When actor-singer-songwriter Craig Winberry would do cabaret shows, he always put some George Michael in the set.

Sometimes the Michael song came with some cheek — after returning from Carnival in Brazil one year, Winberry closed a show in a speedo and headdress singing Wham’s “I’m Your Man.” Sometimes it came with tender sincerity, such as the big ballad “One More Try.”

So when Winberry saw a casting call for something called “The Life and Music of George Michael,” he felt he’d been preparing for the audition for years.

“The summer of 2021, I’m having a horrible day, I turn on my phone and I see this casting notice,” Winberry told the Boston Herald. “I was like, ‘That’s me.’”

“It was like I’d already been working toward this project,” he added.

“The Life and Music of George Michael” went out in 2022 and built some buzz. By 2024, it had grown into a sensation — crisscrossing the States and Canada, touring Australia, selling out Boston’s Emerson Colonial Theater. The show returns for two performances at the Colonial on Nov. 1.

The show features two Michaels — Connor Antico covers the Wham era; Winberry takes on the more weighty solo stuff. As a longtime fan, Winberry understands that Michael’s legacy is nuanced, complex, and massive.

“That poppy, teeny bop sound was Wham,” Winberry said. “But George knew he wasn’t always going to be that 19-year-old bouncing up and down. He said, ‘I have other parts of my life that I want to show you.’”

That means this performance gives you bubble gum such as the irrepressible “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go.” But it also dives into 1998 international hit “Outside” — the singer’s bold declaration of gay pride (and a hell of a dance jam).

“I grew up with (Michael’s music) so I understand it, especially some of the coded language,” Winberry said.

Winberry says he would never call himself an impersonator, but he and the band have an ear and eye for the icon’s meticulous approach to pop. Lyrically and musically, artistically and emotionally, nobody matured through finely-crafted Top 40 masterpieces like Michael did from Wham’s “Freedom” to “Faith” to “Freedom ’90” to “Outside” (all of which are in the show). Oh, and that band, half of them are Berklee alums with mighty chops.

Between tours, Winberry has made time for his own voice. Earlier this year, he released an album of his music, “Sidewalk Survival Guide.” And if you dig GM’s electronica-touched ’90s stuff, you’ll want to give it a spin.

“It’s for anyone who is on their way to somewhere else but still trying to find themselves,” Winberry said. “And there’s all types of music, gospel, a nice ballad, some bossa nova, there’s pop.”

(C’mon, how GM is all of that?)

When not spending time on his own stuff, Winberry is thrilled to bring this show to Michael’s ever-expanding fan base. No matter where you are on your journey, you’ll find something to dance to — and something to think about — at “The Life and Music of George Michael.”

For tickets and details, visit thelifeandmusicofgm.com

Boston Police are investigating a string of cash register robberies at four Boston stores in different neighborhoods over the past week.

In each robbery, police said the suspect pretended to buy something before grabbing the cash register when the clerk opened it and fleeing with the cash inside. Police didn’t say how much cash was stolen in each robbery.

No weapons were displayed during any of the robberies.

In all the robberies, one suspect was described as wearing a black puffy jacket with the hood up, black pants and a black surgical mask.

The cash register robberies happened at stores on River Street and Fairmount Avenue in Hyde Park, Parker Street in Roxbury and Heath Street in Jamaica Plain.

Anyone with information can contact police anonymously through the CrimeStoppers tip line at 1-800-494-TIPS. Tips can also be texted with the word “TIP” to CRIME (27463) or reported online. Photos and video can also be submitted through CrimeStoppers anonymously.

In another incident this week in Boston, police are looking for a group of people who shoplifted the Lululemon store on Newbury Street on Oct. 13. Surveillance video captured three people fleeing the store shortly after 7 p.m. with armfuls of clothing while a fourth person ran after them. They were last seen leaving the area in a dark-colored sedan and heading outbound on Newbury Street.

According to police, the stolen merchandise was worth $6,140.

You can call it a Holiday home.

NBA champion Jrue Holiday is ready to pass the ball on his Boston-area estate, listing the luxe estate for $6.899 million just weeks after being traded back to the Portland Trail Blazers, The Post has learned.

Holiday, 35, purchased the estate, located in the tony town of Newton, for $6.5 million in May 2024, public records show.

Holiday, a 15-year NBA veteran known for his defensive prowess and steady leadership, has had one of the most decorated careers of his generation.

The six-bedroom, nine-bath home is located just 30 minutes drive from downtown Boston.

The address, at 15 Buff Circle, was completed in early 2024 and sits quietly at the end of a private cul-de-sac.

Blending contemporary design with warmth and function, the 8,850-square-foot property has high ceilings, natural light, and curated details throughout.

At its center is a chef’s kitchen outfitted with Sub-Zero and Wolf appliances, an oversized island, and crisp quartz surfaces.

The open-plan layout flows into spacious living areas that overlook manicured grounds and custom-built closets and skylit hallways.

The lower level serves as a private retreat, with a temperature-controlled wine room, a dedicated home theater, and a fully equipped gym that includes a sauna.

Outside, an expansive patio and outdoor kitchen create a year-round entertainment zone, enclosed by a fenced yard and surrounded by professional landscaping.

A three-car garage and smart-home features round out the amenities.

George Sarkis of The Sarkis Team at Douglas Elliman declined to comment on the listing. 

A first-round draft pick out of UCLA in 2009, he began with the Philadelphia 76ers before making his mark in New Orleans, where he became an All-Star and established a reputation as one of the league’s most unselfish two-way guards.

His 2020 trade to the Milwaukee Bucks paid off quickly — he helped lead the team to its first championship in 50 years the following season.

A subsequent move to the Boston Celtics via Portland in 2023 brought even more success, with Holiday earning his second championship ring in 2024 before returning to the Trail Blazers this summer.