Richie Portela is thrilled to join the Broadway Babies/Applause family, although he is not unfamiliar with the importance of opening the doors for a new generation of performers and theatregoers. After receiving his BFA in Acting from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Richie has spent the majority of his theatre career working in Theatre for Youth. He has performed with TheatreworksUSA in Ferdinand the Bull (Ferdinand) and Corduroy, and most recently, has performed in the national and international tours of Dora the Explorer Live: Dora’s Pirate Adventure and Go Diego Go Live: The Great Jaguar Rescue in the role of Diego, Dora’s animal rescuing cousin! Other favorite roles include Jack in Into the Woods, Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors, and Sparky in Forever Plaid. Richie is a proud member of Actor’s Equity Association! ”Thank you to Audrey and the Broadway Babies/Applause staff for bringing me this truly joyous opportunity to spread my love for this craft to the youth of this city!”