By John Hayden

The South Florida Pride Concert Band is holding out for a hero.. and villain or two. The group is tuning up for their Heroes and Villains show Presented by the Bears of South Florida. And this performance comes with a double dose of 42nd St. flair.

Broadway superstars Frances Ruffelle and Max von Essen will join the band for the one-night-only show at The Parker on Saturday, May 10, 2025 at 7 p.m.

“I love doing concerts,” Von Essen told OutClique during an exclusive interview. “I wasn’t familiar with this Pride Band and I don’t know this area of Florida, embarrassingly I’ll admit. It’s a perfect opportunity.”

He’s currently playing the role of Billy Flynn in the Broadway production of Chicago. Getting a weekend off isn’t easy, but Von Essen says his producers understand the need to get out, clear your head and sing fresh material.

Joining him from The Great White Way is Tony winning diva Frances Ruffelle. She talked with OutClique from her tony pad in London.

“We were invited and it sounded like a helluva lot of fun. I knew I was definitely doing that,” she said. 

Heroes & Villains

The theme of the show evokes the camp of heroes like Superman and his archenemy, Lex Luthor. 

“This concert will take the listeners on a journey exploring the greatest heroes of our time and as well as the dastardliest villains,” said Dan Bassett, artistic director of the South Florida Pride Concert Band. “From history to the silver screen and Broadway, the band will flawlessly perform  beloved musical themes and songs from Captain America to Darth Vader and everything in-between.”

For Ruffelle and von Essen, their heroes are very personal.

“I have a real life hero,” von Essen said. “My dad was a New York City firefighter for most of his career. He was Fire Commissioner during 9/11. He lost so many of his men and had to go through such a difficult time and remain strong.”

Von Essen says his dad was always a great dad at home, and still remembers how the city looked to him during the aftermath. “To turn on the news and see my father show so much strength when I knew he was struggling so much. He remains my real life hero,” he said.

When it comes to the villain he loves rooting for, Colin Farrell’s immersive portrayal of Penguin/Oswald ‘Oz’ Cobb in HBO Max’s The Penguin is front of mind.

“He was lost in that character, to the point where I didn’t hear an inflection in his voice. Just the way he immersed himself in this performance.”

Ruffelle found her hero and villain while researching a role.

“My hero is also like a villain mixed into one. Édith Piaf,” Ruffelle said. She once portrayed Piaf, who was a mid-century French cabaret singer and is a touchstone in the nation’s culture. Many documentaries and movies have been made about her life, perhaps most famously 2007’s La Vie en Rose. Marion Cotillard won the Oscar for her portrayal of Piaf.

“[Piaf] influenced me to sing for Éponine (from Les Misérables). When I auditioned for the writers they wanted me to sing a Piaf song. As for the villain, [Piaf] was really really quite naughty and quite awful. Yet somehow you can’t help loving her.”

Les Miz Connection

Éponine is an iconic and tragic character in Les Misérables. Ruffelle pioneered the role on Broadway and won the Tony. Von Essen was part of the cast that closed the show. 

“I was in Les Miz twice,” he said. “The one that she started, I ended in its eighteenth year.” He was in the ensemble and understudy for the character of Marius Pontmercy. He never got called to fill in before the final curtain.

But that journey was not over. Five years later he was cast as Enjolras in the revival.

“The fact that the two of us have such deep connections to Les Misérables and are part of this concert, we have to do some Les Misérables,  right?”

This show highlights heroes and villains from stage and screen, and helps celebrate The South Florida Pride Bands’ 38th season and is the oldest LGBTQIA+ arts and cultural organization in the state of Florida.

Tickets are $45 and can be purchased at ParkerPlayouse.com/Events.