Max Crumm

Aaron Maximillian Crumm was born on October 8, 1985, in Pasadena, California, and grew up in Phoenix, Arizona. Crumm began performing at age six, cast as a tap-dancing sailor in Anything Goes through Ahwatukee Foothills Theatre, a company run by their parents. Through the same organization, Crumm went on to play Jack in Into the Woods and the Wizard in The Wizard of Oz.

As Crumm grew older, they became involved with Valley Youth Theatre in downtown Phoenix, where they participated in a children's sketch comedy group before earning roles in main stage productions at The Herberger. Those productions included Grease, in which Crumm appeared twice — once as Doody and once as Kenickie — as well as Titanic and The Wiz. At Desert Stages Theatre, Crumm took on a range of roles including the Grinch in How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, the Prince in Cinderella, and Linus van Pelt in You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, in addition to performing in original musicals created by owner Gerry Cullity. Crumm also traveled with a performing group affiliated with Desert Stages. After graduating from Desert Vista High School in 2003, Crumm relocated to Los Angeles with a friend, Kelly May, to study at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Hollywood.

In March 2006, Crumm landed a principal role in the independent film Echoboom. The following year, on July 24, 2007, Crumm made their Broadway debut in the revival of Grease, originating the role of Danny Zuko after winning NBC's televised talent search competition, Grease: You're the One That I Want! Crumm performed opposite Laura Osnes, the female winner of the same competition, who played Sandy. The two played their final performances in those roles on July 20, 2008, and were succeeded by competition runner-up Ashley Spencer and Derek Keeling.

During a period back in Los Angeles, Crumm appeared in the Screen Gems comedy Easy A, released in fall 2010, playing a character named Pontius. The film co-starred Emma Stone, whom Crumm has identified as a childhood friend, as well as Amanda Bynes.

After returning to New York City in 2011, Crumm starred as The Situation in Jersey Shoresical: A Frickin' Rock Opera, a musical written by Daniel Franzese and Hanna LoPatin and directed by Drew Droege. The production ran September 21 through 24, 2011, at the New York Fringe Festival, and featured RuPaul's Drag Race performer Derrick Barry. In March 2013, Crumm originated the lead role of Christian Mohammed Schwartzelberg in the Off-Broadway rock musical F#%king Up Everything. That same year, on July 29, Crumm participated in a reading of the comedy play You're Really Not Helping, alongside Daphne Rubin-Vega, Kevin Spirtas, and Aaron Simon Gross. Crumm also appeared in the web series It Could Be Worse, created by Broadway actors Wesley Taylor and Mitchell Jarvis.

In February 2014, Crumm joined the Off-Broadway cast of Disaster!, written by Seth Rudetsky, playing the role of Scott. That production ran through April 2014. Also in April 2014, Crumm was cast as Hoover in a private Manhattan reading of Brave New World: The Musical, adapted from the Aldous Huxley novel, alongside Colin Hanlon, Andrew Keenan-Bolger, Andrew Kober, Julia Mattison, and Keala Settle. That same month, it was announced that Crumm would play a recurring character named Linus in season two of the web series Wallflowers, broadcast on Stage17.tv. On July 8, 2014, Crumm took over the lead male role of Matt in the Off-Broadway production of The Fantasticks at the Snapple Theater Center in Times Square.

Crumm continued with Disaster! as it transferred to Broadway, where the production opened in March 2016, marking Crumm's second Broadway credit. In January 2021, Crumm publicly came out as non-binary and began using they/them pronouns.