Theater

Erik writes original plays and musicals and has also been entrusted with adapting some particularly well-known worlds for the stage.

His current plays include STATE OF THE UNION, a political farce about power and complicity; BOB & JIMMY, inspired by the extraordinary real-life encounter between Jimmy Carter and Robert Redford during the 1976 presidential campaign; and FUCKIN’ RUTHIE, a contemporary response to American Buffalo. His other plays include DEFAMED!!!, LIKE A BILLION LIKES, TELL-TALE, DOLL and CHARLIE!

His musical-theater work includes CHRISTMAS IN CONNECTICUT, adapted from the Warner Bros. film, which premiered at Goodspeed Musicals and is now licensed by Concord Musicals. BREAKING UP IS HARD TO DO, built around the songs of Neil Sedaka, has been produced across the United States and internationally. Current musicals include MISTY MAKES IT BETTER and an adaptation of Noël Coward’s PRIVATE LIVES.

Erik’s adaptation work also includes CHEERS LIVE ON STAGE, based on the landmark television comedy; a darkly comic adaptation of Stephen King’s CARRIE; and an upcoming stage adaptation of King’s CUJO.

His work has been produced and developed at venues including P.S. 122, HERE Arts Center and Goodspeed Musicals, with additional productions at theaters throughout the United States and overseas.

Erik received the Robert Chesley/Victor Bumbalo Playwriting Award and won the Southwest Playwriting Contest. His work has received a GLAAD Media Award nomination and finalist recognition from the O’Neill National Playwrights Conference and Woodward/Newman Drama Award.

He is the proud Playwright-in-Residence of Theatre Couture, as well as a Tony voter and a member of the Dramatists Guild. He serves on the American Theatre Wing Advisory Board and the awards selection committee of the Clive Barnes Foundation.

Books

People has called Erik a “pop-culture expert.” His books combine that expertise with his interest in storytelling for readers young and otherwise.

His work from Penguin Random House includes the forthcoming POP! PLAYBOOKS, an interactive series built around major music artists, and TAYLOR & TRAVIS: A LOVE STORY ALBUM.

He is also the author of MUPPETS MEET THE CLASSICS, published by Penguin Workshop in collaboration with Disney. The series began with THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA and continued with FAIRY TALES FROM THE BROTHERS GRIMM, bringing the Muppets’ particular literary sensibility to a pair of canonical collections.

He is currently at work on his first original novel, PEAK FEAR, and is a Bram Stoker Award–voting member of the Horror Writers Association.

Journalism & Editorial

Before and alongside his creative work, Erik built a three-decade career as an editor and journalist at some of the country’s best-known media brands.

He spent more than a decade as an executive editor at Entertainment Weekly and InStyle, overseeing major editorial packages, celebrity coverage and special projects. Earlier, he served as editor-in-chief of Show People and worked as an editor and critic at Us Weekly and Time Out New York.

His writing has appeared in The Atlantic, People, Glamour, W, Town & Country, LIFE, Out and other national publications.

He continues to write and edit collectible special editions for People, Entertainment Weekly and LIFE, covering major cultural figures and entertainment properties. Subjects have ranged from Taylor Swift and Wicked to Saturday Night Live, Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings.

Film & Television

Erik wrote the screen adaptation of Theatre Couture’s CHARLIE!, which premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival. He was a staff writer and story editor on the supernatural television series DANTE’S COVE, and his screenplay HEARTBREAKER was a finalist for the Outfest Screenwriting Lab.

His earlier media career also took him on camera. Erik reported for the BBC/BBC America program TALKING MOVIES, hosted ABC’s THE US WEEKLY REPORT and appeared as a correspondent and commentator across television and radio.

Somehow, this eventually led to MTV asking him to explain HOW TO LIVE LIKE A CELEBRITY PET. No career trajectory is entirely predictable.

Teaching & Professional Life

Erik is an Adjunct Professor at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, where his teaching examines Broadway through questions of representation and cultural power while introducing students to the commercial realities of the American theater.

His artist residencies and fellowships include Millay Arts, the Helene Wurlitzer Foundation, Monson Arts and the Johnny Mercer Writers Grove at Goodspeed Musicals, as well as the Center for the Arts of Homer and Chulitna Lodge Research Institute.

He lives near Central Park, can’t resist a carb, and continues to write for stage and page—occasionally at the same time.