Video: Matthew Broderick gives reading of ‘A Christmas Oratorio’
By Kevin Coughlin
He ruled Broadway as Leo Bloom in The Producers. In the Civil War drama Glory, he starred as a Union colonel. And of course, everyone remembers him in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.
Now, in Morristown, Matthew Broderick has tackled another epic role:
King Herod.
Broderick joined his sister, the Rev. Janet Broderick, at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church this month for a reading of W.H. Auden’s For the Time Being: A Christmas Oratorio.
Video: Matthew Broderick as King Herod
Written during World War II, it places the Christmas story in the 20th century. Auden wanted the piece set to music, but this proved too daunting for composer Benjamin Britten.
The Brodericks read on Dec. 9, 2016, with the Rev. John Hartnett, a Ridgewood minister who gave a masterful recitation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol at St. Peter’s in 2011.
Josh Stafford led some caroling by the audience afterward.
We have two video excerpts of Oratorio for you, including Matthew Broderick’s monologue as Herod.
And the link below is an audio podcast of the full one-hour presentation. Happy holidays!
Podcast: Matthew Broderick recites ‘Christmas Oratorio’ in Morristown
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