Matthew Broderick has signed on for the role of the adult Ralphie narrator in Fox’s live staging of a musical based on the beloved 1983 film A Christmas Story.
A Christmas Story Live! is set to air Dec. 17 as a three-hour telecast. Executive producer Marc Platt and much of the team behind Fox’s successful Grease Live production are reuniting for the tuner that revolves around a nine-year-old boy’s yearning for the perfect Christmas present: “a Red Ryder, carbine action, 200-shot, range model air rifle, with a compass in the stock and this thing that tells time.”
Broderick will take on the voice-over work handled in the film by Jean Shepherd, the late humorist and radio host who wrote the 1966 short story that inspired in the movie.
The musical rendition of Christmas story had a short Broadway run in 2013 and has fielded touring productions. Composers Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, now riding high on the success of Dear Evan Hansen and La La Land, wrote the tunes and will compose several new songs for the TV telecast.
Broderick is no stranger to the stage. He has two Tonys under his belt and a long list of credits ranging from Brighton Beach Memoirs to The Producers to most recently It’s Only a Play. His past TV credits include guest shots on 30 Rock and Modern Family.
