Con Men, Kings, and Producers: Matthew Broderick Brings Broadway to the Big (and Small) Screens

It was announced this week that two-time Tony Award winner Matthew Broderick, will star as the narrator in FOX's live musical event, A CHRISTMAS STORY LIVE! As the narrator, Broderick will play the grown-up "Ralphie Parker," who looks back with love and humor on his favorite childhood Christmas.

Outside of this most recent casting, Matthew has a something of a history with filmed versions of beloved stage musicals and dramas. Since the very beginnings of his career, the star of stage and screen has been at the center of some of the most popular big (and small) screen adaptations of some of history's favorite stage works.

While we wait for Matthew to join the company of A Christmas Story this holiday season, let's take a look back at some of his most iconic turns in musicals and plays that have kept film and television audiences entertained for decades.

Hally- Master Harold...and the Boys

In 1985, Matthew starred in a televised film version of Athol Fugard's Master Harold...and the Boys. The blistering tale of racism was a step outside of his usual roles, portraying Harold, a young white man whose frustration turns into racist viciousness against the two black men who work for his family when he learns that his father will be returning home.

Alan Simon - Torch Song Trilogy

In 1988, Matthew starred in a film version of the soon-to-be-revived, Torch Song Trilogy. In the film Broderick portrayed Alan Simon, the gay lover of drag queen Arnold Beckoff, in the re-telling of Harvey Fierstein's seminal drama about navigating the world as a homosexual, and the search for love, respect, and tradition in the modern world.

Simba - The Lion King

In 1994, Matthew provided the voice for Adult Simba in Disney's animated classic The Lion King. Picking up where the voice of Young Simba, JoNathan Taylor Thomas, left off, Matthew portrayed the now iconic character in his journey from lost lion cub to King of Pride Rock in the tale that has kept Broadway audiences cheering faster than you can say, "Hakuna Matata" for nearly twenty years.

Harold Hill- The Music Man

In 2003, Matthew conned the nation as he starred opposite Tony Award winner, Kristin Chenoweth, in the televised adaptation of Meredith Willson's The Music Man. Stepping into the shoes of the fast-talking Harold Hill, Matthew sparkled as he swindled the folks of River City, Iowa, and wooed the town's lovely librarian in the process.

Leo Bloom- The Producers

In 2005, Matthew dusted off his fedora and joined the original, Tony Award-winning company of The Producers for the musical's big screen adaptation. Portraying the mousy, aspiring Broadway producer, Leo Bloom, Matthew re-created his Tony nominated performance as an accountant who gets swept up in the show business scheme of a lifetime.