SPOTLIGHT ON MAX von ESSEN TONY NOMINEE APPEARING IN MINT’S
YOURS UNFAITHFULLY BY JESSE MARCHESE
Max von Essen’s mother was a bit nervous
Directed by Jonathan Bank December 27 through February 18 Tues-Sat 7:30pm; Wed, Sat, Sun 2:30pm
at The Beckett Theatre at Theatre Row (410 W 42nd) Reserve your FPC Tickets now! FPC Hotline: (212) 315-0231 Further Reading Series CONFLICT by Miles Malleson
when she first learned that he would be playing Stephen, a man in an open marriage, in Mint’s production of Yours Unfaithfully. “She read a press release and she thought there was probably sex, or nudity, or something. I said, ‘No Mom! I hardly do so much as kiss...’ It’s all about the dialogue. The play is so well-written—it’s so intelligent. It’s just about having the discourse.” Growing up with his mother and father in Rockville Centre, Long Island, Max was the youngest of four children. “They were all into sports—and academics was most important in my family.” Max, however, was different. “I just gravitated toward the arts.” Max fell in love with music at a young age, and quickly became a proficient piano player and singer. After high school, he attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a double major in economics and vocal performance. “I never really knew if I was going to do this for real. I always loved it—but I wasn’t brought up with that mentality.”
Monday, February 13 at 7pm
It wasn’t until the end of his four years at UNC that Max decided to attempt a career on the stage. “Then I finally got up the nerve to call my parents and ask for their blessing.” Happily, they gave it.
Miles Malleson’s Conflict is a timely and surprising look at what happens when the personal and political collide. The play tells the story of an aristocrat’s daughter who experiences a political and romantic awakening when two men—a fiery young socialist and a dashing conservative— vie for her affections.
Max describes his first job after college—touring with Liza Minelli as a back-up singer—as “a dream.” “She was everything I fantasized she would be. She would stand at the microphone and within one song was a short one-act play. She really did have such precision. It was a pretty incredible master class.”
“Neat and spare, always natural and often witty…It is both entertaining and exciting.” (The Guardian)
“A pressure is taken off because you’re not presenting a completely new work to the audience. When you walked into the theater and heard those sweeping orchestral Gershwin pieces—It felt like you had the audience on your side, in a way.”
FREE for FPC Members (212) 315-0231
That gig led to a series of roles in musicals at regional theatres across the country, as well as off and on Broadway. Most recently, Max landed Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle nominations for his performance as Henri Baurel in An American in Paris, a new Broadway musical based on the 1951 Vincente Minnelli film—a production that Max describes as having the “thrill and comfort of a revival.”
Special Feature cont’d Even when recreating one of the film’s most iconic numbers, “I’ll Build a Stairway to Paradise,” Max felt more joy than pressure. “It always felt like a total, natural fit. I’d certainly love to originate a role in a completely new work—but as far as my progression in my career, that was a pretty amazing thing to do.” When Max is reminded that, although written in 1933, Mint’s production of Yours Unfaithfully will be the play’s world premiere, he gleams. “Wait—so I’m originating! It’s my time! That’s funny—I hadn’t really given it that much thought, but we truly will be putting this on for the first time in front of anyone. That’s pretty incredible.” So why, after reaching new heights of musical theatre stardom, was Max interested in doing Yours Unfaithfully? “The first thing was the new challenge. I was thinking toward the end of An American in Paris, what can I do next that’s really going to excite me and challenge me? And it was to do a play. But this was the one that I connected to most. I was thrown as a reader, as an audience member—there were so many questions it raised.” His meeting with director Jonathan Bank further confirmed this initial interest. “My first audition felt like I was in rehearsals already, because of Jonathan and how he works. The process of just trying to get the job was already feeling right, and I wanted to be in a rehearsal room working on this.” Max’s eyes light up as he discusses the play’s remarkably intimate depiction of an open marriage. “That’s what I’ve been feeling as I read this play,” he says. “Should I be there? Am I—as an audience member—am I intruding on this? It is deeply personal. But I think that’s going to be exciting… and beautiful.” As far as open relationships in real life are concerned, Max blushes as he asserts, “For me, no, I don’t think it’s possible. I’m very open as far as my view on sexuality—I just—I know for myself, if there’s a real friendship and love developing, I wouldn’t be able to do it.” It’s this wrestling with emotional limitation that excites Max most about tackling the role of Stephen. “There is talk in the play about jealousy, and Stephen thinks he can suppress it—but can you?” It’s a question the play asks with intelligence, tenderness, and insight—and without any hint of salaciousness. Luckily for Max, that means his mom can attend the production without any fear. “She was—she was relieved,” he says with a laugh. “It’s just about having the discourse. It challenges the audience to consider it. And that’s what we’re here to do.” See Max von Essen in Mint’s Yours Unfaithfully, playing December 27 - February 18. Call the FPC hotline at (212) 315-0231 to reserve your First Priority Club tickets.
SAVE THE DATE! Mint Theater Company Spring Benefit. Colony Club. 564 Park Ave.
Monday April 24, 2017
EnrichMINT
EnrichMINT Events Announced for Yours Unfaithfully You are welcome to attend any (or all) of these discussions, regardless of when you see the show. Or feel free to change your date. Just call the First Priority Club hotline at (212) 315-0231
“LIBERTY AND LOVE? THE MARRIAGE OF DORA AND BERTRAND RUSSELL” DEBORAH GORHAM, CARLETON UNIVERSITY Wednesday, December 28 after the matinee Deborah Gorham serves as Distinguished Research Professor in the Department of History at Carleton University. She is the author of Marion Dewar: A Life of Action and Vera Brittain: A Feminist Life. She has published articles on the marriage of Dora and Bertrand Russell (which provided Malleson with inspiration for his play), and on the progressive Beacon Hill School, which the couple founded in 1927.
“TO STRAY OR NOT TO STRAY: THE SCIENCE BEHIND OPEN RELATIONSHIPS” DR. HELEN FISHER, AUTHOR OF ANATOMY OF LOVE: A NATURAL HISTORY OF MATING, MARRIAGE AND WHY WE STRAY Saturday, January 7 after the matinee Helen Fisher, PhD Biological Anthropologist, is a Senior Research Fellow at The Kinsey Institute, member of the Center for Human Evolutionary Studies in the Department of Anthropology at Rutgers University, and Chief Scientific Advisor to the Internet dating site Match.com. She has conducted extensive research and written six books on the evolution and future of human sex, love, and marriage.
“A MAN OF IDEAS: MILES MALLESON’S MODERN COMEDIES” MAYA CANTU, THEATER HISTORIAN AND DRAMATURG Sunday, January 8 after the matinee Maya Cantu is a theater historian, scholar, and Dramaturgical Advisor for the Mint. Maya currently serves on the Drama Faculty of Bennington College is the author of the book, American Cinderellas on the Broadway Musical Stage: Imagining the Working Girl from Irene to Gypsy. Her discussion will focus on the life and work of Miles Malleson.
“IT’S VERY DIFFICULT TO KEEP ON SAYING NO, ISN’T IT?” SEX & BRITISH MODERNISM ANNE FERNALD, FORDHAM UNIVERSITY Saturday, January 14 after the matinee Anne Fernald is Professor of English and Women’s Studies at Fordham University. She is the author of Virginia Woolf: Feminism and the Reader and the editor of a textual edition of Mrs. Dalloway for Cambridge University Press. Anne will discuss the work of Miles Malleson in the context of British Modernist literature, which rejected Victorian attitudes toward sex and marriage.
“HOW LONG HAS THIS BEEN GOING ON? EXPERIMENTAL MARRIAGE IN THE 20TH CENTURY” KRISTIN CELELLO, CUNY QUEENS COLLEGE Sunday, January 15 after the matinee Professor Celello is Associate Professor of History at CUNY Queens College. She is the author of Making Marriage Work: A History of Marriage and Divorce in the Twentieth-Century United States and the coeditor of Domestic Tensions, National Anxieties: Global Perspectives on Marriage, Crisis, and Nation. She is currently writing a book titled After Divorce: Parents, Children, and the Making of the Modern American Family.
My best wishes to you and your families for a peaceful holiday season.
Jonathan Bank
Conflict by Miles Malleson A Further Reading Series Event FREE to FPC members Monday, Februray 13, 7pm The Beckett Theatre Reserve your FPC Tickets now! FPC Hotline:
330 West 42nd Street, Suite # 1210 New York, NY 10036
Thank you for your loyal support and attendance. Many of you have seen 25 or more of our productions, dating back to 2001, in some cases even earlier. Wow. And some of you are brand new—which is just as delightful and heartwarming. Thank you for choosing to spend some time with the Mint!
Yours Unfaithfully by Miles Malleson Directed by Jonathan Bank December 27 - February 18 Tues-Sat 7:30pm; Wed, Sat, Sun 2:30pm The Beckett Theatre, Theatre Row 410 W. 42nd Street
www.minttheater.org (212) 315-0231
But now it looks like we’re all facing a new time of transition laced with uncertainty. The good news for the Mint is that there is one thing I know we can count on—that’s you, the members of our First Priority Club. And you can count on us—no matter what, we plan to stay focused on finding good plays that will surprise and intrigue you, plays that will delight and challenge you. Our next play, the world premiere of Yours Unfaithfully by Miles Malleson, is likely to do all of that. I’m looking forward to sharing it with you, beginning on December 27th. In January, I’ll be sending you details of two more productions coming up.
FIRST PRIORITY CLUB NEWS
SeasonsGreetings!
I’ll have to admit, back in October as we approached the end of our run of A Day by the Sea, I was feeling quite confident. Mint had survived a year of transition and our move to Theatre Row was seamlessly smooth—our first show was a record-breaking success and we introduced our work to a few thousand new theatergoers.
from your friends at Mint Theater
Dear Friends,