THE CULTURE HOUSE

by Alan Portner - March 30, 2026

MTH’s World Premiere production of “Moby Dick a sea shanty” should not be missed. This “Moby Dick” is a remarkable, boiled-down, reinterpretation of Herman Melville’s massive dark 1851 tome. MTH manages to somehow transform this dark mid-nineteenth century novel into an engaging and engr...

by Alan Portner - March 18, 2026

If Broadway’s Great Gatsby trades in spectacle, the first national North American Tour proves that its success on the road depends on something more grounded: a cast capable of sustaining the illusion night after night, city after city.  This performance is pretty much flawless top to bottom.  �...

by Alan Portner - March 16, 2026

Producing The Play That Goes Wrong at a community-theater level is an act of courage.  And the Silver Star with two oak leaf enhancements goes to the White Theatre inside the Jewish Community Center in Overland Park.  Seldom before have I seen such an active sold-out crowd in this venue who eviden...

by Andrew Burrill - March 15, 2026

What did our critic think of TROJAN WOMEN MCI at Unicorn Theatre?...

by Alan Portner - March 09, 2026

The new Kansas City Actors Theater production of “Everybody” is a sly meditation on the human condition. It is a riff on the oldest known surviving play in English called “Everyman.”...

by Andrew Burrill - March 01, 2026

Lyric Opera of Kansas City’s The Gershwins’ PORGY AND BESS is a vocally commanding and spiritually powerful production, led by standout performances from Eric Greene and Michelle Bradley under the legendary direction of Francesca Zambello....

by Alan Portner - February 22, 2026

“Elvis and Elton Together” rates a big five stars.  Victor Trevino Jr. as Elvis is back and is as good as ever. Sean McGibbben becomes the incredible Elton John.   Victor and Sean wisely introduce themselves as tribute artists rather than impersonators....

by Alan Portner - February 20, 2026

When the musical juggernaut titled “Hamilton” stormed into Kansas City’s gilded Music Hall this week, it arrives not as a relic of mid-2010s hype, but as a living, breathing re-invention of America’s founding fathers. A decade after its Broadway debut, the touring production proves that the ...

by Alan Portner - February 08, 2026

Now “playing” at Music Theatre Heritage inside Crown Center through February 22 is the latest iteration of the most produced modern musical play in history. It is called “The Fantasticks.” If “Fantasticks” is new to you, you are past due for a treat. If you are one of the thousands of p...

by Alan Portner - February 03, 2026

A new production of Jonathan Larson’s 1996 Pulitzer Prize Winner RENT, itself a re-interpretation of Puccini’s “La Boheme,” arrives like a time capsule that refuses to stay shut as a first ever co-production of the White Theatre (inside the Jewish Community Center) and Kansas City’s vener...