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Alan Portner - Page 5

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.


Review: A CHRISTMAS CAROL at Kansas City Repertory Theatre

Review: A CHRISTMAS CAROL at Kansas City Repertory Theatre

November 22, 2023

Last night, November 21, 2023, a Kansas City tradition, the 42rd annual (almost) Kansas City Repertory Theatre production of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” opened at the Spencer Theater on the UMKC campus for an extended run through Christmas Eve.

Review: THE GRAPES OF WRATH at The Arts Asylum

Review: THE GRAPES OF WRATH at The Arts Asylum

November 11, 2023

A new production of the 1990 award winning stage adaption of “Grapes” by Frank Galati plays now through November 19 at the new Arts Asylum in the lower level theater of their new facility at 824 E Meyer Boulevard in the Brookside neighborhood of Kansas City.

Review: THE SOUND OF MUSIC at Lyric Opera Of Kansas City

Review: THE SOUND OF MUSIC at Lyric Opera Of Kansas City

November 9, 2023

Now being performed at the Kauffman Center and concluding this weekend is a wonderful rendition by the Lyric Opera of Kansas City of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s final composition together, “The Sound of Music”  This production is as good as it gets.

Review: SKELETON CREW at Kansas City Actors Theatre

Review: SKELETON CREW at Kansas City Actors Theatre

September 20, 2023

Kansas City Actors Theater last week opened their new production of “Skeleton Crew” a relatively new (2016) play by Dominique Morisseau on the City Stage located on the lower level of Union Station.




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