Many times when Evan Tyrone Martin performed, he would be asked to do a Nat “King” Cole tune.

“I guess it was because of the tone and quality of my voice,” he says. “It was always exciting and fun for me to perform. It was good fit.”

Beyond the occasional tune, Martin never made a specific correlation between himself and the iconic pop singer of the ‘40s to his death in 1965 at the age of 45.

That is until five years ago, when producers of a show about Cole went looking for a singer to star in their revue based on the singer and heard Martin’s voice.

When producers asked the Chicago-based Martin if he had ever heard Cole, he said being introduced to Cole by his grandmother “is one of there reasons why I’m a singer today. That was one of her favorite artists so I grew up listening to Nat’s music, so I was really familiar with the music in his catalogue already.”

Martin got the gig and for the last few years performed and toured in the show dedicated to the songs that Cole made famous. Two years ago he starred in a holiday show featuring Christmas music in which Cole is so often associated, primarily the chestnut of a ballad, “The Christmas Song (“Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire).”

That show, An Unforgettable Nat King Cole Christmas, will be presented for five performances in a show of storytelling and song at the Goodspeed Opera House Friday through Sunday, Dec. 20 to 22.

In both Cole shows, Martin puts himself in the mix.

“Luckily [the producers] trusted me enough to put so much of myself in the show,” he says. “It’s a great way to learn about me and the way Nat’s music and career affected me as an artist and as a singer.”

And what was special about Cole’s song stylings in such hits as “Mona Lisa,” “L-O-V-E,” “Sweet Lorraine” and “Too Young.”

“The reason why I love the way Nat sang is that his singing and his cadence is like a really great stroll and we have to kind of go along with him. He doesn’t pull you along,” he says. You kind of want to walk along with him because of the way Nat back-phrases and relaxes into the feeling off the music.”

The orchestrations also reflected that style, too, he says.

“The sound they created was this sweeping orchestral sound and the way Nat approaches the music is so relaxed but also heightened. It kind of draws you in so it feels neither of you are doing any work,” he says. Everyone is just enjoying it. It’s a beautiful trick he pulls off.”

What makes the music of Nat King Cole so perfect for the Christmas holidays?

“I think it’s because of the warm tone of his voice and because a few of his hits have become these big iconic Christmas songs. People are just drawn to that music because it takes them to such a specific time and place, maybe with their families on Christmases past,” Martin says. There’s a sense of comfort in his voice and when you hear it again, it really takes you back to another place and time.”

The show is also an opportunity for Martin to share some of the history of the singer, who broke barriers as an African-American artist in the mid-20th century.

“He was the first African American to have a TV show with his name in the title of the show, though it didn’t last long because NBC couldn’t get sponsors behind the show because of his race.”

An Unforgettable Nat King Cole Christmas is not the only holiday show offered by Goodspeed Musicals. A Connecticut Christmas Carol continues for its third year at Goodspeed’s Norma Terris Theatre in Chester through Saturday, Dec. 28. The musical adaptation features Connecticut characters such as Mark Twain, P.T. Barnum, and Benedict Arnold and stars Robert Cuccioli returning for his second year in the role of a Scrooge via William Gillette.

“It’s such a story of redemption and the hope that one can change their life and be redeemed,” says Cuccioli, who received a Tony Award nomination for his role in Broadway’s Jekyll & Hyde. “There is a light to move towards in this story of hope that is just very touching and poignant for everybody.”

He says because of the Connecticut characters give a different look as well as the original music for the production. “That heightens the emotion of it, too. Everyone who plays this role has to look at some part of himself or herself that connects to this character, but that’s true with any role,” he says. It’s a great personal journey, too.”

So is he more of a Scrooge or Cratchit at Christmas?

“I go through my phases,” he says, laughing, “It changes from year to year but for the most part I’m an optimistic kind of guy. And growing up, Christmas was always special. The only anxiety is that it comes up so fast after another holiday and you have to get gifts for all your loved ones. Otherwise, it’s just a joyful season.”

An Unforgettable Nat King Cole Christmas will be performed Friday, Dec. 20 at 8 p.m.; Saturday,Dec. 21 at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.; and Sunday Dec. 22 at 2 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. at The Goodspeed, 6 Main Street, Haddam. A Connecticut Christmas Carol 2019 will be performed through Saturday, Dec. 28 at The Terris Theatre, 33 North Main Street, Chester. More information is available at www.goodspeed.org/.