Scott Wahle performs songs of Nat King Cole and Rosemary Clooney in Quincy cabaret

When Rosemary Clooney sang the lyrics “Come On-A My House/ I’m Going to Give You Everything,” she turned the song into a hit that expressed an effusive optimism and generosity.

That is the spirit of a new cabaret show starring Hingham actor Scott Wahle presented by JM Productions April 20 in Quincy. Wahle, and three other singers, perform the songs that wowed audiences who heard Clooney and Nat King Cole, legends who rose to fame in the 1950s.

“The music is timeless and the tunes come from the same era and complement each other,” Wahle said. “For younger people a lot of these songs may be new. If we can introduce a new generation to this great music, that is a bonus.”

Wahle first performed “Come On-a My House: Celebrating the music of Rosemary Clooney and Nat King Cole” in Boston last fall as a benefit for Upstage Lung Cancer.

The organization produces cabarets presenting the music of artists affected by lung cancer to raise funds for awareness, research and treatment. Both Clooney and Cole died of lung cancer.

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Wahle shares the stage with Leigh Barrett, who has performed in many Boston theaters and is the recipient of two Elliot Norton Awards and two IRNE Awards, and cabaret singers Brian DeLorenzo and Hildy Grossman. Grossman, a lung cancer survivor and singer in the cabaret group The Follen Angels, founded and is president of Upstage Lung Cancer.

Starting with a medley of “Route 66” and “Sentimental Journey” and ending with a four-part version of “Unforgettable,” the cabaret is a memorable journey through hits such as “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore,” “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love,” and “Hey There.”

A high point for Wahle is the Rosemary Clooney ballad “When October Goes,” which DeLorenzo sings in the show.

“I had never heard it before and it’s absolutely gorgeous in his tenor voice,” Wahle said.

A WBZ-TV morning news anchor for 10 years until he, Joyce Kolhawik and Bob Lobel were laid off in 2008, Wahle is not only accustomed to the lights, but he knows how to tell a story with music as well as words.

“When you sign a song, you have to ask yourself, ‘What story is being told here?’ said Wahle, who has performed since his teenage years at Hingham High. “It brings the song alive and takes what could simply be a pretty song to a special place. There are different interpretations, and the audience can hear and feel the depth of understanding.”

While working as a public relations and marketing consultant, Wahle has been a regular on Boston-area stages. He played George A. Dodge in “Paragon Park, the Musical” at The Company Theatre, Harold Hill in “The Music Man” at The Inly School in Scituate and at three other theaters and also starred as the Beast in “Beauty and the Beast,” John Adams in “1776” and Tevye in “Fiddler on the Roof.”

“It has always been a passion of mine and something I thought about doing as a career, and I would have done it if it paid the bills,” said Wahle, 59, who was an English major and theater minor at Notre Dame University. “I’ve always found time to do it (outside of work) thanks to a very supportive and understanding wife.”

Maribeth Wahle runs the public relations company Madison Communications and the online business Honor Always, and the couple has three grown children and a teenager.

Wahle also has performed twice with Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops, been on the Rosie O’Donnell Show and sung the national anthem for all of Boston’s professional teams. But musical theater is his favorite, and every show involves exhaustive preparation.

“I don’t just get a script and learn the lines,” he said. “Getting the context is part of what makes a role so much fun.”

When he was John Adams, for example, at The Reagle Theatre in Waltham in 2001, he immersed himself in Adams by visiting his home in Quincy and reading the biography by David McCullough.

“I take working in the theater very seriously and approach it professionally,” Wahle said. “It’s not just a diversion.”

“Come On-a My House: Celebrating the music of Rosemary Clooney and Nat King Cole” is 7 and 9 p.m. April 20 at The Common Market, 97 Willard St., Quincy. Tickets are $20. Patrons must be 21 or older. For tickets, go to www.brownpapertickets.com/event/300393