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Alan Portner - Page 15

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: GREY GARDENS at The Barn Players in Kansas City

BWW Review: GREY GARDENS at The Barn Players in Kansas City

September 18, 2017

'Grey Gardens,' the 2007 character piece that originally featured a bravura turn and a Best Actress in a Musical Tony for Christine Ebersole, is the current, ambitious, fall offering from the Barn Players Community Theater in Mission through October 1.

BWW Review: MOTOWN THE MUSICAL at Starlight Theatre

BWW Review: MOTOWN THE MUSICAL at Starlight Theatre

August 23, 2017

2013's 'Motown, The Musical' opened Tuesday night for a week's run through August 27 at Starlight Theatre inside Swope Park to a responsive, handclapping, music-swaying, delighted audience.

BWW Review: BREAKNECK JULIUS CAESAR at 2017 KC Fringe Festival

BWW Review: BREAKNECK JULIUS CAESAR at 2017 KC Fringe Festival

July 28, 2017

Holding an audience on a stage by yourself for a whole hour is no small task, but it is one accomplished by Buffalo Grove Illinois' Tim Mooney in his remarkably cogent performance of 'Breakneck Julius Caesar' at the Unicorn Theatre's Jerome Stage as his contribution to the 2017 Fringe.

BWW Feature: KANSAS CITY FRINGE FESTIVAL at All Over

BWW Feature: KANSAS CITY FRINGE FESTIVAL at All Over

July 25, 2017

Now spreading like a virus with a lifespan of only ten days, the annual Kansas City Fringe Festival has once again exploded across Kansas City entertainment venues for the thirteenth July in a row.




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