Michael Cavanaugh

Michael Cavanaugh (born August 21, 1972) is an American actor and musician most famous for playing the piano and providing lead vocals in the band for the Broadway musical Movin' Out. Cavanaugh was handpicked by Billy Joel for this musical By age fourteen, Cavanaugh was playing keyboard with bands at weddings and other events several nights a week.

With the close of Movin' Out at the end of 2005, Cavanaugh began touring on his own, creating a show that reinterpreted the modern pop/rock songbook. He returned to play another engagement with the Boston Pops in 2015, featuring music by Neil Diamond, Paul Simon, and James Taylor.

In 2010, he debuted a new orchestra production, his second, called "Generations of Rock", in which he plays Elton John and other artists who have inspired him.

In 2012, Cavanaugh performed with the Florida Orchestra, playing a mix of classical and contemporary music by composers including Billy Joel, Elton John, John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Later that year, he performed with the Houston Symphony as well.

Cavanaugh has synesthesia. As he explained to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, "When I hear a note of C, I see the color red in my mind's eye. A is blue, F is gray. Growing up I thought everyone was like this." He attributes some of his facility at learning songs quickly to his synesthesia.