2018 MAC Award Winners Announced!
March 28, 2918
The 2018 MAC Award winners were revealed at a ceremony held on Tuesday, March 27 at NYC’s. B.B. King Blues Club & Grill. In addition to the previous announced recipients of Lifetime Achievement Awards (Sharon McNight and Ruby Rims), the Board of Directors Award (James Gavin), and the Hanson Award (Carol Shedlin), competitive awards voted on by the MAC membership and not revealed until the envelopes were opened by the presenters, were given in 27 categories. A scholarship was given to Wingspan student Matthew Duer, also voted on by the Board of Directors.
MAC President Lennie Watts directed the show, and MAC V.P. Julie Miller was producer. Tracy Stark served as music director.
Here are the 2018 MAC Award winners!
FEMALE VOCALIST
DAWN DEROW
My Ship: Songs from 1941: Laurie Beechman Theatre; Crown and Anchor (Provincetown)
MALE VOCALIST
JOSHUA LANCE DIXON
Pack of One: Don’t Tell Mama
MAJOR ARTIST – FEMALE
NATALIE DOUGLAS
Tribute shows (Sammy Davis, Jr., Linda Ronstadt, Nina Simone, Shirley Bassey): Birdland
MAJOR ARTIST – MALE
JEFF HARNAR
Easy to Love; Sammy Cahn: All the Way; The 1959 Broadway Songbook: Beach Café; Metropolitan Room; Laurie Beechman Theatre
NEW YORK DEBUT – FEMALE
ANN KITTREDGE
It’s About Time; One Night Only: Metropolitan Room; Don’t Tell Mama; Feinstein’s/54 Below
NEW YORK DEBUT – MALE
DAVID BAIDA
Unexpected Surprise: Metropolitan Room
CELEBRITY ARTIST
KAREN MASON
Mason at Mama’s in May; Mason’s Makin’ Music; CD Release Show: Don’t Tell Mama; Davenport’s; The RRazz Room; Birdland
IMPERSONATION/CHARACTERIZATION/DRAG ARTIST
ROBIN KRADLES (Richard Becker)
Gambling on Love; Don’t Tell Mama
MUSICAL COMEDY PERFORMER
GRETCHEN REINHAGEN
#iBlamePaleo: Don’t Tell Mama
SPOKEN WORD ARTIST
DAN RUTH
A Life Behind Bars: Laurie Beechman Theatre
DUO/GROUP
THOSE GIRLS (Eve Eaton, Rachel Hanser, Karen Mack, Wendy A. Russell)
Those Girls; Those Girls Unplugged Laurie Beechman Theatre; Pangea
MAJOR DUO/GROUP
ERIC COMSTOCK AND BARBARA FASANO
Various shows: Birdland; Jazz at Kitano; Kaplan Penthouse (Lincoln Center); Mezzrow; Gaslight Theatre (St. Louis); Café Sabarsky
RECURRING SERIES
RICKY RITZEL’S BROADWAY
Created and produced by Ricky Ritzel, staging and choreography by Jay Rogers and Aaron Morishita: Don’t Tell Mama
REVUE OR SPECIAL PRODUCTION
MAMA’S NEXT BIG ACT
Produced by Don’t Tell Mama and Lennie Watts: Don’t Tell Mama
EMCEE
LENNIE WATTS
Mama’s Next BIG Act!: Don’t Tell Mama
DIRECTOR
JEFF HARNAR
Dawn Derow/My Ship: Songs from 1941 (Laurie Beechman Theatre); Anna Bergman/You’re All the World to Me (Feinstein’s/54 Below); Tovah Feldshuh/Aging Is Optional (Feinstein’s/54 Below); Together: 2017 Cabaret Award-Nominated Vocalists (Don’t Tell Mama, Urban Stages); Margo Brown/Margo Sings Mercer (Metropolitan Room)
MUSICAL DIRECTOR
TRACY STARK
Meg Flather/Hold on Tight (Don’t Tell Mama); Gretchen Reinhagen/#iBlamePaleo (Don’t Tell Mama); Kim David Smith/Morpheum Kabarett (Pangea, Café Sabarsky, Crown & Anchor); Peggy Eason (Laurie Beechman Theatre); Karen Kohler/The Home I Love—From Birdland to Tel Aviv (Congregation Emanu-El, San Francisco)
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
JEAN-PIERRE PERREAUX, Metropolitan Room
Annie Ross; Stacy Sullivan/A Night at the Troubador; Marissa Mulder/Be Here Now: The Songs of Ray LaMontagne; Marilyn Maye/Marilyn by Request; Gunhild Carling/The Gunhild Carling Experience (all at Metropolitan Room)
ENSEMBLE INSTRUMENTALIST
SEAN HARKNESS, guitar
Kathleen Turner (Ripley Grier New Studio, Philadelphia Theatre Company): Keith Richards/Sarah Dash (Joe’s Pub); KJ Denhert (55 Bar); Love Cures benefit concert (Symphony Space); Stacy Sullivan/A Tribute to Miss Peggy Lee (Sheen Center)
PIANO BAR/RESTAURANT SINGING ENTERTAINER – MALE
TOMMY J. DOSE (Don’t Tell Mama)
PIANO BAR/RESTAURANT SINGING ENTERTAINER – FEMALE
ELAINE BRIER (Don’t Tell Mama)
PIANO BAR INSTRUMENTALIST
GERRY DIEFFENBACH (Don’t Tell Mama, The Duplex)
RECORDING (LaMott Friedman Award)
JOSEPHINE SANGES
Finding Beauty: Celebrating Ann Hampton Callaway
MAJOR RECORDING
KAREN MASON
It’s About Time
SONG
“I CAN TELL TIME”
Music by Ben Schaechter; Lyrics by Dan Kael
COMEDY/NOVELTY SONG
“GO INTO FINANCE”
Music and lyrics by Billy Recce
SHOW OF THE YEAR
NATALIE DOUGLAS
Tributes Residency
Created by and starring Natalie Douglas, musical direction by Mark Hartman and Brian Nash (Birdland)
