Weathervane Theatre Pays Tribute to Richard Portner

WHITEFIELD, NH— Weathervane Theatre mourns the loss of Richard Portner, a Weathervane legend, who passed away on October 26, 2025. He, along with his wife Terry, were instrumental in keeping theatre alive in the North Country. Their impact on the North Country and the Weathervane Stage will never be forgotten. 

In 1967, Richard and his wife, Terry—Weathervane’s first leading lady—joined Deertrees Theatre in Harrison, Maine, where Richard served as technical director and Terry as properties mistress. Deertrees was a summer program of Emerson College where Tom Haas taught. Richard and Tom met, and the rest is history!

Throughout its history, Weathervane has been a home for multitalented artists who wear many hats—and Richard was one of the originals. From 1968 to 2008, he spent 32 seasons with Weathervane, serving in 11 different roles onstage and off, often juggling several at once. Over the course of four decades, he helped shape the theatre’s identity in his primary role as Managing Director. He became its third partner, following the cofounders Tom Haas and Gibbs Murray. When Tom passed unexpectedly, Richard was there to help steady the course.

A genuine triple threat, his management acumen, talent as an actor and director, and flexibility in meeting each season’s needs were essential to Weathervane’s enduring success. His impact continues to be felt in every corner of Weathervane today. Anytime Weathervane secures a regional premiere, we think of Richard, who secured the Regional Premiere of RENT in 2008. Many of our incredible guest directors are able to work at the Weathervane thanks to the support of the Portner Fund, named in memory of Richard and Terry.

Whether you recall him greeting you in the Weathervane lobby before a show or sharing the spotlight with his beloved wife of almost 55 years in various productions, his impact is undeniable, and we will miss him greatly.

Richard touched many people during his four decades at the Weathervane.

“In 1992, Richard played the Stage Manager in Our Town, and his calm, matter-of-fact framing of the story of Grover’s Corners captured all the beauty and humanity and wonder of our brief time on earth together,” said Weathervane alumni Mary Packard. “The Weathervane is a crazy and chaotic community. Always in motion, always rushing to get the next show up on its feet and onto the stage. Richard was a calm presence in the eye of that storm. Always with a mug of coffee in hand and a wry smile, delivering advice and solutions in a soft voice. Like the Stage Manager, he seemed to have a perspective that eluded the rest of us. A secret knowledge that the work we were doing—however flawed—had a magic that derived from the shared experience of audience and actor and all who brought the show to life, and the fact that it would be over in the blink of an eye.”

In Richard’s own words from Weathervane Theatre’s Nights of Northern Lights books:

“Theatre embraces the total scale of human activity, both on the stage and in its resident company. We certainly see it at Weathervane. Life-long friendships and partnerships have been formed. Death and tragedy has also visited us among company, alumni, audience, friends and supporters. We have personnel who have been with us for a decade or longer—very unusual for a summer theatre—and who furnish the backbone of our intensive June, July, August activity.

For a life-long educator, and person devoted to theatre as a metaphor for human behavior, it doesn’t get better than that!”

We will miss you Richard. Thank you for everything.

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ABOUT THE WEATHERVANE

The Weathervane Theatre was founded in 1965 by Gibbs Murray and the late Tom Haas and is under the leadership of Producing Artistic Director Ethan Paulini. It has presented high-quality professional productions of plays and musicals for over half a century. One of the few remaining alternating rep companies in the United States, the Weathervane is recognized as a historical institution nationwide, boasting among its alums 2021 Tony nominee Elizabeth Stanley, Tally Sessions, four-time Tony nominee Judy Kuhn, and recent Tony Award Winners Sam Pinkleton and Ari’el Stachel.  

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