J. Kent Barnhart has served as Executive Director of Quality Hill Playhouse since 1995. For the last 25 years, he has worked as musical director, stage director and producer for theatres throughout Kansas City, regionally, and nationally. He co-produced and co-starred in Simply Cole Porter in Kansas City, St. Thomas and London prior to the show’s off-Broadway run. His stage direction credits include Shirley Valentine, Hi Hat Hattie, Marry Me A Little, Kindertransport, A Shayna Maidel, Blues in the Night, Ruthless!, Secrets Every Smart Traveler Should Know, Jerry’s Girls, A… My Name Will Always Be Alice, Oh, Coward! and The World Goes ’Round; his musical direction credits include Phantom, Forever Plaid, Pageant, Noël and Gertie, Putting It Together, and The Musical of Musicals (The Musical!). He also has conceived, arranged and directed over 150 cabaret revues at Quality Hill Playhouse (in which he regularly serves as pianist, singer and emcee). He has produced entertainment for individuals and companies locally, regionally and nationally. He produced music for both inaugural ceremonies for former Kansas Governor Bill Graves, and he has produced an evening of cabaret entertainment on two different occasions at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (at the invitation of Senator Bob Dole and Senator Pat Roberts). He produced entertainment for A Toast to Kansas City, the official black tie celebration of the city’s 150th birthday, and he produced entertainment for Crescendo: A Salute to John Kander, helping to raise over $150,000 in scholarships for the UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance. He studied piano performance with Joanne Baker at the UMKC Conservatory and is a graduate of the Commercial Theatre Institute in New York City.