Peter Van Norden

Birth Place: N.Y., N.Y.

Get Peter Van Norden Email Alerts

Be the first to get news, photos, videos & more.

Peter Van Norden BIO

PETER VAN NORDEN is a native New Yorker whose feature film credits include The Accused (as defense attorney “Ted Paulsen” opposite Kelly McGillis and Academy Award winner Jodie Foster), Police Academy 2 (as Steve Guttenberg's inept partner, “Vinnie Schtulman”), The Naked Gun 21/2 (as White House Chief-of-Staff, “John Sununu”), An Innocent Man (as Tom Selleck's lawyer), as the lead in Don’t Call Me Frankie at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival, Love Hurts (with Jeff Daniels), The Best of Times (with Robin Williams and Kurt Russell), Hard to Hold (with Rick Springfield), Roadhouse 66 (with Willem Dafoe and Judge Reinhold), The Rosary Murders (with Donald Sutherland), Hitting the Cycle, and the 1988 Academy Award winning short film Ray's Male Heterosexual Dance Hall.
On television, he was seen as “Ralph Brentner,” one of the leads in the Stephen King 8-hour mini-series, The Stand. Among his MANY other TV credits are recurring roles on L.A. Law, Murder, She Wrote and Life Goes On, and appearances on Without a Trace, Caroline in the City, Nash Bridges, In the Heat of the Night, Matlock, The Client, Tales From the Crypt, Wings, Hill St. Blues, Cheers, St. Elsewhere, Newhart, Family Ties, Three's a Crowd, Benson, Double Switch (Disney Sunday night movie), as Pierre Salinger in the mini-series Blood Feud.
In N.Y., he appeared in five Broadway shows: Saint Joan (with Lynn Redgrave), The Inspector General, and Romeo and Juliet at Circle-in-the-Square; Macbeth at Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont Theatre; and as the "evil" Anthony Anstey opposite Donny Osmond in George M. Cohan's Little Johnny Jones at the Alvin Theatre (also at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in L.A., and on Showtime TV).
Off-Broadway in N.Y., he played the First Gravedigger opposite Kevin Kline in Hamlet, at Joseph Papp's New York Shakespeare Festival/ Public Theatre. Other appearances include Jungle of Cities with Al Pacino, the N.Y. Shakespeare Festival productions of Henry V (with Meryl Streep), and Hamlet (with Sam Waterston) in Central Park, and Shakespeare's Cabaret at The Colonnades Theatre Co. Most recently, he appeared as 'Henry Kissinger' in the L.A. Theatre Works production of Top Secret: The Battle for the Pentagon Papers at the N.Y. Theatre Workshop, on NPR's The Play's The Thing, on tour across the U.S. and in three cities in China!
In L.A., Peter won the first Backstage West Garland Award for outstanding performance as “Inspector Truscott” in Joe Orton’s Loot, for the Blank Thr. Co. He has garnered Drama-Logue Awards for his performances as “Oscar Wilde” in the one-man-show, Wilde...and Wonderful, as "Archie" in William Inge's The Last Pad at the Friends and Artists Theatre, as "Jackie" in Cuba and His Teddy Bear at the Callboard Theatre, and as “Henry Kissinger” in Nixon’s Nixon at San Jose Rep. He also appeared in Arthur Miller’s The Man Who Had All the Luck and as 'The Lawyer' in American Tales: Bartleby the Scrivener for the Antaeus Co., of which he is a member. Other L.A. appearances include the Ovation Award winning musicals Dinah Was at the Coast Playhouse, and The Fantasticks for The Blank Thr. Co., the L.A. Weekly Award winning play The Cradle Will Rock, the Act One festival at the Met Theatre, as the title role of Eliot Rosewater in Kurt Vonnegut's God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater at the Matrix Theatre, The God of Isaac at The Pico Playhouse and appeared in the Mark Taper Forum Spring Repertory season as Pompey in Measure for Measure, and in Tom Stoppard’s Undiscovered Country. Other L.A. stage credits include Jailbirds on Broadway at the Tiffany Theatre (as the tough "female" prisoner, “Maude”); the LATC production of Chekhov's The Seagull, and the Catalina Production of The Wrong Box.
Regionally, Peter has appeared at San Diego Rep. as 'Edna Turnblad' in Hairspray, 'Scrooge' in A Christmas Carol, 'The Judge' in David Mamet's Romance, 'Earl of Kent' in King Lear, and 'Don Quixote' in The Brothers Karamazov's Don Quixote. At San Jose Rep. he appeared in Nixon’s Nixon (also at Seattle Rep.), Mizlansky/Zilinsky, Art, Major Barbara (winning the Bay Area Critics Award as Best Actor), The Matchmaker, The Odd Couple, and Groundswell. Other appearances include The Magic Fire at the Gurthrie Thr., Berkeley Rep. and The Old Globe Thr. in San Diego (directed by Jack O'Brien), and then as the title character in Shakespeare’s Cymbeline (directed by Dan Sullivan) and 'Holofernes' in Loves' Labors Lost (directed by Roger Rees) at The Old Globe. At Center Stage, Baltimore he appeared in Misalliance (directed by Irene Lewis), and in the Arizona Thr. Co. production of Steven Dietz's Inventing Van Gogh at the Intiman Thr. in Seattle in Moonlight and Magnolias, and as 'John Barrymore' in Mr. Shaw Goes to Hollywood at the Laguna Playhouse.
Peter also recently recorded the audio book The Maples Stories - 18 short stories by John Updike for BBC America.
Peter is a Phi Beta Kappa, magna cum laude graduate of Colgate University, and studied with Sanford Meisner, William Esper, Richard Boone, and Peter Gennaro at the Neighborhood Playhouse in N.Y.C. His favorite role is that of husband to his lovely wife, Wendy (science teacher extraordinaire at Harvard-Westlake School in Studio City, Ca.), and their longest-running production to date is their son, Robert, production coordinator for many feature films.
petervannorden.com

Peter Van Norden Photos

Peter Van Norden STAGE CREDITS

[Los Angeles]
Los Angeles Revival, 2005
Gold

[Broadway]
Broadway Revival, 1982
Anthony Anstey


Peter Van Norden Videos

Peter Van Norden News


THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN Opens February 9 at the Moving Arts Theater in Atwater Village

THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN: A unique and innovative adaptation of Mark Twain's classic novel, brought to life with master puppetry and masks. Join Huck and Jim on their journey down the Mississippi River. Opening February 9th at Moving Arts Theater.

Review: THE TEMPEST at Antaeus Theatre

From the opening storm to the closing musical number, the Kiki & David Gindler Performing Arts Center is awash in buzzes, cries, whooshes, rattles and clangs. What did our critic think of THE TEMPEST at Antaeus Theatre?

THE TEMPEST Extended Through Late July at Antaeus Theatre Company

Antaeus Theatre Company has extended the run of Shakespeare’s The Tempest through July 30.

New Production of THE TEMPEST to be Presented at Antaeus Theatre Company This Summer

Antaeus Theatre Company presents a new production of The Tempest, breathing new life into William Shakespeare’s most musical play.

Interview: Ben Donenberg, Graham Wetterhahn, And Sara Beil On THE TEMPEST: AN IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE

As a fan of Shakespeare and immersive theatre productions, I was intrigued when I heard that The Shakespeare Center LA and After Hours Theatre Company were set to present the premiere of The Tempest: An Immersive Experience, a fully reimagined audience-participation performance based on William Shakespeare's tale of family members caught up in a storm and shipwrecked on an isolated Mediterranean island. So I decided to speak with the production's director Ben Donenberg, Shakespeare Center LA Artistic Director, Graham Wetterhahn, the Producing Artistic Director at After Hours Theatre Company, and Sara Beil one of the producers for After Hours who created the immersive design, about their vision for an immersive way to include audience members in the experience of Shakespeare's tempestuous play.

THE TEMPEST: An Immersive Experience Comes to The Shakespeare Center LA

The Shakespeare Center LA and After Hours Theatre Company announce the premiere of The Tempest: An Immersive Experience, a fully reimagined immersive performance based on William Shakespeare's The Tempest.  The director is Ben Donenberg, Shakespeare Center LA Artistic Director; Graham Wetterhahn is the Producing Artistic Director at After Hours Theatre Company. 

FREESTYLE LOVE SUPREME, Bryan Cranston, Zachary Quinto & More Nominated for Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards

The Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle has announced its 2022 nominees for theatrical excellence. See the full list of nominees!

12 Days Left To Vote For The 2022 BroadwayWorld Los Angeles Awards; Long Beach Playhouse Leads Favorite Local Theatre!

The latest standings as of Monday, December 19th, have been released for the 2022 BroadwayWorld Los Angeles Awards! Nominations were reader-submitted and now our readers get to vote for their favorites.

Latest Stats Released For The 2022 BroadwayWorld Los Angeles Awards; at Broadwater Black Box Leads Best Ensemble Performance!

The latest standings as of Monday, December 12th, have been released for the 2022 BroadwayWorld Los Angeles Awards! Nominations were reader-submitted and now our readers get to vote for their favorites.

Latest Standings Released For The 2022 BroadwayWorld Los Angeles Awards; Long Beach Playhouse Leads Favorite Local Theatre!

The latest standings as of Monday, December 5th, have been released for the 2022 BroadwayWorld Los Angeles Awards! Nominations were reader-submitted and now our readers get to vote for their favorites.

First Stats Released For The BroadwayWorld Los Angeles Awards; TEACHING A ROBOT TO LOVE Leads Best Musical

The first live standings have been announced for the 2022 BroadwayWorld Los Angeles Awards! Nominations were reader-submitted and now our readers get to vote for their favorites.

Antaeus Theatre's HAMLET Begins Performances Tomorrow

Actor and Stage Director, Gregg Daniel performs as 'Claudius' in the Antaeus Theatre production of Hamlet alongside his real life spouse Veralyn Jones, who plays the Queen 'Gertrude.' Directed by Shakespearean expert, Elizabeth Swain and featuring long-time company member Ramón de Ocampo, Hamlet is set to run May 20, 2022 and continue through June 20, 2022 at the Kiki & David Gindler Performing Arts Center in Glendale, California.

HAMLET Announced At Antaeus Theatre Company, Running May 20- June 20

Antaeus Theatre Company returns to in-person performance with a new production of Hamlet, directed by Shakespearean expert Elizabeth Swain and featuring long-time company member Ramón de Ocampo in the title role. Performances begin May 20 and continue through June 20 at the Kiki & David Gindler Performing Arts Center in Glendale. Low-priced previews begin May 15.

BWW Review: SINGING REVOLUTION at The Broadwater Mainstage

SINGING REVOLUTION is a contemporary production designed to inspire American youth with the ideas that peaceful resistance, social justice, and acts of kindness can change the world.

Photos: Go Inside the World Premiere of SINGING REVOLUTION: THE MUSICAL

“Singing Revolution: The Musical,” a thrilling new musical theater production inspired by historical events, is up and running at the  Broadwater Theatre in Hollywood through February 20.

Photos: First Look at the Inspiring Europop Musical SINGING REVOLUTION

“Lift it up, lift it up: we can sing our country free!” Twenty triple-threat performers and a five piece band will bring an inspirational new musical based on historical events to life this January. Presented by Dreamtone Productions in association with NewYorkRep, the world premiere of Singing Revolution: The Musical sets a tale of star-crossed lovers against the beautiful, moving and timeless true story of Estonia’s 1987 song-filled, peaceful uprising against the Soviet Union. 

World Premiere of Europop Musical SINGING REVOLUTION to be Presented in January

The world premiere of Singing Revolution: The Musical sets a tale of star-crossed lovers against the beautiful, moving and timeless true story of Estonia's 1987 song-filled, peaceful uprising against the Soviet Union.

Season Three Of Antaeus Theatre Company's THE ZIP CODE PLAYS: LOS ANGELES Launches in December

Seasons One and Two of The Zip Code Plays: Los Angeles podcast series are available now!

Ensemble Theatre Company Of Santa Barbara Offers Two Streaming Family Holiday Events

This December, Ensemble Theatre Company will offer two holiday events the entire family can enjoy. First, ETC welcomes back Porgy and Bess cast members Elijah Rock and Frank Lawson for a rockin' musical Christmas variety show LIVE from Las Vegas.

Harry Groener to Star in Livestream Reading of THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR

As part of the 'Much Ado About SOMETHING' series, The Working Actor's Journey podcast presents - in collaboration with the San Diego Shakespeare Society and the City of Coronado Public Library - an all-star cast in a FREE online Shakespeare reading of The Merry Wives of Windsor on Thursday, May 14th at 3 pm PST / 6 pm EST.

Peter Van Norden FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How many Broadway shows has Peter Van Norden been in?

Peter Van Norden has appeared on Broadway in 1 shows.

How many West End shows has Peter Van Norden been in?

Peter Van Norden has not appeared in the West End.

Get Peter Van Norden Email Alerts

Be the first to get news, photos, videos & more.

Videos