| Full given name: | Thomas Max von Essen |
| Hometown: | Rockville Centre, Long Island, NY |
| Zodiac sign: | Capricorn. (I don't pay much attention to that stuff, but I bet I'm a total Capricorn.) |
| Audition song: | Audition songs vary. I usually walk in and take requests. |
| Special skills: | I have an oddly high head voice (that's probably how I booked Jerry Springer) and I play piano pretty well. Not sure if people know that. |
| First Broadway show ever saw: | Dreamgirls with Jennifer Holiday. After, I told my parents, "I want to do that." They were a little confused. They didn't quite know that I just meant sing on stage, in general. I didn't mean I wanted to do what Jennifer was doing specifically. |
| If you could go back in time and catch any Broadway show, what would it be? | Awesome question. I've been so passionate about West Side Story for so long, I'd give anything to have seen the original. |
| Current show you have been recommending to friends: | August: Osage County and Spring Awakening |
| Favorite show tune: | "I Have Dreamed." I never tire of it. So simple and beautiful. |
| MAC or PC? | MAC. Just bought an amazing new desktop. The screen is like 7 feet wide. It's awesome. |
| One CD you couldn't live without: | My CD of The Life. It brings me such joy. |
| Last book you read: | "Flesh and Blood," and I'm in the middle of "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius." |
| Must-see TV show: | I'm a sucker for "Will and Grace" re-runs, and I hate to miss "Ugly Betty" and most things on HBO. |
| Last good movie you saw: | "Into the Wild" and "No Country for Old Men." Both amazing! |
| Performer you would drop everything to go see: | The Rat Pack in Las Vegas. Imagine? |
| Pop culture guilty pleasure: | Any reality show with models. "Janice Dickinson," anyone? "America's Most Smartest Model"? I mean, c'mon! |
| First stage kiss: | 10th grade. I was Conrad Birdie in Bye Bye Birdie, and I had to kiss the Kim. |
| Favorite post-show meal: | The kobe beef steak at Marseilles after a show. Delicious. Or a bottle of Barbera D'Alba at Nizza with a plate of meats and cheeses. Amazing. Then I just roll home. |
| How you got your Equity card: | Playing Matt Off-Broadway in The Fantasticks. |
| Worst missed cue/onstage mishap: | How much time do you have? LOL. Running to the balcony in West Side Story, hitting a slick spot on the stage and falling with such momentum that I slid into the wings. Missing an entire scene in My Fair Lady. You got it, I got confused, and somehow missed my entrance. Once I was so sick during a performance of another show that I stopped in the middle of the number, and walked off stage. I did come back two minutes later and finished. Not my finest moment. I've also been onstage when other actors have missed their entrances. Let's just say Christine Baranski and I once performed a scene that Lawrence and Lee had never written for Mame. We had to fill the time somehow. |
| Worst costume ever: | I think I'm about to wear it at Carnegie Hall. But I mean "worst" in a good way. (In case my costume designer is reading this.) |
| Cats or dogs? | I don't have any pets, but when and if I do...definitely a dog! |
| Favorite cereal: | Rice puffs. Well, my favorite is Lucky Charms, but it doesn't really fit into my diet. |
| Who would play you in the movie? | I don't care as long as I get to sing any vocal tracks. I'll be the Marni Nixon of my own movie. |
| Worst job you ever had: | Waiting tables for two months. Honestly, it wasn't a bad job, but I couldn't deal with the stress. I'd tell you about my job as a maintenance man in an office building across the street from Penn Station, but I'm saving that one for Ellen or Oprah. |
| What musical role have you been dying to play? | The one that's written for me! Are you reading this, Stephen? Sondheim or Schwartz, I'm not picky! |
