Michael Cerveris performs on Mountain Stage.

From West Virginia to Broadway and back again, this folksinger-turned-actor has returned home to play songs from his upcoming album.

Michael Cerveris and Loose Cattle make their first appearance on Mountain Stage, recorded live at the Keith Albee Theater in Huntington, W.V. A Huntington native, Cerveris worked at the Keith Albee as a young man, popping popcorn for patrons in the theater's basement. Since then, he's gone on to become one of Broadway's most respected vocalists.

He originated the title role in the Broadway hit Tommy, starred in the revival of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and won a Tony for his portrayal of John Wilkes Booth in Assassins. No stranger to rock music, Cerveris fronted the British band Retriever and worked with Bob Mould on his 1998 Dog and Pony Show tour.

Cerveris is now set to release his second solo recording, the folk-tinged Leave the Light On, which he recorded in New Orleans with producer Mark Bingham. Cerveris is backed by Kim Kaye on vocals, Gabriel Caplan on banjo, Lorenzo Wolff on bass, Eddie Zwieback on drums and Linzay Young on fiddle.

This Mountain Stage performance originally aired on September 13, 2012.

Copyright 2013 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.

Filed in:

• Concerts
• Music