The Portal NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (89)
See it if new age sensibilities are your thing, want something 2 match tripping experiences, you need 2 arrive high on life or some other substance
Don't see it if you have no toleration for the new agey, need story markers to help you along
See it if you want something different.. thats about all I can say..
Don't see it if you don't want to waste 2 hours.. Luckily the show was cut short for technical difficulties, so we only got to see like 30 mins..
See it if you like rock music, psychedelic images and jazz dance.
Don't see it if you like character based theater with a plot, an arch and thought provoking content.
See it if you like vaguely tribal music and cheesy videos taking you on a mystical journey of self-discovery or want to bore yourself into a coma
Don't see it if you have anything better to do with your time or you'd rather take a tap or stare off into space daydreaming or ANYTHING ELSE possible
See it if you have taken a lot of drugs before hand and want to look at the pretty lights.
Don't see it if bright lights or loud sounds bother you...or if you want something that makes sense. Read more
See it if Avoid. This show was so boring, slow and insipid. So many missed opportunities.
Don't see it if You have something else to do.
See it if very boring!!! bad singing and acting
Don't see it if you value your time and money
See it if You want to encounter what it would be like to live inside a Pink Floyd video but completely sober and sad
Don't see it if Don't even think about it
Critic Reviews (12)
“'The Portal' is what one might have expected to encounter on the West Coast during the height of the post-hippie/New Age movement of the late '60s/early '70s. It's burdened...with a drearily portentous, allegoric narrative presented via a silent film that makes sense only if you've read (and remembered) its plot outline...'The Portal's' message is all well and good,...but the show's buried in such a mountain of self-conscious pretension that it may exceed a NY audience's climbing skills.”
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"'Portal' shambles on slowly, like the awkward hybrid of Pink Floyd concert, modern dance workshop, student film, VFX mix tape, and self-help book that it is, eventually reaching a bewildering non-conclusion...There is nothing to this show. Nothing at all. For all its pretensions at a deeper understanding of the universe, and a subversion of the musical theatre genre, it is one of the shallowest, least insightful shows playing in New York right now."
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"The trippiness of this unstructured approach will surely appeal to the Burning Man crowd, but those expecting a more traditional narrative may find themselves at a loss…It is still possible to have a perfectly wonderful time at ‘The Portal.’…Jessica Chen’s magnificent choreography is consistently theatrical, and highly enjoyable…The entire cast is fully committed, and very capable, keeping most audience members engaged regardless of the production’s shortcomings."
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"Live theater is a jewel that obtains its rawness only when the audience can witness the story unfolding by the work of the performers. With its heavy use of video, ‘The Portal’ lacked this thrilling component…The show’s excessive amount of spinning images, bright lights, monotone songs and apocalyptic costumes became overwhelming and distracting…Audience members likely left the theater with more of a migraine than a deeper artistic awareness."
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