Max von Essen star has shined bright on Broadway with his magnificent voice and charisma. But in the early days of his career, he sang for his largest audience.
von Essen’s father Thomas was also the FDNY commissioner during the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and was one of the first ones on the scene.
von Essen was tapped to sing the national anthem before the first game at Yankees Stadium following the attacks. von Essen’s father accompanied Max on the field. Above is the anthem von Essen sang. At the end of the blog, you’ll find a video of Thomas sharing his memories on the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks.
Max von Essen is one of the entertainers at The Chase on April 9 at the Palm Springs Convention Center. To purchase tickets, go to www.daphealth.org/thechase
von Essen had attended college at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and following his graduation, toured with Liza Minelli.
The pinnacle to his career was in 2015, when he was nominated for the Tony Award for his portrayal of Parisian aristocrat Henri in “An American in Paris.” Below, you can see and hear him singing a medley of songs from the play at the famous Birdland in New York.
Prior the Tony ceremony, von Essen did this vlog for Broadway.com, giving people a behind-the-scenes look.
Here’s a look at von Essen and fellow Chase entertainer Eden Espinosa rehearsing for the touring production of “Falsettos”
And here is von Essen performing while wearing a table cloth
And here’s a fun feature from Playbill where you can learn a little more about von Essen and hear him sing “I Could’ve Danced All Night.”
And circling back to the Sept. 11 attacks, here’s a video of von Essen’s father Thomas sharing his memories of Sept. 11.
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