Peter is a New York based director, writer and educator who works in new work development, as well as reimagining classic American musicals in New York and for some of the most notable regional theaters in the country. He is also a Professor of Musical Theatre at Montclair State University.
Most recently, Peter directed the Southeast regional premiere of The Lehman Trilogy for the Maltz Jupiter Theatre, followed by the Northeast regional premiere of The Shark Is Broken for the George Street Playhouse. Peter is currently working on an international tour of the new musical Calling Us Home by South African writer Alice Gillham. The production is slated for an eight-country tour through sub-Saharan Africa in the spring of 2026 followed by a European tour the following fall.
Recently Peter conceived and directed a new production of Fiddler on the Roof for the Olney Theatre Center which focused the story on the immigrant experience and its relevance to national current events. He also directed the new multimedia performance of The Eyes of the World: from D Day to VE Day for Carnegie Hall and the Boston Pops which was aired nationally on PBS.
Other New York credits include the off-Broadway premiere of Smart Blonde by Willy Holtzman starring Andréa Burns; the off-Broadway premiere of Curvy Widow by Bobby Goldman & Drew Brody; Rhapsody in Seth starring Seth Rudetsky; Lee Blessing’s Two Rooms; the 75th Anniversary performance of Thornton Wilder’s Our Town with S. Epatha Merkerson, B.D. Wong, and Blythe Danner; On the 20th Century with Douglas Sills & Marin Mazzie; Chess with Josh Groban & Julia Murney; and Funny Girl with Sutton Foster, Bebe Neuwirth, Whoopi Goldberg, & Lillias White.
In 2022, Peter was the Resident Artistic Producer for Little Island during its Summer Festival. While in residence, he oversaw a variety of performances including the Broadway Inspirational Voices, Machine de Cirque, PigPen Theatre, and guest artists such as Lillias White, Ayodele Casel, and pianist Matthew Whitaker.
During the pandemic, Peter directed two acclaimed virtual productions. The first, a filmed performance of Theresa Rebeck’s Bad Dates for the George St. Playhouse, garnered several Broadway World Award nominations including Best Director, and Best Actor (Andréa Burns). The second, a completely re-conceived version of Stephen
Schwartz’ Working for Montclair State University, included new monologues based on interviews with frontline and essential workers during the pandemic.
Peter also became the Founding Artistic Director of Plays In the House, a biweekly virtual play reading series during the pandemic, benefiting the Entertainment Community Fund and the NAACP/LDF. Performances included the original cast of Wendy Wasserstein’s The Heidi Chronicles, Noël Coward’s Blithe Spirit starring Leslie Uggams, and The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife written by and starring Charles Busch.
Peter was the Artistic Director of the Hangar Theatre in Ithaca, New York for five seasons, overseeing a variety of large scale productions, intimate plays, and the development of new work. He was also the first Artistic Director of the Colorado New Works Festival in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.
Other credits include Andrea Martin’s one woman show, Andrea Martin: Final Days Everything Must Go; Katori Hall’s The Mountaintop; Gypsy at the St. Louis MUNY; Other Desert Cities for the Maltz-Jupiter Theatre where he has also directed Man of LaMancha (Carbonell Award, Best Director & Best Musical); and Into the Woods, Ragtime (Helen Hayes nomination for Outstanding Direction for both productions), and 1776 for Ford’s Theatre where he is an Associate Artist.
Peter has also created and directed over half-a-dozen variety shows for Carnival Cruise Lines. Ranging in musical styles from piano rock to Miami-Cuban fusion, each show is currently performed on over 20 ships in the Carnival fleet.
As a writer, Peter has written the book for two new musicals commissioned by the Huntington Theatre Company: Lily, a musical adaptation of Edith Wharton’s The House of Mirth, and Love of the Game, an adaptation of the Michael Shaara novella. Both are written with composer/lyricist Brooks Ashmanskas. Peter has also written the scripts for the Drama Desk Awards, the Second Stage Theatre Annual Gala, the Guthrie Theatre’s 50th Anniversary Performance, and for industrials including Aztra-Seneca Pharmaceuticals.
Peter is a graduate of Northwestern University, president of the board for Live and In Color, Artistic Ambassador for the Christchurch International Musical Theatre Summer School, and a member of SDC.
For Peter’s teaching experience, please visit the “Teaching” page.