Christmas Spirts Playbill 2017

JULIE AWARD

The 2016 Julie Award winner: Fitness Junk

A s anyone who has secretly watched the entirety of any exercise infomercial or seen a NordicTrack gather dust in the corner can tell you, fitness trends come and go quickly. And while some intrepid souls make sweat stains the new black, the rest of us can end up feeling like flabby extras fromOlivia Newton John’s “Physical.” The 2016 Julie Award winner mined all of that fitness awkwardness for comic gold, with Bar Show director and choreographer Marla Lampert turning sweatbands and spandex into the best production number in the show. The Julie Award was initiated in 2013 in honor of former Bar Show head writer and veteran performer, the Honorable Julian Frazin, whose infectious songs and high-energy performances lit up the show for many years. Judge Frazin has retired from the Bar Show, but its cast and crew still aspire to reach his levels of crowd-pleasing excitement.

Fortunately, some of the Bar Show’s fitness junkies were on hand to counterbalance the novices’ enthusiastic but less- than-polished Jazzercise and bring Jay Schleppenbach’s lyrics to life. Bringing their expert moves to the table were Mark Arnecilla, Kate Bowen, Tony Calzaretta, Jacqueline Carroll, Jenny Jeltes, Amy Keller, Caitlin Maly, Carissa Meyer, Ebony Smith, Danny Teinowitz, Diana Vargo-Lewandowski, Kathryn Weber, and Hillary Weigle. Together, these fitness “haves” and “have nots” had audiences chuckling and tapping their toes to one of the best-loved pop tunes of the past decade. Congratulations to the entire “Fitness Junk” ensemble, winners of the 2016 Julie award!

The 2016 award recipient, “Fitness Junk,” featured Lindsey Millman, Melissa Redondo, and Gina Reynolds as workout aficionados literally singing the praises of FitBits to the strains of Bruno Mars’ “Uptown Funk.” Meanwhile, a ragtag group of fitness novices–including Sandy Andina, Ron Balfour, Ellen Duff, Frederick Joseph III, Michael Kedzie, Mghnon Martin, L. Steven Platt, Valerie Raedy, Jay Schleppenbach, Stan Slovin, and Millicent Willis–lamented no more “cheese fries with a side of scotch” or “Netflix and eating string cheese,” dressed in short shorts and tube socks. Once again Barb Burns and the talented Bar Show costume department enhanced the hilarity with great workout “outfits.”

2013 Ding Dong Chorus 2014 Ring Time for Cutler Chorus 2015 We’re Out of Money Chorus Previous Winners of the “Julie” Award:

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