‘Yankees’ get parade of MACYs
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Tom Titus
“Grand larceny is gleefully performed ... by Mary Braun as the
underworld temptress Lola, as she steals every scene in sight with
her seductive performance and superior dancing style. Braun might not
get ‘Whatever Lola Wants,’ but she wins the audience hands down.”
The above paragraph is taken from this column’s review of “Damn
Yankees,” the Academy for the Performing Arts’ spring musical at
Huntington Beach High School. Sunday, the judges at the annual MACY
(Music and Arts Commendation for Youth) awards agreed -- they voted
Mary Braun best supporting actress among two dozen competing high
school musical groups.
Braun was one of four “highest achievement” academy winners at the
34th annual MACY ceremony at Santa Ana Valley High School, and was
selected from this group for the supporting actress honor.
Others earning “highest achievement” laurels for “Damn Yankees”
were Matt Bartosch (who played the young Joe Hardy), Courtney Davis
(reporter Gloria Thorpe) and A.J. Gutierrez, whose devilish comedy
turns as the mysterious Mr. Applegate propelled the comic revival.
Erin Bull (Joe Boyd’s temporarily abandoned wife) and Brian
Chapman (her husband, the die-hard Senators fin who nearly sells his
soul for a pennant) each collected “outstanding achievement”
trophies.
Other members of the academy cast earning honors were Kristin
Schlick and Nathan Singh (achievement) and Alex Bartosch, Alex
Descombes and Anthony Page (Bright Spot awards).
The production of “Damn Yankees,” under the direction of Tim
Nelson, also won MACY awards for its ensemble and orchestra
excellence.
What normally would be an afternoon of celebration was tempered by
the death, just a week before the ceremony, of John Childress who,
with his wife, Lee, organized the MACY Awards back in 1971. Lee
Childress was greeted with a standing ovation from the packed house
at the Valley High theater.
“This, the 34th MACY Awards show, is a celebration of the talent,
hard work, dedication, energy and boundless enthusiasm of everyone
who has participated in the wonderful musical theater productions of
our schools,” she said.
The MACYs began in Los Angeles when the Childresses realized there
was a need to recognize the accomplishments and hard work of talented
performing arts students in Los Angeles high schools and, with the
city’s help, they founded the MACY program.
Upon moving to Laguna Beach, they learned of the high quality of
performing arts programs in the surrounding area and moved the MACY
awards to Orange County, where they have remained for some three
decades.
* TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Independent.
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