2018 MAC AWARD NOMINEES REVEALED!

Sharon McNight who will be receiving MAC's Lifetime Achievement Award

The Manhattan Association of Cabarets (MAC) is pleased to announce the 2018 MAC Award nominees. The nominees, in a majority of the categories, were determined by votes cast by the active MAC membership. The MAC Board of Directors selected the nominees for Show of the Year. Special committees selected the nominees in the Ensemble Instrumentalist, Piano Bar Instrumentalist, Piano Bar Singing Entertainer (Female; Male), Recording (LaMott Friedman), Major Recording, Song and Comedy/Novelty Song categories. The names of the songwriters in the Song and Comedy/Novelty Song categories are being withheld during the voting period, but will be announced publicly as soon as the voting period concludes.

Carol Shedlin
Ruby Rims
James Gavin

The Hanson Award, presented by the Board of Directors to a performer who has done excellent work over a sustained period of time and has not yet been recognized with a MAC Award nomination, will be awarded to CAROL SHEDLIN. As previously announced, SHARON McNIGHT and RUBY RIMS will receive Lifetime Achievement Awards, and JAMES GAVIN will receive the Board of Directors Award.

The winners will be revealed as the envelopes are opened live at the 32st Annual MAC Awards on Tuesday, March 27 at 7:00 pm at B.B. King Blues Club & Grill in New York City. Until that moment, only the independent accountants know who the winners are. The winners in certain categories will perform live at the show. All nominees in those categories are rehearsed in advance so they are prepared to perform in the event they are the winner.

The MAC Awards ceremony is produced by JULIE MILLER and directed by LENNIE WATTS, with musical direction by TRACY STARK. The event is open to the public. Tickets are available at www.macnyc.com  or athttp://www.brownpapertickets.com/.

2018 MAC AWARD NOMINEES

FEMALE VOCALIST

SALLY DARLING 
Love Lust & Longing: Don’t Tell Mama

DAWN DEROW
My Ship: Songs from 1941: Laurie Beechman Theatre; Crown and Anchor (Provincetown)

MARNIE KLAR
Bedtime Stories: Don’t Tell Mama

WENDY SCHERL
New SCHERL in Town: Metropolitan Room; Don’t Tell Mama; Davenport’s

LISA VIGGIANO
Three’s a Charm: Don’t Tell Mama; Society Cabaret (San Francisco)

LISA YAEGER
Jersey Girl: Metropolitan Room; Don’t Tell Mama

MALE VOCALIST

JOSHUA LANCE DIXON
Pack of One: Don’t Tell Mama

RICHARD HOLBROOK
The Many Moods of Christmas: Don’t Tell Mama

JEFF MACAULEY
Hollywood Party: Movie Songs 1928-1936: Pangea

KIM DAVID SMITH
Morphium Kabarett: Pangea

MAJOR ARTIST – FEMALE

CAROLE J. BUFFORD
Fearless Females of the 1960s: Feinstein’s/54 Below

NATALIE DOUGLAS
Tribute shows (Sammy Davis, Jr., Linda Ronstadt, Nina Simone, Shirley Bassey): Birdland

TANYA MOBERLY
Six Different Shows, Six Different Musicians, Six Friday Nights: Don’t Tell Mama

STACY SULLIVAN
The Sultry Side of Cole; The Fever of Miss Peggy Lee: Beach Café; Rosarito Beach Hotel (Mexico)

MAJOR ARTIST – MALE

ERIC COMSTOCK
Saturdays @6PM (20 varying performances): Birdland

SEAN HARKNESS
Duos series, Japan Tour 2017: Birdland; various venues in Japan

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

CAITLIN FAHEY
Party of One: Don’t Tell Mama

BECCA C. KIDWELL
A Song & Its Girl: Don’t Tell Mama

ANN KITTREDGE
It’s About Time; One Night Only: Metropolitan Room; Don’t Tell Mama; Feinstein’s/54 Below

KATI NEIHEISEL
Among the Stars: Don’t Tell Mama

NEW YORK DEBUT – MALE

DAVID BAIDA
Unexpected Surprise: Metropolitan Room

BYRON ST. CYR
4600 Mithra: My New Orlean: Don’t Tell Mama

JEREMY SUSSMAN
Jeremy Sussman Sings More of the American Songbook and Other Curiosities: Don’t Tell Mama

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

BRIAN STOKES MITCHELL
Feinstein’s/54 Below

KT SULLIVAN
Colored Lights; You’re the Top: Laurie Beechman Theatre; Birdland

IMPERSONATION/CHARACTERIZATION/DRAG ARTIST

DOROTHY BISHOP
The Dozen Divas Show; Metropolitan Room

ROBIN KRADLES (Richard Becker)
Gambling on Love; Don’t Tell Mama

GINGER MINJ
Sweet T; Crossdresser for Christ: The Musical; Laurie Beechman Theatre

JINKX MONSOON
Jinkx Sings Everything; Laurie Beechman Theatre

MUSICAL COMEDY PERFORMER

IRA LEE COLLINGS
Life Is a Song—So, Why Not Sing It!: Don’t Tell Mama

GRETCHEN REINHAGEN
#iBlamePaleo: Don’t Tell Mama

AMY WOLK
Hungry Like the Wolk: The Duplex

SPOKEN WORD ARTIST

DAN RUTH
A Life Behind Bars; Laurie Beechman Theatre

NANCY WITTER
Growing Up McDougal; Don’t Tell Mama

DUO/GROUP

DAVID MAIOCCO AND CHUCK SWEENEY
Lee Squared – An Evening with Liberace and Miss Peggy Lee
Metropolitan Room; The RRazz Room; Cotuit Center for the Performing Arts

THOSE GIRLS (Eve Eaton, Rachel Hanser, Karen Mack, Wendy A. Russell)
Those Girls; Those Girls Unplugged
Laurie Beechman Theatre; Pangea

UNEXPECTED TRIO (Meg Flather, Rosemary Loar, and Tracy Stark)
Don’t Tell Mama; 53 Above; Music at the Mansion 

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

CAROLE DEMAS AND SARAH RICE
Thank You for Your Love: Laurie Beechman Theatre

MARCUS SIMEONE AND SEAN HARKNESS
Blue: Don’t Tell Mama

RECURRING SERIES

AMERICAN POPULAR SONG SOCIETY SERIES
Produced by Linda Amiel Burns: Musicians Hall at Local 802

IT’S JUST A NUMBER
Created, produced, and directed by Bobbie Horowitz: Metropolitan Room; The Triad

OPEN MIC AT THE MET
Produced and hosted by Deb Berman and Susan Winter: Metropolitan Room

RICKY RITZEL’S BROADWAY
Created and produced by Ricky Ritzel, staging and choreography by Jay Rogers and Aaron Morishita:
Don’t Tell Mama

SALON
Mark Janas, founder, artistic director, host; Tanya Moberly, executive producer: Etcetera, Etcetera

SPOTLIGHT ON YOU OPEN MIC
Created, produced, and hosted by Natasha Castillo and John Koprowski; 53 Above

REVUE OR SPECIAL PRODUCTION

LIVE TO TELL: MY LIFE, MADONNA’S SONGS
Created by Kim Sutton, Steven Ray Watkins, and Lennie Watts; starring Kim Sutton: Laurie Beechman Theatre

MAMA’S NEXT BIG ACT!
Produced by Don’t Tell Mama and Lennie Watts: Don’t Tell Mama

METROSTAR TALENT CHALLENGE
Produced by Joseph Macchia, Tom Gamblin, Beck Lee, Bernie Furshpan: Metropolitan Room

TOGETHER: 2017 CABARET AWARD-NOMINATED VOCALISTS
Featuring Celia Berk, Sally Darling, Meg Flather, Josephine Sanges, Lisa Viggiano, directed by Jeff Harnar, musical direction by John M. Cook: Don’t Tell Mama; Urban Stages

EMCEE

NATASHA CASTILLO
Spotlight on You Open Mic: 53 Above

BOBBIE HOROWITZ
It’s Just a Number: Metropolitan Room; The Triad

LENNIE WATTS
Mama’s Next BIG Act!: Don’t Tell Mama

AMY WOLK
I Only Have Lies for You: Laurie Beechman Theatre

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)

LINA KOUTRAKOS
Mary Sue Daniels/Straight Outa ’Conda (Don’t Tell Mama); LisaYaeger/Jersey Girl(Metropolitan Room; Don’t Tell Mama); Caitlin Fahey/Party of One (Don’t Tell Mama); Katie McGrath/Significant Other (Metropolitan Room), Ruth Carlin/Kaleidoscope Eyes (Don’t Tell Mama)

TANYA MOBERLY
Dan Ruth/A Life Behind Bars (Laurie Beechman Theatre); Amy Beth Williams/Carried AwayA Thousand Beautiful Things (Don’t Tell Mama); Marnie Klar/Bedtime Stories (Don’t Tell Mama)

MUSICAL DIRECTOR

IAN HERMAN
Carole J. Bufford/You Don’t Own Me (Feinstein’s/54 Below); Dawn Derow/My Ship: Songs from 1941 (Laurie Beechman Theatre); Amy Beth Williams/A Thousand Beautiful Things (Don’t Tell Mama); Sharon McNight/Soup to Nuts (The The Duplex); Tanya Moberly/The Ian Herman Show (Don’t Tell Mama)

RICK JENSEN
Doris Dear/Holiday Cheer (Triad); Lisa Yaeger/Jersey Girl (Don’t Tell Mama, Metropolitan Room); Caitlin Fahey/Party of One (Don’t Tell Mama); Katie McGrath/Significant Others (Metropolitan Room); Mary Sue Daniels/Straight Outa ’Conda (Don’t Tell Mama)

DARYL KOJAK
Deborah Stone/Siren Song (Don’t Tell Mama); 2017 Bistro Awards (Gotham Comedy Club); Famous Duets II (Urban Stages); Richard Skipper Celebrates E.Y. Harburg on His Birthday (Laurie Beechman Theatre); 
Rob Davis/A Sinatra Kind of Christmas (Pangea)

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)

STEVEN RAY WATKINS
Kim Sutton/Live to Tell (Laurie Beechman Theatre); Those Girls (Laurie Beechman Theatre); Mama’s Next BIG Act! (Don’t Tell Mama); Marnie Klar/Bedtime Stories(Don’t Tell Mama); Tanya Moberly/The Steven Ray Watkins Show (Don’t Tell Mama)

TECHNICAL DIRECTOR

COLLETTE BLACK, Don’t Tell Mama
Julie Reyburn/Fate Is Kind; Renee Katz/Never Been Gone; J Michael Reed & Marc McBarron Kessler/The Ghost of Vaudeville; Sean Harkness & Marcus Simeone/Blue(all at Don’t Tell Mama)

JASON ELLIS, Don’t Tell Mama, 53 Above 
Groovin’ on a Sunday (Don’t Tell Mama, 53 Above); Unexpected Trio – Meg Flather, Rosemary Loar, Tracy Stark (53 Above); Escape to Ukulele Island (53 Above); Liquid Sky Night: New Wave (53 Above); Spotlight on You Open Mic (53 Above)

ABBY JUDD, Laurie Beechman Theatre
Dawn Derow/My Ship: Songs from 1941; Dan Ruth/A Life Behind Bars; Carole Demas & Sarah Rice/Thank You for Your Love; KT Sullivan & Jeff Harnar/#SondheimMontage; Leslie Carrara-Rudolph/What Just Happened? An Adult Cabaret (all at Laurie Beechman Theatre)

JONNY MERCADO, Metropolitan Room, Don’t Tell Mama
Cabaret’s Greatest Hits series (Metropolitan Room); Karen Mason/Mason at Mama’s in May (Don’t Tell Mama); Mama’s Next BIG Act! (Don’t Tell Mama); The Lennie Watts and Those Girls Christmas Extravaganza (Don’t Tell Mama); Richard Holbrook/The Many Moods of Christmas (Don’t Tell Mama)

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)

RITT HENN, bass
Anita Gillette, Birdland; Amy Beth Williams/Carried Away (Don’t Tell Mama); Those Girls (Laurie Beechman Theatre); Liz Robertson (Don’t Tell Mama); Jackie Draper (Laurie Beechman Theatre)

RAY MARCHICA, percussion
Sean Harkness/Sean Harkness and The Usual Suspects (Metropolitan Room); Cabaret Convention/Too Marvelous for Words/Star Dust (Jazz at Lincoln Center); Debbie Gravitte with the Russ Kassoff Big Band/Big Band Broadway (Birdland); Billy Stritch/Lucky to Be Me (Birdland); Billy Stritch & Christine Ebersole/Snowfall, (Birdland)

MATT SCHARFGLASS, bass
Lisa Viggiano/Three’s a Charm (Don’t Tell Mama); Marnie Klar/Bedtime Stories(Don’t Tell Mama); Those Girls, Laurie Beechman Theatre; Michael McCorry Rose and Tiffany Haas/Cheek to Cheek (Feinstein’s/54 Below); Kim Sutton/Live to Tell(Laurie Beechman Theatre)

DAVID SILLIMAN, percussion
Kim Dunbar and William Candelario (Metropolitan Room); Sue Matsuki/Jam ‘n’ Toasts (Don’t Tell Mama);
Jillian Laurain/Hello Gorgeous! – A Tribute to Barbra Streisand (Metropolitan Room); Jillian Laurain/Broadway Her Way (Don’t Tell Mama)

PIANO BAR/RESTAURANT SINGING ENTERTAINER – MALE

JOE ARDIZZONE (Brandy’s)

BOBBY BELFRY (Brandy’s)

SEAN BERNARDI (Brandy’s)

TOMMY J. DOSE (Don’t Tell Mama)

PAUL PILCZ (Don’t Tell Mama)

PIANO BAR/RESTAURANT SINGING ENTERTAINER – FEMALE

ELAINE BRIER (Don’t Tell Mama)

MICHELLE DOWDY (Don’t Tell Mama)

TARA MARTINEZ (Don’t Tell Mama)

LAUREN MUFSON (Brandy’s)

LAURA PAVLES (Don’t Tell Mama)

PIANO BAR INSTRUMENTALIST

NATE BUCCIERI (The Duplex, Don’t Tell Mama, Brandy’s)

GERRY DIEFFENBACH (Don’t Tell Mama, The Duplex)

WILLIAM TN HALL (The Duplex, Don’t Tell Mama, Brandy’s)

MICHAEL ISAACS (Don’t Tell Mama, The Duplex, Brandy’s)

JOE REGAN (Don’t Tell Mama)

RECORDING (LaMott Friedman Award)

STEARNS MATTHEWS: December Songs

BOB MUNDY: Love to Me

PAUL ROLNICK: Shoot for The Moon

JOSEPHINE SANGES: Finding Beauty: Celebrating Ann Hampton Callaway”

MAJOR RECORDING

JUDY BARNETT: Lust Loss Love

KAREN MASON: It’s About Time

DOREEN MONTALVO: American Soul Latin Heart

SONG

“I CAN TELL TIME”

“MOUNTAIN IN THE SKY”

“NEVERTHELESS (SHE PERSISTED)”

“PLEASANTVILLE”

“STAY AWHILE”

COMEDY/NOVELTY SONG

“APPLY”

“GO INTO FINANCE”

“HEY, HEY, IT’S OK”

“MISTER PROMISED-ME-THE-MOON”

“QUIET”

SHOW OF THE YEAR

NATALIE DOUGLAS: Tributes Residency
Created by and starring Natalie Douglas, musical direction by Mark Hartman and Brian Nash 
(Birdland)

COLE ESCOLA: Help! I’m Stuck
Created, written, and performed by Cole Escola
 (Joe’s Pub)

A LIFE BEHIND BARS
Written and performed by Dan Ruth, directed by Tanya Moberly (Laurie Beechman Theatre)

THE SKIVVIES
Created by and starring Nick Cearley and Lauren Molina (Feinstein’s/54 Below, Green Room 42, Joe’s Pub)

THANK YOU FOR YOUR LOVE: OUR CELEBRATION OF TOM JONES & HARVEY SCHMIDT
Starring Carole Demas and Sarah Rice; directed by Charles Repole; musical director Joe Goodrich;
produced by Stuart J. Allyn
 (
Laurie Beechman Theatre)

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