The Minetta Lane Theatre officially welcomes the New York premiere of The Portal December 3; the rock odyssey opens Off-Broadway following previews that began October 27. Billed as part concert, part movie and part performance, the production stars Glee’s Billy Lewis Jr. as lead vocalist and frontman.
Inspired by Burning Man, Pink Floyd and EDM, The Portal combines rock music with tribal and electronic beats. The story follows Dante’s quest through majestic deserts and alpine mountains, while exposing the human desire for transformation. The show is conceived and directed by Luke Comer with original music composed by Tierro Lee and Comer, with choreography by Jessica Chen. It is playing an open-ended Off-Broadway engagement.
The ensemble of performers is made up of dancers Marija Juliette Abney (After Midnight), Jessica Aronoff (company member of J CHEN PROJECT), and Nicole Spencer (Dirty Dancing national tour) and actors Christopher Soren Kelly (Ink), Zarah Mahler (Soul Doctor), and Joey Calveri (Rock of Ages). Live music is performed by guitarist Paul Casanova and percussionist Gilly Gonzalez.
The creative team includes sound designer Peter Fitzgerald, lighting designer Traci Klainer Polimeni, set consultants David Goldstein and Peter Feuchtwanger, costume designer Liene Dobraja, and associate director Paul Stancato.
The production team includes Grace Starr (associate producer, marketing director), Gregg Bellon (production stage manager), Mogul Productions/Jill Bowman (general management), Peter Feuchtwanger (production supervisor), Charles Newman (music consultant), Amanda Bohan Marketing (advertising), Wojcik/Seay Casting (casting), and Krista Robbins (company manager).
The Minetta Lane Theatre is located at 18 Minetta Lane, New York. Tickets, priced $49-$89, are on sale. Visit TicketMaster.com or call (800) 745-3000. For more information visit ThePortalNYC.com.
