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A seasoned musical director, a fresh-faced tenor and Liza Minnelli—this was Max Von Essen’s break into show business in a nutshell.
Back in the mid-1990s, Mr. Von Essen—newly graduated from University of North Carolina Chapel Hill with degrees in vocal performance and economics—was chosen to perform on tour with Ms. Minnelli after the audition of a lifetime.
This is just one of the anecdotes Mr. Von Essen recalls during his cabaret-style show “The Leading Man from Long Island,” which he brings to the Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center on Sunday, July 22, along with esteemed music director, singer-pianist Billy Stritch—who served as Ms. Minnelli’s musical director on that very same tour.
That tour was only the beginning of an explosive career for Mr. Von Essen, who went on to garner a Tony nomination for his performance in “An American in Paris” and is currently starring in “Anastasia” on Broadway.
“When you see someone in the movies, it’s like an overnight star. But then they tell you, ‘I’ve been doing this for years.’ That was the case for me,” Mr. Von Essen said during a recent interview.
In fact, Mr. Von Essen’s passion for music and performance goes back to his days growing up on Long Island. Although he was born in Queens, he spent most of his childhood and teens living in Rockville Centre where he was quickly immersed in his school’s music program.
“I remember just singing in chorus in elementary school and seeing the chorus teacher playing the piano—that was the thing that really caught me. I couldn’t believe what she was doing. So I went home and begged my parents for piano lessons and a piano,” he recalled.
Piano was the gateway to his passion for singing and acting, he said.
“By the time I hit middle school, I was just hooked on musical theater completely,” Mr. Von Essen said. “Everything came together—my love of music, reading music, singing and acting. From there on it was like a done deal, but every step of the way I had incredible opportunities in school and had music teachers that just inspired me. It set me on my course.”
Despite facing a period of uncertainty in his college years, he tested the waters while living with his parents in Manhattan.
“It gave me a real sort of easy way to test it out. And I thought if things didn’t work out I would just go back to school and use my economics degree. But things have been—knock on wood—working out,” he said.
Many would consider that to be an understatement. Since his emergence into the world of theater and performance, he has been featured in seven Broadway shows, six off-Broadway shows and countless regional productions—including Bay Street Theater’s production of “Hair” in 2001.
However, he considers “An American in Paris” to be the show that truly shifted his career.
“It was such a great fit for me. The show was so well received artistically and a Tony-nomination, of course. … It was my early-mid-career big break,” he explained.
That Tony season was one of the most special periods of his life, he said.
“It was like moment after moment that I was completely pinching myself,” Mr. Von Essen said. “I was a kid who played piano and fell in love with Gershwin and I used to teach myself all these songs—the songs that I literally sang onstage at the Palace Theater.”
He shares his experience performing the show during his concert and consciously included many Gershwin selections in his set.
“We cap the show with a big medley from that,” said Mr. Stritch, who helped Mr. Von Essen develop his show. “It’s pretty traditional—lots of great standards from the Great American Songbook and great old Broadway shows.”
The two premiered the concert in Florida, he said, and it evolved into a mix of classic Broadway entertainment and humorous anecdotes.
“The first time I heard his patter was in a show and it was so good and he had me laughing on stage,” Mr. Stritch recalled. “It was kind of wonderful to hear it for the first time when he was doing it in front of an audience. I had a great time watching him and watching the audience reaction. It was kind of thrilling for me.”
Mr. Stritch said working with Mr. Von Essen again after meeting so many years ago has been a special experience.
It’s always about a great collaboration and having fun on stage, having fun putting together the material and really collaborating on all that,” he said. “It’s wonderful to be part of the creation of a new act or a new song or a new performance piece or any of that.”
on Jul 16, 2018