Max von Essen (born Thomas von Essen, II; January 11, 1974) is an American musical theatre actor and vocalist.
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. Max von Essen is openly gay.
Von Essen is a 1992 graduate of South Side High School, in Rockville Centre, New York. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and after graduation, began touring with Liza Minnelli. 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, and also starred in Dance of the Vampires alongside Michael Crawford. He also played the role of student revolutionary leader "Enjolras" in Les Misérables at the Broadhurst Theater on Broadway.
In 2006, he was a soloist at the biggest Andrew Lloyd Webber musical gala to date, held in Tallinn, Estonia.
He last worked on the national tour of Xanadu as "Sonny", and in the Roundabout Off-Broadway production of Maury Yeston's "Death Takes a Holiday" at the Laura Pels Theatre in NYC.
Famous quotes containing the words max and/or von:
“What do any of us know of the private past of even the most harmless and kind-looking individuals?”
—Arnold Phillips, Max Nosseck (1902–1972)
“The one who always strives,
That one can be redeemed.”
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