Lillias White and Karen Akers to be Honored at 40th Annual MAC Awards

The Manhattan Association of Cabarets (MAC) will present the upcoming 40th Annual MAC Awards. The awards presentation and show will take place on Monday, March 23, 2026 at 7:00 pm, at Peter Norton Symphony Space at 2537 Broadway at 95th Street in New York City.

The MAC Awards will honor excellence in NYC nightlife during the 2025 calendar year. In addition to live musical performances at the show, competitive awards will be presented in multiple categories to performers, songwriters, directors, musical directors, piano bar performers, behind the scenes technical experts, and more, as well as the presentation of special honoree awards. The envelopes will be opened and the winners will be announced live at the MAC Awards show.

At the event, MAC will present Lifetime Achievement Awards to two stars of Broadway, television, film and cabaret: Lillias White and Karen Akers. 

Lillias White

a native New Yorker, made her Broadway debut in Barnum. She has also appeared on Broadway in Hadestown, Cats, Carrie, Dreamgirls, Once On This Island, How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, Chicago and Fela! (Tony Award nomination). In Cy Coleman's and Ira Gasman's The Life, she won the Tony Award, Drama Desk Award and Outer Critics Circle Award for her portrayal of a world-weary, no-nonsense hooker named Sonya. Lillias was seen in the world premiere of Half Time at the Papermill Playhouse and has performed at The Public Theater in the production of William Finn's Romance In Hard Times (Obie Award), Dinah Was at the Gramercy Theatre, the world premiere of Crowns at the Second Stage (Audelco Award), and Texas In Paris at The York Theatre Company.

Lillias White’s concert appearances include the critically acclaimed cabaret show at Feinstein’s 54 Below, entitled The Lillias White Effect (Bistro Award) and for the Actors Fund in Funny Girl, Hair and the 25th Anniversary concert of Dreamgirls. She was Bloody Mary in the PBS Great Performances broadcast of South Pacific. Lillias has toured internationally with her one-woman show, From Brooklyn To Broadway, and she's graced the stages at Kennedy Center in Washington DC, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Jazz at Lincoln Center, the Sydney Australia Opera House, the Singapore Opera House and the Palm Beach Pops.

Lillias’ television appearances include a regular role on Sesame Street for which she won an Emmy Award, a current role Netflix in The Get Down, Gotham, Person of Interest, Law and Order SVU, Law and Order, and NYPD Blue. Her film credits include the lead muse in Disney's Hercules, Anastasia, How the Grinch Stole Christmas with Jim Carrey, Game Six with Michael Keaton, Pieces of April with Katie Holmes, Nasty Baby with Kristin Wigg and Then She found Me.  Lillias holds an Honorary PH D in fine arts from The City University of New York. Photo by SneakPeek NY.

Karen Akers

has appeared in prestigious venues worldwide, including Carnegie Hall and the Hollywood Bowl, as well as New York's premiere nightspots, the Cafe Carlyle and The Oak Room at The Algonquin Hotel. She has taken her music to the south of France, Russia, Barcelona's Liceu Opera House and more recently, to Crazy Coqs in London. She is the recipient of the New York Nightlife Award for Outstanding Female Cabaret Vocalist in a Major Engagement, as well as the Nightlife Legend Award. Cabaret and concert performances are only a part of Ms. Akers multifaceted career, which encompasses theatre, television, film, and recordings. S

he appeared at the Martin Beck Theatre on Broadway as one of the original stars of the Tony Award-winning musical Grand Hotel, directed by Tommy Tune. She made her debut on the Great White Way in the original production of Nine, also directed by Tommy Tune, receiving a Tony nomination and a Theatre World Award.

Ms. Akers television appearances include Cheers, The Tonight Show, The Equalizer, Hart to Hart, The Merv Griffin Show and the PBS Specials: Ellington: The Music Lives On and Ira Gershwin at 100: A Celebration at Carnegie Hall. In addition, Ms. Akers had two of her own PBS specials, Presenting Karen Akers and Karen Akers: On Stage at Wolf Trap. The latter is available on DVD. Her film roles include the femme fatale in Mike Nichol's Heartburn, opposite Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep, Woody Allen's The Purple Rose of Cairo, and Vibes. Ms. Akers's CDs include: If We Only Have Love, Feels Like Home, Live From Rainbow and Stars, Under Paris Skies, Just Imagine, Unchained Melodies, In A Very Unusual Way, Like It Was, Presenting Karen Akers and Simply Styne (DRG Records). Photo by Kevin Alvey.

The MAC Awards show is produced by Julie Miller and directed by Amy Wolk. The musical director and leader of the MAC Awards Band will be John Fischer.