Christmas Spirts Playbill 2017

HORSE’S ASS AWARD

M e l i s s a R e d o n d o appeared in her first musical at age 10, and she hasn’t stopped performing since. From the classical repertoire she studied in voice for over a decade to the occasional Celine Dion or Mariah Carey classic belted out at karaoke, Melissa has developed a reputation as a singer who can bring power and finesse to just about any musical number. It is perhaps no surprise that Melissa is being honored with the Horse’s Ass Award for the best individual performance in last year’s Bar Show. The performance in question

hilarious and heartbreaking as she mined the vulnerability of the woman behind then-president- elect Donald J. Trump. Vocally, she found new colors and shadings in a perhaps overly familiar song and visually she looked the part from head to toe in a stunning white gown that was from her own collection and an enormous wig that was decidedly not. In truth, Melissa has been giving knockout Ba r Show performances ever since she joined the show in 2012, whether as a cheerleader extolling the virtues of Wikipedia to “Oh, Mickey!” or Attorney General Lisa Madigan lamenting her father’s foibles to “A Boy Like That” from West Side Story. Melissa says she is “grateful for all the amazing musical opportunities the Bar Show has provided,” as well as “the wonderful relationships with other lawyers with strange musical theater obsessions.” Professionally, Melissa is the proud owner of a startup company and ser ves a s its in-house counsel. She also has a style and travel blog, Real/ Refined, on which she chronicles her far-flung adventures from Barcelona to Iceland and the many cute outfits that are sure to accompany her. Melissa earned her degree in Business Administration and Marketing at the University of Illinois and graduated fromLoyola University School of Law.

Melissa Rodondo

was as Melania Trump, singing “On My Own” as part of the Bar Show’s epic election-themed Les Miserables parody. Melissa’s performance was somehow both

Previous Winners of the “Horse’s Ass” Award: 1945 E. Hershenson 1946 William Murphy

1980 Audrey G. Holzer 1981 Mary Lu Milano 1982 Morton John Barnard 1983 Joseph L. Stone 1984 Gary S. Saipe 1985 “Cats” 1986 Rainell Rains 1987 Sandie Stavropoulos 1988 Mary Jeane McNichols 1989 Clifford Berman 1990 Joel Daly 1991 Arthur H. Garwin 1992 June Brown 1993 Ann Levinson Penway 1994 Brian Gilomen 1995 Sonja R. Johnson 1996 Ernesto D. Borges, Jr. 1997 Loretto Kennedy 1998 Peter Bensinger 1999 Ruth Kaufman 2000 Bob Canel 2001 Marla Lampert 2002 Jeffrey Marks & Tappers 2003 Corey Berman 2004 Special Chorus 2005 Regina Scannicchio 2006 Richard Nagle 2007 Kevin Krantz 2008 The Accappellants 2009 LathamWilliams 2010 Tony Calzaretta 2011 Larry Aaronson 2012 Kathryn A.“Kate”Kelly 2013 Mark Arnecilla 2014 Joyce Wixson 2015 Nicole Peterson-Pearce

1947 J. B. Hermes 1948 John D. Black 1949 C. R. Sprowl 1949 J. A. Sprowl 1950 R. W. MacDonald 1951 M. Schaeffer 1952 C. G. Lind 1953 Fred Kecker 1954 P. R. Stevenson

1955 A. S. Cate 1956 Irma Fiala 1957 R. Baird 1957 A. Holloway

1957 N. Eaton 1958 G. Quilici 1959 Fred Lane 1960 The Singing Chorus 1963 J. W. Baer 1964 M. Holmes 1965 J. Danyluk 1967 E. Leonard Rubin 1968 John H. McDermott 1969 Julian J. Frazin 1970 Robert J. Nye 1971 Hugh A. Brodkey 1972 Phillip M. Citrin 1973 James Montgomery 1974 John E. Corkery 1975 Frank T. Steponate 1976 Irene M. Wojdyla 1977 Geoffrey A. Anderson 1978 Charles N. Goodnow 1979 Julia J. Nicholson 1961 Gene Davis 1962 R. F. Hanley

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