Biography
Growing up amid the suburbs of New England, Michael Cerveris encountered the arts at an early age through his father, a university professor of music, and his mother, a modern dancer, both of whom urged their children toward instrumental study. The violin and cello came quickly under his command, yet a guitar at age ten shifted his focus toward rock & roll. Amid formal lessons and repeated relocations across New England, music and performance supplied the one constant in his life. He finished high school in Huntington, WV, before Yale finally supplied the steadiness he had sought.
At college he trained his voice under Blake Stern, and upon graduation he moved to New York City to pursue a career in theater and singing. Initial prospects proved modest; like countless other performers, he filled intervals between auditions by waiting tables and dressing windows at department stores. The year 1986 brought the part of rocker Ian Ware on the television drama Fame, an engagement that sharpened his vocal approach while allowing him to play guitar on screen. Additional television appearances followed on Quantum Leap, The Equalizer, and 21 Jump Street.
Entering the 1990s, Cerveris maintained an accelerating pace. In 1992 he created the title role in the Who’s rock opera Tommy at the La Jolla Playhouse in California. Pete Townshend, impressed by the performance, invited him to appear on the solo Psychoderelict tour. That same year brought a Tony nomination for the role, though Cerveris received the Theatre World Award; the original-cast album also won a Grammy for Best Original Cast Album. Several years afterward he transferred Tommy to Germany, where the production eventually reached 1,403 performances. Once the run closed in 1997, Cerveris returned to New York for the Broadway premiere of Titanic. Further Broadway engagements arrived swiftly: he starred in the irreverent Hedwig and the Angry Inch during 1998 and 1999.
Beyond the stage he toured with former Hüsker Dü frontman Bob Mould and took a role in the dark comedy The Mexican alongside Julia Roberts and Brad Pitt. Since 1999 he has performed with his band Retriever, whose album Hinterlands appeared in 2001.
At college he trained his voice under Blake Stern, and upon graduation he moved to New York City to pursue a career in theater and singing. Initial prospects proved modest; like countless other performers, he filled intervals between auditions by waiting tables and dressing windows at department stores. The year 1986 brought the part of rocker Ian Ware on the television drama Fame, an engagement that sharpened his vocal approach while allowing him to play guitar on screen. Additional television appearances followed on Quantum Leap, The Equalizer, and 21 Jump Street.
Entering the 1990s, Cerveris maintained an accelerating pace. In 1992 he created the title role in the Who’s rock opera Tommy at the La Jolla Playhouse in California. Pete Townshend, impressed by the performance, invited him to appear on the solo Psychoderelict tour. That same year brought a Tony nomination for the role, though Cerveris received the Theatre World Award; the original-cast album also won a Grammy for Best Original Cast Album. Several years afterward he transferred Tommy to Germany, where the production eventually reached 1,403 performances. Once the run closed in 1997, Cerveris returned to New York for the Broadway premiere of Titanic. Further Broadway engagements arrived swiftly: he starred in the irreverent Hedwig and the Angry Inch during 1998 and 1999.
Beyond the stage he toured with former Hüsker Dü frontman Bob Mould and took a role in the dark comedy The Mexican alongside Julia Roberts and Brad Pitt. Since 1999 he has performed with his band Retriever, whose album Hinterlands appeared in 2001.
Albums
Live
