PORT(AL) is an innovative choral theater experience that delves into the history of the Brooklyn Navy Yard, exploring its past as a bustling port and its evolution within the ever-changing tides of the city. Like a river carrying whispers of forgotten stories, the acclaimed Brooklyn Youth Chorus guides audiences through a confluence of song, movement, and immersive storytelling. Co-created by a team of renowned artists including Dianne Berkun Menaker, Paola Prestini, Jad Abumrad, and Jessica Grindstaff, PORT(AL) invites you to navigate the currents of time, where the echoes of history, the realities of the present, and the dreams of the future converge.
Port(al) premiered at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in May 2025 and was also presented at PS21 Center for Contemporary Performance in June 2025.
a sprawling, ambitious, innovative new collaborative production
The musical composition wove together historical moments in a beautiful tapestry of unified force designed to intoxicate the mind...The message of this performance will echo along the human journey for generations to come!
...exceptionally well written...Prestini is unafraid to take risks concerning the magnitude or moving parts of a production, and those risks certainly paid off for an inspiring performance of 'Port(al)'
Though 'Port(al)' was written for young singers, there was nothing toned-down or unsophisticated about it...'Port(al)' is an anti-war requiem
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