Patrick Henry Live!

Patrick Henry was born on May 29, 1736 in Hanover County, Virginia. He is most well-known for his famous "Give me liberty, or give me death!" closing line in a speech given at St. John's Church on March 23, 1775, in Richmond, Virginia during the Second Virginia Convention. The Virginia House of Burgesses met in Richmond, which was a small little town with a population of about six hundred at that time, because Lord Dunmore, the Royal Governor of Virginia, disbanded the House of Burgesses in Williamsburg. To avoid confrontation with Dunmore's British soldiers, the House of Burgesses met in Richmond, west of the colonial capital of Williamsburg, at St. John's Church, which was the only building in Richmond large enough to accommodate the members of the House of Burgesses.

While many people recognize the line, "Give me liberty, or give me death!" few are familiar with the entire speech. It is the singular power of this speech that inspires Michael L. Oddenino to perform its reenactment to help capture the riveting nature of Patrick Henry's oratory. Thomas Jefferson, who witnessed many of Patrick Henry's speeches, commented that, "Henry spoke as Homer wrote." Read the entire speech: Patrick Henry's Speech.

Performing on the Las Vegas Strip at the Paris Hotel, Michael joined fellow interpreters Bill Barker as Thomas Jefferson and Christopher Lowell as Benjamin Franklin at the FreedomFest conference:

"Michael Oddenino was a hit at our conference, FreedomFest, in Las Vegas. A thousand attendees were thrilled by his powerful, engaging voice....and he didn't miss a beat when asked tough questions from the audience. He even looked like Patrick Henry. I had goose-bumps when he delivered Patrick Henry's most famous speech, "Give me liberty or give me death!"

Producer, FreedomFest

To arrange for Michael to speak at your organization, contact: Host@patrickhenrylive.com

Groups and schools find Michael L. Oddenino's reenactment of Patrick Henry's speech with the accompanying historical explanation to be riveting and inspiring. To read some of the comments by students who enjoyed the experience, click here. Some students even make drawings of Patrick Henry after experiencing his speech.

Below is a photo of Michael and students at the Gooden School in Sierra Madre, California: