Max von Essen: An American Plays French (and Gay?) in Paris on B'way

"At this point in my life and career, I honestly feel like everything has led up to this show for me," Max von Essen says, letting out a deep and grateful sigh before he continues to cite the various Gershwin connections that have led him to an exceptional featured role in the long-awaited Broadway stage production of the iconic MGM classic film "An American in Paris."

Beginning with his learning to sight-read and practicing piano to Gershwin tunes as a child, von Essen has been highly influenced by the composer's work, which led him to an oddly serendipitous audition for Liza Minnelli right out of college.

Minnelli was seeking backup singers, and after four callbacks, the then 22-year-old finally met the legend. "She asked me, 'Who's your favorite songwriter?' And I said Gershwin. She said, 'OK, why don't you sing one of his songs?'" She chose an obscure ballad, "When Do We Dance," and countered with "Isn't It a Pity" for a duet of sorts. "And as it starts building, I move toward her and grab her arms, and we just start dancing around the room. It was just crazy, and surreal. Here I am dancing with Liza!"

Not surprisingly, von Essen got the gig.

More life-enriching Gershwin moments would follow, including being cast in a production of "Girl Crazy" at the Kennedy Center in 2008.

Now his lifelong adulation for Gershwin culminates in his delightful portrait of Henri Baurel, the gallant and dutiful suitor who dreams of cabaret stardom in "An American in Paris."

For those tired of all the uninventive screen-to-stage productions of late, the creatives are offering something quite different and unique. Not so much an adaptation as a reimagining of the Oscar-winning Best Picture of 1951, this exquisite piece stays true to the spirit of the source material while finding an original vision and voice. "I feel like it's a love letter to the film. It's inspired by the film but then takes it to a completely different place," von Essen offers. And in large part, the credit can be given to writer Craig Lucas and director-choreographer Christopher Wheeldon, the ballet-world genius making his directorial debut with this Gershwin tuner.

"He's changing the landscape of Broadway right now," says von Essen of Wheeldon. "What we're doing, really, is a traditional musical with the feeling of a revival, because the movie is so well known. Yet it's so new and so fresh and has so much dance. Yet the format and the music is so comfortable and recognizable to people. So we draw people in and then we're able to push the boundaries a bit on an artistic level. And ask a little bit more from our audiences."

Von Essen was "invited" to audition two years ago, when the show was in early development stages, but for the part of Adam (the composer-narrator part eventually played by Brandon Uranowitz). "I really wasn't right for the role. They asked me if I could tap dance because they thought I'd make a great Henri. I said no, and that was the end of it. Months later they invited me in for Henri." Wheeldon had seen the actor in "Evita" and realized, "he clearly can move."

Right before his initial audition, von Essen watched the film but then deliberately avoided it while working on the character: "I wanted to figure it out myself."
After a "very successful" workshop in Paris, he changed his tune. "I watched it recently, and I was actually blown away because I found a lot of my characterization; a lot of the 'performance-isms' that I developed for Henri were very reminiscent of what he [Georges Gu�tary] was doing in the film. I thought, How great! We approached it in our own way, yet we came up with the same ideas."

He wasn't the only one who felt a connection to his screen counterpart. "When I was in Paris, I met his [Gu�tary's] daughter, Helen," von Essen gushes. "She came to the show, and she kept calling me Dad. She said it was just wild to see the similarities ... She felt this connection to her father when she was around me and watching my performance."

Directed by Vincente Minnelli, the film stunned Tinseltown by winning Best Picture over the more distinguished movies "A Streetcar Named Desire" and "A Place in the Sun."

"The film was made at a time where Hollywood wasn't looking to deal with very dark topics," von Essen explains. "There's a freedom now to explore things in a different way. This show has the feeling of an old-school musical and a revival, yet it's so new, so fresh, because we're able to tell it in a modern way with a more realistic book. And shifting the period gives us a lot more to sink our teeth into. It raises the stakes for everyone."

Max von Essen has been raising his own stakes since his Liza days. After wowing Europe as Tony in "West Side Story" and touring the States in "Chicago," as Mary Sunshine, the actor landed his first Broadway role as a Disciple and the understudy for the titular savior in "Jesus Christ Superstar," performing the part many times. From there he delivered memorable turns on the boards in "Les Mis�rables" (Enjolras), the infamous megaflop "Dance of the Vampires," as well as the most recent revival of "Evita," where he played the charismatic tango singer Magaldi and went on for Ricky Martin, as Che.

"An American in Paris" permits him the opportunity to create a rousing, rich, multifaceted character that is as charming as he is enigmatic. And he gets a show-stopping number that most divas would kill for: "Stairway to Paradise." "Having that number really does change everything for me," von Essen shares. "It's the kind of stuff that I dreamed about being a part of when I was a kid. I've never been in a number like that. The kind of thing I used to dream about -- top hat, tails, cane, tap dancing, showgirls, chorus boys, feather headdresses. It's Ziegfeld Follies. It's MGM!"

Adding to Henri's beguiling qualities is his sexual ambiguity. Von Essen shares that he has his clear notions of who Henri is and what his journey will ultimately be but feels strongly about keeping it unanswered in the show. "Is he gay? Is he not gay? What's going on? I liked that it isn't completely tied up with a little bow ... my story is there to facilitate the ultimate love story of the piece [Jerry and Lise]."

But then he speculates, "If there was a musical about Henri, it would be about his time in New York, living out his dreams, trying to become a star, performing in cabarets, one day performing at Radio City Music Hall. Perhaps meeting someone. Maybe going to New York and realizing, 'Oh, it's a bit freer here, I'm away from my family, some experience might come about.' And he'll find himself."

Gazing at his Palace Theater dressing room walls, one can feel the deep bond von Essen has forged with his character. Fascinating period photos, paintings and drawings adorn the walls, reflecting Henri-inspired d�cor blended with hints of modern Max tastes. And an autographed photo of a young Leslie Caron peers out from the mural he's created, along with hints of a gay sensibility.

"There was quite a bit of discussion about answering the question, making his sexuality a little more clear," von Essen shares. "I'm glad it's remained as it is. I don't think Henri has the answer at this point in his life." He pauses, then delves a bit deeper: "Right now he's struggling. He knows he's different. And he's questioning ... It was a different era. He loves Lise. And until you meet someone in your life that is a different kind of love, a passionate kind of love, you don't know what you are, who you are. I relate it to my teen years, when I also didn't know. I thought this is what society, what my family, expects of me. This seems right, to date girls. But then I remember being in college and I had my first experience with a guy, and I thought, 'Oh, that's how it's supposed to feel!' I always say 'You don't know until you know.' You don't even know that there's something out there more beautiful and more natural until it happens."

The openly gay actor has never shied from his orientation, but has never felt the need to "officially" come out. "I've just always been out to myself, out to friends, out in the industry ... No one's ever asked. It just is, and it's fine with me. The only thing I find important at my point in life is being out, being proud, so that if some teenage kid is questioning and wants to know that there are guys out there who are doing well, life is OK. I feel like that is my responsibility: to be out, to be proud, to be truthful to who I am and do good work as an actor."

During the last election season, von Essen, who is passionate about and fiercely committed to LGBT issues, angrily took to Facebook to ask that anyone who doesn't think LGBT equality is important (and, thus, were voting for a candidate who doesn't support LGBT equality) to please unfriend him. "It's not enough to be out - you have to speak your mind," he says. "If someone doesn't believe that I'm equal, that I'm worthy enough to have the same rights as you - to marry someone I'm in love with and get all the benefits that come with it - then how can you vote for that person? Things start from the top. Where do you think kids learn to bully? Kids don't decide to hate. They learn hate from politicians, religious leaders, teachers, parents -- it's taught. I just got very angry and came up with this idea of trickle-down bullying. It starts from above and works its way down, and when government says someone isn't equal and that gives everyone the right to bully that kid, they're legally saying that gay kid is less than the other kid."

Von Essen expresses his desire to do more but realizes the best message is showing that a proud gay man can work in the medium in a role he loves. "I am performing in a field that is my dream to perform in," he says. The perpetually positive performer even has nice things to say about the ill-fated "Dance of the Vampires": "I knew it was a disaster, but I loved every minute of it. I had a great role in the show and hoped it would have become this cult classic and we would run for a long time. It was a brilliant disaster."

That cannot be said for "An American in Paris," a show taking risks that are truly groundbreaking for Broadway. Von Essen muses, "It's very hard to say these days, that I'm in something unlike anything you've ever seen - something so unique."

When asked to choose his dream project, cast and director, he immediately answers, "I want to be in a new Stephen Sondheim show. And I want to be in it with Brian d'Arcy James and ... Meryl Streep." Then after some thought, he adds, "And I want Jack O'Brien to direct it." Let's hope his dream team is paying attention.