 |
Max von Essen | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 11, 1974 Long Island, New York, U.S. |
| Education | South Side High School |
| Alma mater | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, singer |
| Years active | 1997–present |
| Notable work | An American in Paris |
| Parent(s) | Thomas Von Essen (father) Rita Von Essen (mother) |
| Relatives | Von Essen family |
Max von Essen (born January 11, 1974) is an American stage and screen actor, and vocalist.
Raised on Long Island, von Essen is a graduate of South Side High School in Rockville Centre, New York. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and after graduation toured with Liza Minnelli. [1] He is a member of the Von Essen family, who are part of the German and Swedish nobility. A son of Rita and Thomas Von Essen, who was the New York City Fire Commissioner during the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, he is the youngest of four children. [2] He is openly gay. [3]
He toured Europe in West Side Story and was a cast member of the U.S. national tour of Chicago . He made his Broadway debut in Jesus Christ Superstar in 2000 as Disciple and Jesus of Nazareth understudy. [4] He appeared in Les Misérables on Broadway as the replacement for Fauchelevent and other roles, [5] and starred in Dance of the Vampires alongside Michael Crawford in 2002. [6] He played the role of student revolutionary leader Enjolras (replacement) in the Les Misérables Broadway revival in 2006 at the Broadhurst Theater. [7]
In 2006, he was a soloist at the biggest Andrew Lloyd Webber musical gala to date, held in Tallinn, Estonia. He performed in the national tour of Xanadu as "Sonny" in 2008 [8] and in the Roundabout Theater Company Off-Broadway production of Maury Yeston's Death Takes a Holiday at the Laura Pels Theatre in 2011. [9] In 2015, von Essen played the role of Parisian aristocrat Henri in the Broadway production of An American in Paris , for which he received a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical nomination. [10]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Brooklyn Lobster | Piano Player | |
| 2009 | The Beautiful Life: TBL | Scott | 1 episode |
| 2010 | Sex and the City 2 | Wedding Chorus | |
| 2011-14 | Submissions Only | Cameron Dante | Netflix series, 14 episodes |
| 2012 | Gossip Girl | Father Smythe | 2 episodes |
| Royal Pains | Hair | 1 episode | |
| 2013-14 | The Good Wife | Stephen Delaney | 2 episodes |
| 2014 | Blonde | Man | Short |
| Seven Lovers | Dan | ||
| 2015 | The Intern | Businessman at Starbucks #1 | |
| 2022 | Family Guy | Cruise Director, Waiter (voices) | 2 episodes |
| 2024 | Law & Order | Rhett Richards | Episode: "Family Ties" |
Source: Internet Broadway Database
| Year(s) | Production | Role | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Jesus Christ Superstar | Disciple; u/s Jesus Christ | Ford Center for the Performing Arts |
| 2002 | Dance of the Vampires | Alfred | Minskoff Theatre |
| 2003 | Les Misérables | Fauchelevent / Jean Prouvaire / Ensemble; u/s Marius Pontmercy (replacement) | Imperial Theatre |
| 2007–2008 | Enjolras (replacement) | Broadhurst Theatre | |
| 2012 | Evita | Agustin Magaldi; u/s Che | Marquis Theatre |
| Che (replacement) | |||
| Agustin Magaldi; u/s Che | |||
| Che (replacement) | |||
| 2012–2013 | Agustin Magaldi; u/s Che | ||
| 2015–2016 | An American in Paris | Henri Baurel | Palace Theatre |
| 2017–2018 | Anastasia | Gleb Vaganov (replacement) | Broadhurst Theatre |
| 2023–2024 | Chicago | Billy Flynn (replacement) | Ambassador Theatre |
| Year(s) | Production | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Liza Minnelli in Concert | Ensemble |
| 1998 | West Side Story (European tour) | Tony |
| 1999 | Chicago | Mary Sunshine |
| 2008 | Xanadu [11] | Sonny |
| 2019 | Falsettos [12] | Marvin |
| Year(s) | Production | Role | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | The Fantasticks [13] | Matt | Sullivan Street Playhouse |
| 2001 | John & Paul | Unknown | New Victory Theater |
| 2004 | Finian's Rainbow [14] | Woody Mahoney | Irish Repertory Theatre |
| 2011 | Death Takes a Holiday [15] [16] | Corrado Montelli | Laura Pels Theatre (Roundabout Theatre Company) |
| Hello Again [17] | The Soldier | Transport Group | |
| 2016 | The Secret Garden | Dr. Neville Craven | Lucille Lortel Theatre |
| 2017 | Yours Unfaithfully [18] | Stephen Meredith | Beckett Theatre (Mint Theater Company) |
Source: IBDB [33]
| Year | Award Ceremony | Category | Show | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Tony Award | Best Featured Actor in a Musical | An American in Paris | Nominated |
| Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical | Nominated | ||
| Outer Critics Circle Award | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical | Nominated | ||
| Broadway.com Audience Choice Award | Favorite Featured Actor in a Musical | Nominated |
Mame is a musical with a book by Jerome Lawrence and Robert Edwin Lee and music and lyrics by Jerry Herman. Originally titled My Best Girl, it is based on the 1955 novel Auntie Mame by Patrick Dennis and the 1956 Broadway play of the same name by Lawrence and Lee. A period piece set in New York City and spanning the Great Depression and World War II, it focuses on eccentric bohemian Mame Dennis, whose famous motto is "Life is a banquet and most poor sons of bitches are starving to death." Her fabulous life with her wealthy friends is interrupted when the young son of her late brother arrives to live with her. They cope with the Depression in a series of adventures.
Hunter Foster is an American musical theatre actor, singer, librettist, playwright and director.
George Hearn is an American actor and bass-baritone singer, primarily in Broadway musical theatre.
Carolee Carmello is an American actress best known for her performances in Broadway musicals and for playing the role of Maple LaMarsh on the television series Remember WENN (1996–1998). She is a three-time Tony Award nominee and a five-time Drama Desk nominee, winning the 1999 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical for her role in Parade.
The Curran Theatre, located at 445 Geary Street between Taylor and Mason Streets in the Theatre District of San Francisco, California opened in February 1922, and was named after its first owner, Homer Curran. As of 2014, the theater is owned by Carole Shorenstein Hays.
Michael Cerveris is an American actor, singer, and guitarist. He has performed in many stage musicals and plays, including several Stephen Sondheim musicals: Assassins, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Sunday in the Park with George, Road Show, and Passion. In 2004, Cerveris won the Tony Award as Best Featured Actor in a Musical for Assassins as John Wilkes Booth. In 2015, he won his second Tony Award as Best Actor in a Musical for Fun Home as Bruce Bechdel.
Contact is a musical "dance play" that was developed by Susan Stroman and John Weidman, with its "book" by Weidman and both choreography and direction by Stroman. It ran both off-Broadway and on Broadway in 1999–2002. It consists of three separate one-act dance plays.
Robert Cuccioli is an American actor and singer. He is best known for originating the lead dual title roles in the musical Jekyll & Hyde, for which he received a Tony Award nomination and won the Joseph Jefferson Award, the Outer Critics Circle Award, the Drama Desk Award, and the Fany Award for outstanding actor in a musical.
Randy Lynn Graff is an American actress and singer.
Gregg Edelman is an American movie, television and theatre actor. His Broadway credits include leading roles in City of Angels, Cabaret, Falsettos, Into the Woods, Cats, Les Misérables, 1776, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Passion, Wonderful Town, A Tale of Two Cities, Anything Goes, and Water for Elephants.
Sarah Uriarte Berry is an American actress and singer.
Norm Lewis is an American actor and baritone singer. He has appeared on Broadway, in the West End, film, television, recordings and regional theatre. He’s also noted for his wide vocal range. Lewis was the second African-American actor after Robert Guillaume to perform in the title role in Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera and the first one to do so in the Broadway production. In 2023, he reprised the role in the show's sequel, Love Never Dies, in London's West End.
Bob Stillman is an American actor, singer, and songwriter.
Xanadu is a musical comedy with a book by Douglas Carter Beane and music and lyrics by Jeff Lynne and John Farrar, based on the 1980 film of the same name, which was, in turn, inspired by the 1947 Rita Hayworth film Down to Earth. The title refers to Xanadu, the site of the Mongolian emperor Kublai Khan's summer palace.
Ashley Marie Spencer is an American actress, singer, and dancer. Spencer was a contestant on the 2007 NBC show Grease: You're the One that I Want! She was the understudy for Barbie in the Barbie in Fairytopia tour, in which she sang and danced ballet.
Jill Paice is an American actress best known for her musical theatre roles. She originated the roles of Laura Fairlie in the musical The Woman in White in the West End (2004) and on Broadway (2005); Niki in Curtains on Broadway (2006); Scarlett in London's Gone With The Wind (2008); and Grazia Off-Broadway in Death Takes a Holiday (2011). Among other roles, she appeared in the Broadway play The 39 Steps (2009).
Karen Mason is an American musical theatre actress and singer. She has appeared on stage in Broadway theatre, notably as Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard, and is a multiple award-winning cabaret performer.
John Rando is an American stage director who won the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical for Urinetown the Musical in 2002. He received his 2nd nomination in the same category in 2015 for the 2014 Broadway revival of On the Town.
Warren Carlyle is a British director and choreographer who was born in Norwich, Norfolk, England. He received Drama Desk Award nominations for Outstanding Choreography and Outstanding Director of a Musical for the 2009 revival of Finian's Rainbow.
Thomas Kail is an American theatre and television director, known for directing the Off-Broadway and Broadway productions of Lin-Manuel Miranda's musicals In the Heights and Hamilton, garnering the 2016 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical for the latter. Kail was awarded the Kennedy Center Honor in 2018. He has also directed the television series Fosse/Verdon (2019), for which he was nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
