Erik Orton (born in 1974 in California) is a New York-based writer and theatre producer. His father was an Air Force officer and his mother a Finnish immigrant. He was raised primarily in West Germany and the suburbs of Washington D.C. He graduated from
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...
in 1998 with a degree in Media Music. He and his wife, Emily Orton, have five children together.
Orton's original musical, ''
Berlin
Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...
'', was performed Off-Off-Broadway in 2003. In 2005, he produced the Off-Broadway musical, ''The Ark'' (written by BYU professor Kevin Kelly and LDS composer
Michael McLean). He is currently producing
Children of Eden
''Children of Eden'' is a 1991 musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by John Caird. The musical is based on the Book of Genesis, with Act I telling the story of Adam and Eve, and Cain and Abel, while Act II deals with N ...
for Broadway (Music & Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, Book by
John Caird). Orton also penned The Drummings (in collaboration with Joshua Williams) based on the life and times of Irish statesman
Daniel O'Connell
Daniel O'Connell (I) ( ga, Dónall Ó Conaill; 6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847), hailed in his time as The Liberator, was the acknowledged political leader of Ireland's Roman Catholic majority in the first half of the 19th century. His mobilizat ...
.
Orton has worked for a variety of Broadway general management and production offices including
Wicked
Wicked may refer to:
Books
* Wicked, a minor character in the ''X-Men'' universe
* '' Wicked'', a 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire that inspired the musical of the same name
* ''Wicked'', the fifth novel in Sara Shepard's ''Pretty Little Liars'' s ...
'', ''
The Phantom of the Opera
''The Phantom of the Opera'' (french: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra) is a novel by French author Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a serial in from 23 September 1909 to 8 January 1910, and was released in volume form in late March 1910 by Pier ...
'', ''Les Misérables (musical)">Les Misérables
''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century.
In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its original ...
'', and ''Miss Saigon'', among others.
Orton has been featured on the cover of Crain's Business New York as well as The New York Times and theatre industry news hub Playbill.com.
In 2007, Orton's ''Berlin'' was performed at the Longwharf Theatre in New Haven and then again in 2008 at Brigham Young University's mainstage season. He is represented by Susan Gurman of the Gurman Agency.
''Berlin'' was made into a film by BYU and shown on BYU-TV in 2008. In 2009 ''Berlin'' was shown at the
. ''Berlin'' won an Emmy Award in 2009.
Orton is a
. He co-wrote the book for ''
'', one of a total of 7 artistic creators. He was the artistic director of ''Standard to the Nations'' the LDS Cultural production staged before the dedication of the
.