Peter Zeisler, 81; Pioneer in Regional Theater Co-Founded the Guthrie

Peter Zeisler, 81, the last of three founding members of the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis and a pioneer in the regional theater movement, died of heart failure Sunday at his home in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.

A former Broadway stage manager, Zeisler co-founded the Guthrie Theater in 1963, with Sir Tyrone Guthrie and Oliver Rea. An immediate success dubbed the “Miracle in Minneapolis” by Life magazine, the Guthrie received a special Tony Award for its outstanding contribution to the American theater in 1982.

“What we proved, above all, was that it was possible to have first-rate professional theater outside New York,” Zeisler wrote in a 2001 article in American Theatre magazine.

Zeisler served as the Guthrie’s managing director and producer from 1963 to 1970. In 1972, he became executive director of the Theater Communications Group, the national advocacy and service organization for nonprofit theaters.

After retiring in 1995, Zeisler continued to serve as an arts consultant to foreign governments and theater festivals.