Max von Essen, Max Clayton join 'Chicago' Broadway cast

The Tony and Drama Desk Award-nominated actor will enter the production of the classic Kander, Ebb, and Fosse musical at the Ambassador Theatre in November.

UPDATE: Max Clayton (The Music Man, Moulin Rouge! The Musical) will also join the Chicago Broadway cast as Fred Caseley.

He's giving the old razzle dazzle! Max von Essen will join the cast of Chicago on Broadway from November 6.

Von Essen is best known for his Tony and Drama Desk Award-nominated performance as Henri Baurel in An American in Paris. His other Broadway credits include Anastasia, Evita, Les Misérables, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Dance of the Vampires.

He now replaces Ryan Silverman in the role of the lawyer Billy Flynn. The current Chicago cast also includes Charlotte d’Amboise as Roxie Hart, Kimberly Marable as Velma Kelly, Lili Thomas as Matron “Mama” Morton, Raymond Bokhour as Amos Hart, and R. Lowe as Mary Sunshine.

Chicago, directed by Walter Bobbie, centers on housewife Roxie and vaudevillian Velma, two murderesses who fight for the attention of Billy and the press to get acquitted — and become overnight celebrities.

The musical by John Kander, Fred Ebb, and Bob Fosse has run at the Ambassador Theatre since 1996, making it the second-longest-running show in Broadway history.

Get Chicago tickets now.

Photo credit: Max von Essen. (Photo by Chris Ruetten)