Tails of Broadway: Meet Max von Essen & Daniel Rowan's Purrrfect Pocket!

After a long week of treading the boards, what better way for performers to unwind than with the affection of a furry friend? In BroadwayWorld's Tails of Broadway, photographer Jessica Fallon Gordon is capturing priceless moments between Broadway's brightest stars and their pets.

In this edition, meet ANASTASIA star Max von Essen and Daniel Rowan's super sweet, sphynx, Pocket!

Pet Profile

Pet's name: Pocket (although we now call her Peeps, P, Small Pocks, Pop Pop, Pocky, Sweet Pea, etc... we just can't stop)

Origin of name: At first, we complied a list of all kinds of names, original, unique, cute, you name it. Then our friend Melanie jokingly said, why don't you just name her Pocket? We laughed it off at first, and then what did we do? We named her Pocket. We just thought it was so sweet. The day we brought her home, she could quite literally fit in our pocket, and we realized it was the perfect name for her. Even two months later, our friends are surprised at how small she is.

Breed: Sphynx

How long have you owned: 2 months

Adoption story: Our friends have a sphynx cat named Frankie, who we are in love with. He's so beautiful, check him out on instagram (@frankiethesphynx). We asked where she got him, and when we reached out, they just so happened to have a new litter of kittens up for adoption. Frankie's half brothers and sisters! We looked at some pictures and knew instantly that Pocket was the one. Interestingly enough, our friends were adopting a little boy, Oliver, from the same litter, so Daniel flew out to Arizona with them to pick up the brother and sister. Thankfully, we are an hour drive away from each other and able to have family playdates. It's the best. Pocket thinks she's in charge and loves to wrestle Oliver and Frankie.

Favorite thing to do with your pet: We can never get enough of snuggling with her. We also love taking boxes from deliveries and building her little houses. I mean, you can buy her every toy in the world, but a box... Or a cardboard toilet paper roll? She's in heaven!

The naughtiest thing your pet has done: Since she's a kitten, she just doesn't realize how big her feet are yet, and sometimes she steps in her own poop in the litter box. Then she likes to run all over the apartment and jump on us when we're sleeping and get poop all over everything.

What would your pet's catch-phrase be: "I cute" (cause that's the kind of face she makes after she jumps all over us with poop on her paws). A close second would be "Yes, you can't have me" (which is the flirtatious face she makes when she wants us to stay and play with her all day).

Fun Facts: Sphynx cats don't have the same self-cleaning habits as other cats, so she needs a bath every week or two. She's still getting used to that, but we think she'll start to love it. They are also the most social breed of cats and cuddle instinctually, since they're nearly hairless and always trying to find warmth. Honestly, we feel like we have a little puppy. She'll come running whenever we come in the door, she'll play fetch with some of her toys and she'll cuddle for hours. It's the best. Also, even though Pocket is mostly hairless, she has a furry little face and paws. It's just the cutest. She feels like a suede hot water bottle. Oh, and she loves to lick our face.

Follow Pocket on Instagram: @pocketthesphynx