The Annual Spirit of the MACY Awards Gala will be presented on Sunday, May 28th beginning at 1:00 pm at Segerstrom Performing Arts Center. This year marks the 47th year acknowledging excellence in high school musical theatre. The annual Spirit of the MACY Awards ceremony 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 local schools. Many MACY alumni have continued in professional theater and all say the high school theater was extremely important in shaping their careers. The encouragement and recognition provided by the MACY Awards has help gifted students become successful professionals. MACY judges viewed 58 shows and will award over 500 medals and trophies and 30 scholarships at the annual awards ceremony. Selected schools will present a shortened version of their productions to the rousing applause of over 2,500 of their peers and parents. In addition to the individual benefits, these presentations have raised the quality of the MACY Awards each ensuing year.

The ceremony to be hosted by Mistress of Ceremonies Jaclyn Stickel, Master of Ceremonies Jake Zelinger and MACY’s Board of Directors. The 2017 MACY Awards will acknowledge over 500 local high school students for their work in musical theatre as well as provide scholarships toward college. Additionally, MACY awardees in the category of Best Performance by an Actor, male and female, will be sent to New York for the 9th Annual National High School Musical Theatre Awards, The Jimmy (named after James Nederlander). The Jimmy Awards will take place on Monday, June 26, 2017 at 7:30pm at the Minskoff Theatre.

The Spirit of the MACY Awards, founded in 1969, is dedicated to encouraging, recognizing and rewarding achievement and excellence in high school musical theatre. The Spirit of the MACY Awards “Music and Arts Commendation for Youth” is a California 501(c)3 Non-Profit Public Benefit Corporation. The Spirit of the MACY organization has been recognized for their contributions by the Walt Disney Company, the City of Los Angeles, the County of Orange, the LA times and the Orange County Register.