The MAC Awards, established in 1986, are presented annually to honor achievements in

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or d ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

. They are administered by the non-profit Manhattan Association of Cabarets & Clubs (MAC), founded in 1983, and voted on by the MAC membership. The Awards encompass more than two dozen categories, such as: vocalists and vocal groups, piano bar and jazz performers, comedy and musical performers, writers of songs and special material, directors, musical directors, recordings, and musical revues. In addition, through special awards, MAC salutes outstanding contributions to the field of live entertainment, including Lifetime Achievement Awards. Honorees of the MAC Awards have included

Liza Minnelli Liza May Minnelli ( ; born March 12, 1946) is an American actress, singer, dancer, and choreographer. Known for her commanding stage presence and powerful alto singing voice, Minnelli is among a rare group of performers awarded an Emmy, Grammy ...

Barry Manilow Barry Manilow (born Barry Alan Pincus; June 17, 1943) is an American singer and songwriter with a career that spans seven decades. His hit recordings include "Could It Be Magic", " Somewhere Down the Road", " Mandy", "I Write the Songs", " Can ...

Rosemary Clooney Rosemary Clooney (May 23, 1928 – June 29, 2002) was an American singer and actress. She came to prominence in the early 1950s with the song "Come On-a My House", which was followed by other pop numbers such as " Botch-a-Me", " Mambo Italiano", ...

Stephen Schwartz Stephen Lawrence Schwartz (born March 6, 1948) is an American musical theatre lyricist and composer. In a career spanning over five decades, Schwartz has written such hit musicals as ''Godspell'' (1971), ''Pippin'' (1972), and ''Wicked'' (20 ...

The Manhattan Transfer The Manhattan Transfer is a Grammy award–winning vocal group founded in 1969 that has explored a cappella, vocalese, swing, standards, Brazilian jazz, rhythm and blues, and pop music. There have been two editions of the Manhattan Transfer, ...

, Keely Smith,

Betty Buckley Betty Lynn Buckley (born July 3, 1947) is an American actress and singer. Buckley is the winner of a Tony Award, and was nominated for two Daytime Emmy Awards, two Grammy Awards, and an Olivier Award. In 2012, she was inducted into the American T ...

Maureen McGovern Maureen Therese McGovern (born July 27, 1949) is an American singer and Broadway actress, well known for her renditions of the songs " The Morning After" from the 1972 film '' The Poseidon Adventure''; " We May Never Love Like This Again" from '' ...

Polly Bergen Polly Bergen (born Nellie Paulina Burgin; July 14, 1930 – September 20, 2014) was an American actress, singer, television host, writer and entrepreneur. She won an Emmy Award in 1958 for her performance as Helen Morgan in ''The Helen Mo ...

, and

BenDeLaCreme BenDeLaCreme (born September 24, 1981) is the stage persona of Benjamin H. Putnam, an American drag queen, burlesque performer, and actor based in Seattle, Washington. He is known for being a contestant on the sixth season of ''RuPaul's Drag Rac ...

Association

The Manhattan Association of Cabarets & Clubs (MAC) itself was founded in 1983 as an organization "for cabaret owners, managers, and booking agents to meet and exchange ideas." Its membership was opened to performers in 1985. The Board of Directors began bestowing its MAC Awards in 1986 to those they deemed "had made a contribution to live entertainment, whether a business person, local performer, dedicated critic, or cabaret luminary." Currently, the Awards are voted on by the MAC membership and honor cabaret, comedy, and jazz performers, as well as behind- the-scenes professionals. Curt Davis was the first president of MAC. After his death he was succeeded by Erv Raible, co-owner of several New York piano bars and cabarets. Other MAC presidents have included Jamie deRoy, Michael Estwanick, Barry Levitt, Judy Barnett, Scott Barbarino and Ricky Ritzel. The Association's current president is Lennie Watts, appointed in 2009.A 501C6 trade organization with a dues-paying membership, MAC differs from a 501C3-designated organization in that contributions to it are not tax deductible. According to the organization's website, "MAC’s mission is to advance the art and business of live entertainment ... its activities are designed to heighten public awareness of the field’s contributions and vitality, to honor its creativity, to build its current and future audiences, and to speak out as an influential voice on behalf of MAC members and the industry at large."

References

Notes

General references

* * * * * * *

External links

* * MAC Award nominees/winners
1987198819891990199119921993199419951996
http://macnyc.com/1997-mac-award-winners/ 1997
19981999200020012002
http://macnyc.com/2003-mac-award-winners/ 2003
20042005200620072008
http://macnyc.com/2009-mac-awards-nominees-winners/ 2009
20102011201220132014201520162017
{{DEFAULTSORT:MAC Awards American music awards Cabaret