SU alum Caroline Portner makes her return to Syracuse with ‘Hairspray’

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On March 13, 2020, Caroline Portner gathered with her fellow cast members for a heartbreaking announcement: “happy opening, and happy closing.” Their first performance of “Amadeus” at Syracuse Stage would be their last. The play’s final act ended and the sold-out crowd erupted into a standing ovation with cheers of admiration.

“I broke out in tears,” Portner said. “It was just the most beautiful celebration of theater with joy and support and love for one another.”

Portner’s performance in the show as Caterina Cavalieri was her last role of her junior year at Syracuse Stage. Four years later, she is back in Syracuse, this time playing secondary antagonist Amber Von Tussle in the award-winning Broadway musical “Hairspray” at the Landmark Theatre from Jan. 30 to Feb. 3.

“The minute I found out that I’d booked the show, I was beyond ecstatic,” Portner said. “This was a childhood dream come true for me. I’m the luckiest girl in the world to be going to my alma mater and getting to perform for my teachers who can experience this moment with me.”

Raised in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Portner started dancing at three years old. By age 10, she realized her passion for singing and performing. Portner was shy in her youth, but adored performing, so her parents registered her for community theater, she said. There, Portner took acting, singing and dancing lessons through her middle and high school years.

“I remember sitting down with my parents when I was about 15 — I played Elle Woods in ‘Legally Blonde’ — and I told them that this is what I wanted to do for a career,” Portner said. “They didn’t even blink. They were like, ‘Yeah, we knew.’”

In 2017, Portner’s enthusiasm led her to SU’s College of Visual and Performing Arts, where she earned a BFA in Musical Theater. Looking back on her time at the university, she is incredibly grateful she was both able to receive training from professors notable in the entertainment industry while also getting a “traditional” college experience, such as joining Kappa Alpha Theta.

“Caroline is amazing,” said Rufus Bonds Jr., an assistant professor of musical theater at SU. “I had her in class and the one thing about her – she’s always bold, clear on her path and work and also giving, and she is extraordinary in that way. She takes risks.”

From day one of “Hairspray’s” production, the show’s creative team met with cast members individually to discuss their characters, backstories and motivators. Portner said she loves diving into the deep psychological side of characters, both good and bad. She’d never channeled a villain like Amber Von Tussle who had different morals than her, but she was up for the challenge, she said.

The play speaks to class, fear, racism and to people who are isolated and rejected, Bonds Jr. said. The play covers the love of change, how to see each other as humans, and how to make the world better – both inside the play and out.

“The artists and everyone involved in a production is there to give a gift to the audience,” said Bonds Jr., who currently works as the resident director of “Lion King” on Broadway. “We are there as vessels, to be used to share and to give away that we may make somebody else’s life better.”

The “Hairspray” cast will stay in Syracuse for the week of their six live shows. Murphy Fauci, a marketing and publicity agent for Broadway in Syracuse, said her team takes the performers to local businesses, like Café Kubal and Cathy’s Cookie Kitchen, who welcome them with store specials. It’s fun to have local support incorporated into the shows, Fauci said.

She said when people heard “Hairspray” was coming to Syracuse for a stop on tour, they were excited because they could experience nostalgia through a reintroduction of a classic Broadway play. After their stint in Syracuse, the cast will head to Indiana for the next stop of the tour which will go on through the end of June.

“Everything comes together for one purpose, and that’s to tell a story and affect the audience and take them through an experience in a collective space,” Bonds Jr. said. “This is the one location where people from all walks of life can come together to experience this event.”

Bonds Jr. said he believes Portner’s return to the Syracuse community will inspire children and adults to never give up on their dreams, no matter their age. It’s important when alums like Portner come back to Syracuse and show an audience their work, skills and passion, Bonds Jr. said.

“I am so excited to come home and see the people who also fostered this opportunity for me in the first place,” Portner said.