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.
Contact Alan Portner
About Alan Portner
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.
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.
Zach Faust's second year community theater company opened its new show, 'Band Geeks' May 19th at the Black Box Theatre inside The Johnson County Heritage Center for a three day run.
Chicago playwright Jerry Hickey offers a first-time production of his pleasant and entertaining new play entitled 'The Mascot' at 'The Living Room Theatre' in the Crossroads near downtown KC.
An outstanding cast opened Kansas City Repertory Theatre's new production of Steven Sondheim's 1979 'Sweeny Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street' at the Spencer Theater on the UMKC campus.
Casts for “Theatre In The Park” 2018 five-summer productions to be performed at the Shawnee Mission Park amphitheater have been announced and are beginning their rehearsal periods.
Kansas City Repertory Theatre's re-imagined production of Simon Stephen's 2013 award winning "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time" is funny, inventive, touching, and deeply engaging for its audience.
"Project Dawn," Karen Hartman's new play at the Unicorn Theatre, is powerfully heart-rending, often slyly funny, and serendipitously timely during a national conversation over drug abuse and sex trafficking.
'Do you hear the people sing?' You will if you attend the 25th Anniversary edition of the 'Les Miserables' now on stage at the Kansas City Music Hall through Sunday, December 9.
New Les Miz tour features new lighting, new energy, new orchestrations, and new backdrops by Victor Hugo himself with a young cast excited to perform a more personal Les Miz.