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Alan Portner - Page 12

Alan Portner

Al Portner is regional editor for Broadway World – Kansas City.  He is a retired career journalist and media executive who has written for publication over more than 40 years. Portner has published daily newspapers in venues as far east as Washington DC, as far west as Honolulu HI.

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First Show

The first musical I saw on Broadway was 1776 with the original cast.

Favorite Show

My favorite show current recent show is Phantom Of The Opera

Favorite Stories

  • BWW Review: AN EVENING WITH SIERRA BOGGESS at Musical Theater Heritage - Because of the presence of Ms. Boggess' parents in a small space environment, I felt like the veil dropped and we saw a glimpse of who this excellent performer really is as a person. I was able to feel the relationship of this family in relation to my own children.
  • BWW Review: BETWEEN THE LINES at Kansas City Repertory Theatre - BETWEEN THE LINES was a Pre-Broadway tryout production performed in front of the Broadway creative team. The show has yet to open in New York, but it remains clever and engaging. It also generated Broadway World reads at a rate four or five times what would normally be expected in a market of about two million.
  • The Last Romance at New Theatre Restaurant - THE LAST ROMANCE marked the final teaming of Charley Robinson and Michael Learned. Both were charming in a super venue.
  • Review: HADESTOWN at Kansas City Music Hall - The touring company of HADESTOWN featured a complex and thoughtful exploration of an ancient myth transported into another, but indefinite point in time. It was early in the run and a super cast was still extremely excited about performing something new. I personally enjoyed sharing uncommon background material that hoped to enhance the audience experience.
  • BWW Review: CATS at Musical Theater Heritage - CATS is not a favorite musical play. This particular production, however, featured a director who disassembled the entire show and rebuilt it with young, talented actors for a small theater and limited costume/makeup. It was an especially involving experience.


BWW Review: ELEGY FOR A LADY at Open Spaces

BWW Review: ELEGY FOR A LADY at Open Spaces

September 18, 2018

“Elegy For A Lady” is a tiny fragment of a play lasting no more than forty minutes, but also an insight into the mind of American playwright Arthur Miller.

BWW Review: MY FAIR LADY at Musical Theater Heritage

BWW Review: MY FAIR LADY at Musical Theater Heritage

September 16, 2018

Alan Lerner and Frederick Lowe's 1956 musical megahit 'My Fair Lady' opened last weekend at Musical Theater Heritage inside its three-venue Crown Center complex with a re-imagination by Kansas City's Heidi Van.

BWW Review: INTO THE WOODS at Theatre In The Park

BWW Review: INTO THE WOODS at Theatre In The Park

July 9, 2018

Johnson County's Community Theatre in the Park performs a top quality and charming version of Steven Sondheim's 1987 musical mashup of every fairy tale you have ever had told to you as a child.

BWW Review: NEWSIES at White Theatre

BWW Review: NEWSIES at White Theatre

July 9, 2018

Two sold out audiences leaped to their feet in group appreciation of 'Disney's Newsies,' a co-production of the Jewish Community Center's White Theatre (in Overland Park) and The Coterie Theatre (normally operating out of Crown Center).

BWW Previews: NEWSIES at White Theatre

BWW Previews: NEWSIES at White Theatre

June 14, 2018

Next up at the White Theatre is a joint production with Crown Center's Coterie Theatre of “Disney's Newsies;” a live stage musical version of the 1992 musical film.




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