was “We Beseech Thee”.

In 1973, a film adaptation of Godspell was released by Columbia Pictures.

From the soundtrack “Beautiful City” was released as a single.

In 2014, music theater critic, Carol de Giere, published her book The Godspell Experience: Inside a Transformative Musical. The forward was written by Stephen Schwartz.

July 3, 2026
Ray McGinnis

References:
“Stephen Schwartz: About,” Stephenschwartz.com.
“Defying Gravity: The Creative Career of Stephen Schwartz from Godspell to Wicked,” Caroldegiere.com.
Godspell Original Caste, “By My Side“, Godspell, Bell Records, 1971.
Caryn Robbins, “Star of Original Off-Broadway Production of GODSPELL, Herb Braha Dies at 69,” Broadway World, February 10, 2016.
“Actor Herb Braha Dies at 69,” Variety, February 10, 2016.
Carol de Giere,”Where Are They Now? –  Godspell’s Original Cast and Creators,” Caroldegiere.com, 2014.
Carol de Giere, The Godspell Experience: Inside a Transformative Musical, Scene 1 Publishing, 2014.
Casey Childs, “Peggy Gordon,” The Primary Stages Off-Broadway Oral History Project, May 17, 2018.
“Heartmath.com,” heart math.com.
“Godspell at 50: Looking Back With Stars Peggy Gordon, Robin Lamont, and Stephen Nathan,” Theatermania.com, May 17, 2021.
“Stephen Nathan,” Broadway World, May 22, 2021.
John A. Wilcox, “A Few Words with Robin Lamont,” Progsheet.com.
“The Original Women of Godspell Are Still All Mighty!!,” Andrew Martin Report, August 2, 2011.
“Sonia Manzano: Bio,” Soniamanzano.com.
Sonia Manzano, Becoming Maria: Love and Chaos in the South Bronx, Scholastic Press, 2015.
“Lamar Alford, Writer, Actor, and Composer,” New York Times, April 5, 1991.
“Lamar Alford,” Grokopedia.com.