The 2002 MAC AWARDS Show

This year's MAC AWARDS show was held at TOWN HALL in New York City on April 1st. The following is a report of that show, written by CABARET HOTLINE ONLINE Editor-in-Chief, Stu Hamstra.

Taking a cue from the Oscar Ceremonies held in March in Hollywood, MAC (Manhattan Association of Cabarets & Clubs - http://www.macnyc.com/) succeeded in presenting the longest MAC AWARDS show in recent history at THE TOWN HALL (123 West 43rd Street, NYC - http://www.the-townhall-nyc.org/) on Monday night, April 1st. This year's show clocked in at 3 hours and 35 minutes, nearly a full hour longer than the previous record holder - the MAC AWARDS show of 2001 (featuring Rosemary Clooney). A full list of all the winners can be found on the CABARET HOTLINE ONLINE website at http://www.svhamstra.com/AwdMAC2002.shtml. For a list of all the nominees, see http://www.svhamstra.com/AwdMACNom2002.shtml.

Now, anyone who complains that the show was a total waste of time, probably should have stayed home. To see cabaret performance and performers honored and celebrated is never a waste of time, and I am always thrilled when the winners' names are announced - even when the award does not go to my preferred nominee. So, one could say, the evening was filled with thrill after thrill. If watching performers getting awards, and listening to them thank their supporters and friends does not interest you, what are you doing at an awards show? If some of the entertainment presented is less than stellar, take a nap.

This year's show was everything I expected it to be - at times interesting, at times boring; at times entertaining, at times dull and lifeless; at times fast-paced, at times simply dragging along. Rather than burden you all with a minute by minute description, lets move first to the high spots.

The very opening of the show was inspired - a video clip from "Will & Grace" where one of the cast members excitedly announces that his "one man show" has been nominated for a MAC AWARD. His statement is met with excitement and celebration until someone suddenly stops and asks "What's a MAC Award?" At this point, the nominees for both Male and Female Musical Comedy Awards took the stage to sing "Its The MAC Awards." Leslie Anderson even joined in with her trademark trombone.

This set up the greatest sight gag of the show, as Master of Ceremonies Ron Poole took the stage, dragging a tall chair and wearing black tights and a billowing white blouse. He promptly explained that he was actually working as stand-by for Elaine Stritch, who was doing her one-woman show on Broadway a few blocks away, and had to be prepared to fill in for her at a moment's notice. The delightful Mr. Poole would remain the sparkle the show badly needed, changing costume several times - once even appearing in a slightly revised Superman outfit. With his ready wit and charming smile, Ron always seemed to appear just when needed (which was often). The fact that he also received a few MAC Awards himself during the proceedings was testimony to his prowess as a comedy artist.

The best "one-liner" of the evening belonged to Angela LaGreca, who, when announcing the nominees for "Impersonation/Characterization" added John Jerome's name to the list.

Best film clip of the evening was a small scene from a movie, the filming of which brought Sidney Myer to New York so many years ago. A youthful, teen-aged Sidney was shown on the large screen, singing - just a trifle off key. The unflappable Mr. Myer then stepped to the lectern to present the Hanson Award to Chicago's Alexandra Billings. The Hanson Award is presented each year by the MAC Board to a performer who has never been a MAC nominee but has shown excellence in cabaret. Ms. Billings will be further honored later this year by her peers in Chicago - see http://www.svhamstra.com/News2002BillingsGentry.shtml.

The night's big winners were clearly Mr. Poole, who not only did a masterful job as MC, but also gathered awards in MAJOR STAND-UP COMEDY and VARIETY PRODUCTION ("Poole Party"), and Lennie Watts, receiving the DIRECTOR Award as well as receiving, along with Scott Coulter, the SPECIAL PRODUCTION Award. He also was elected, on the same ballot as the Awards Ballot, as MAC Board Member-at-Large, a position he will assume in September.

Big losers were the songwriters who never had a chance to see their efforts placed in nomination for an award - this year a "select committee" trimmed the nominations for Song of the Year and Special Material, rather than the membership making the choices on a preliminary ballot. Let's hope that MAC does not alienate these talented folk further by continuing this practice next year.

A new MAC Award this year was presented for Special Achievement by TIME OUT NEW YORK - announced by TIME OUT's cabaret editor Scott Jolley and Editor-in-Chief Cindy Stiver. It was awarded to Klea Blackhurst, and included $2000 of free advertising in upcoming issues of the magazine. This award is given in conjunction with a special two-year promotional agreement between MAC and TIME OUT. Ms. Blackhurst also won the FEMALE VOCALIST Award.

Barry Levitt, producing his first MAC Awards show, attempted the impossible - making an awards show fast-paced, exciting and entertaining. By filling the evening with several unnecessary and non-essential performances, he amazingly succeeded in making this perhaps the slowest, dullest and least entertaining MAC Awards show on record.

Several numbers were a total waste of time. For example:

Former porn legend Jack Wrangler wasted a good dozen precious minutes, reciting a monologue that he has used so often, for so many years, it has become a cliche. Time to write something new, Jack!

Chris Calloway once again bored us with "Minnie the Moocher," the song that her father, Cab Calloway, used as his signature song. Not only did it take up too much time, with endless repeats, but it also showed that it is time for Ms. Calloway to move on to some material of her own.

At one point Billie Stritch, Phillip Officer and Charles Cermele came on stage to sing "Luck Be a Lady," followed by Natalie Douglas, Baby Jane Dexter and Natalie Gamsu singing "Blues in the Night." Both numbers seemed under-rehearsed, and the entire set was a waste of precious time. It was an apparent attempt by the producers to use as many cabaret names as possible in as brief a showing as possible, to "sell" the show. As a result, they succeeded in showing these performers in the worst possible light (and sound).

The same went for the Richard Rodgers Tribute, featuring Heather Mac Rae, Mark Nadler, Craig Rubano and K.T. Sullivan in a medley of Rodgers songs. Certainly not the sweetest sounds I ever heard!

A week before the MAC show, it was announced that in the interest of saving time, the five CD Awards would be simply announced from the lectern, and the winners would be asked to stand to the applause of the audience. This created such an uproar, it was dropped. Now, if they had cut the Wrangler, Calloway, Rodgers and 6-performer fiasco listed above, they could have cut about an hour from the show.

And who wrote the patter that Julie Wilson and Margaret Whiting managed to mangle in their presentation of the debut awards? Probably the same person who dreamed up the bit for Bill Boggs (who was at the lectern with Mitch Woolsey to present the Piano Bar and Singer/Instrumental Awards), signing up for a MAC Membership on the spot, including writing a check and handing it to MAC's membership promoter, Ruth Kurtzman? Both bits were too contrived, phony and dumb.

By the way, Julie Wilson, we love you. You are the best. You are the greatest. You are so supportive of cabaret - especially its newcomers. You have won the Major Female Vocalist Award many times. You will continue to win it time and again, because everyone loves you, no one wants to vote against you. Isn't it time to step aside and let someone else have a chance? May that's the reason why there was no standing ovation for you this year.

I don't know who chose the number that Donna McKechnie presented ("One for My Baby"). Not only was it the same number that Sam Harris mangled at last year's MAC Award show, it also did not include any movement - something that Ms. McKechnie is so well know for!

Another clear waste was the performance of Audrey Lavine and Scott Coulter, two of the finest vocal talents in cabaret. The premise of their set was far-fetched, wasting their superb talents on material from failed Broadway shows. Why not let each perform a number from their own cabaret shows?

The opening number, featuring the musical comedy nominees, suffered from a muddled sound system - the lyrics were for the most part unintelligible. The same goes for the "You Gotta' Debut" number, sung by the six debut nominees. I have often complained about the sound system at TOWN HALL, especially at the Cabaret Conventions. But it isn't impossible to get great sound here. When I attended the first show of Scott Siegel's BROADWAY BY THE YEAR series a few weeks ago, the sound was clear and crisp, letting every lyric shine.

Finally, I must admit I (and about 1/3 of the audience) missed what was, I am told, the best part of the show, the duet of John Pizzarelli with his dad, Bucky Pizzarelli, winner of the MAC Lifetime Achievement Award. I had to leave around 11:00 pm to take my friend Kit Kineef to the bus station to catch an 11:30 pm bus back to Philly.

Clearly the MAC Award show has gotten out of hand. MAC decided a few years back that the Awards Ceremony could be a way to create interest in cabaret in NYC, and so the event was moved from venues seating 600 or so, to large halls with double and triple the seating, and emphasis began to be placed on adding name performers to sell all those extra seats. Then the lesser-known performers began complaining that they were overlooked, and so several were added to the list this year. The resulting bloated, four-hour mess will probably do little to promote cabaret - the coverage by the major NY press, both before and after the show, was virtually nonexistent! Strangers to cabaret, enticed by the featured performers listed in ads in various publications probably fled the building at intermission. Perhaps MAC has to rethink the strategy, and trim all the access baggage and go back to a simple awards presentation ceremony for the MAC community.

Congratulations to all the nominees this year. To the winners, all I can say is that it is unfortunate that your moment of triumph and joy was overshadowed by such a poorly organized and presented show. Maybe the BACK STAGE Bistro Awards weren't so bad after all!

2002 MAC AWARD WINNERS

2002 MAC AWARD NOMINEES

2001 MAC AWARD WINNERS

2001 MAC AWARD NOMINEES

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