Youngstown / Boardman native Robert Bartko performs the music of George Michael and Wham! in the tribute act George Michael Reborn, which comes to the Robins Theatre in Warren on Jan. 20. (Submitted photo)

Portraying George Michael is a role Robert Bartko has been prepping for most of his life.

He was in about eighth or ninth grade when Wham!, the British pop duo featuring Michael and Andrew Ridgeley, first started getting attention in the U.S. in the early ’80s with songs like “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” and “Careless Whisper.”

“I started hearing over and over again, ‘Have you heard of this group Wham!? You look just like the lead singer,'” Bartko said. “I kept hearing it over and over, but I never saw the album cover or heard the music. I went over to friends’ house and he said, ‘I picked up this new Wham! record.’ I looked at the cover and, oh my gosh, I felt like I was looking at a brother of mine.”

Not only did he look like Michael, he found it easy to replicate his voice. There are worse things than being told you look and sound like a teen pop star and heartthrob, and Bartko continued to play on the comparison. At high school talent shows, he dressed like Michael and sang songs from Michael’s “Faith” album after Wham! split and the singer went solo.

Decades later Bartko — who was born in Youngstown, spent part of his childhood in Boardman and still has family in the area — portrays the singer in the tribute act George Michael Reborn, which comes to the Robins Theatre on Jan. 20.

Bartko spent years pursuing his own music career, starting out releasing dance tracks in the early ’90s. When he realized there was guaranteed money on the production side of the business compared to the hit-and-(mostly) miss life of a performing artist, he switched his focus to the studio, where he produced songs for a variety of acts, including Korn.

When Napster and the decline in physical media sales started affecting budgets on the production end, he went back to performing, primarily singing and accompanying himself on guitar in bars.

In 2018, he was contacted by a German producer who was interested in working with him because the dance music Bartko did in the early ’90s was enjoying a resurgence. It wasn’t long before he heard those familiar words again.

“Booking agents would call and inquire, ‘Did anyone ever tell you you look and sound like George Michael? You could do a lot better (doing a tribute show) than you’re doing with your own music.’ What the heck. I threw together a band, booked a show at the Anaheim (Calif.) House of Blues, and it sold out beyond capacity. ‘Oh, wow, this is legit.’ It exploded from there.”

One of the people who embraced Bartko’s act was Deon Estus, who played bass with Wham! In the early ’80s. He joined Bartko on stage for one show, and he enjoyed himself so much, he drove five hours to play with him again the next night.

“It was absolutely magical,” Bartko said. “We started to talk — maybe we could get Andrew Ridgeley on board with this. There was a lot of excitement in the air.”

Then COVID-19 hit. Bartko and Estus stayed in touch during the pandemic, but Estus’ health took a turn for the worse, and he died in the fall of 2021.

“That dream never happened.”

Bartko described his act as a total transformation, recreating both the look and sound of Michael at his commercial peak with the “Faith” album, which sold more than 25 million copies worldwide. That includes singing all the songs in their original key, something even Michael wasn’t doing in the concerts before his death in 2016.

“That’s how the show got its name, George Michael Reborn. I’ve had people come up to me, ‘I saw George Michael in 1988. That wasn’t a guy dressed up in a costume tonight; it really was George Miichael, like he was reborn’ … I’ve often said, maybe I need therapy. I feel more comfortable being George Michael than myself.”

The Robins Theatre celebrated its 100th anniversary on Monday, and 2023 marks the 100th anniversary of the United Way of Trumbull County. Bartko’s cousin, Justine Bartko, works for the United Way, and there will be a 50-50 raffle and other activities to support the organization as part of the Jan. 20 concert.

Bartko, who lives in Utah with his wife and two children, didn’t know how much free time he would have when he returns to the Mahoning Valley next week. One thing he would like to do is revisit the house in Boardman where his family lived when he was in elementary school. Bartko said his father worked for IBM and was transferred several times, so the family bounced between different cities in Ohio and Florida throughout his childhood.

“I have such good memories of that home. My mom was alive and healthy at that time. That was one of the sweet spots in my life … I’ll look up pictures of it on Google Earth and it still looks the same.”

If you go …

WHAT: George Michael Reborn

WHEN: 8 p.m. Jan. 20

WHERE: Robins Theatre, 160 E. Market St., Warren

HOW MUCH: Tickets range from $15 to $35 and are available at the Robins box office and online at robinstheatre.com.