Max von Essen

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]

Coat of arms of the Essen family.

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]

Source: IBDB[33]

• Official website
• BroadwayWorld: "Max Von Essen – High-Notes in High-Heels"
• BroadwayWorld: interview with Max von Essen, December 7, 2007
• Max von Essen photos
• Max von Essen on Floormic.com
• Max von Essen at IMDb
• Max von Essen at the Internet Broadway Database
• Max von Essen Archived 2016-04-06 at the Wayback Machine at Internet off-Broadway Database