The Tony-nominated leading man is charming audiences — and Times Square tourists — with a brooding performance that has him singing outdoors.

Tom Francis asked to meet on a rugged corner of the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn. It was a bright April day, and in some ways Francis, 25, in a vintage sweater and slacks, looked like any other member of the creative class with a matcha habit. Still, I had picked him out a block away.