Laguna High’s ‘Music Man’ honored at MACY awards

Tom Titus

Say you’re a high school theater group competing in the annual MACY

Awards and your show is “The Music Man.” Would you present a scene

for competition without the presence of Professor Harold Hill?

Laguna Beach High School did Sunday -- and beat out the other 23

competing schools for the visiting judges’ award.

As one of the few schools that staged one (almost) complete scene

rather than put on bits and pieces from the entire show, Laguna High

and the show’s director, Mark Dressler, certainly got the attention

of the judges. The scene was the opening moments in the train on its

way to River City, one which involved more than the usual timing and

coordination.

Apart from the judges’ award, “Music Man” won “outstanding

achievement” trophies for actors Cooper Henderson, Christian

Marriner, Christina Schuller and the “Music Man” ensemble.

Achievement awards went to Jeremy Graves, Will Morrison and Alex

Murrell. Brad Wolf earned “special recognition,” while Luke Dressler

and Sophia Tupy were accorded “Bright Spot” awards.

“Music Man” wasn’t Laguna High’s only entry in the MACYs. The

school also presented “The Fantasticks,” which earned Taryn Dicterow

an “outstanding achievement” honor.

Special recognition for “Fantasticks” went to Matt Rowe and Gary

Samuelian.

What normally would be an afternoon of celebration was tempered by

the death, just a week before the ceremony, of Lagunan 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 declared.

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 L.A. high schools and, with the city’s

help, they founded the MACY program.

Upon moving to Laguna Beach, they became aware 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.