On December 20, 2024, the highly-anticipated annual Christmas show brought the Malvern community together one last time before the holiday break kicked off. The festivities were held in the Duffy Arts Center during the morning, as it was a half-day.
With students, faculty, and staff gathered in the Duffy Theater, the show started with a senior video produced by Charlie Murphy ‘25, Andrew Davis ‘25, Ryan Sims ‘25, and Vincent Brogna ‘25. The video took a large amount of time and effort, with planning occuring well in advance of the premiere.
“We started to film for the video about 3 weeks out. We had [phone calls] every night to plan what we had to bring the next day or who we had to text or where we were going to be at CT or after school to film,” Murphy said.
The video, a tribute to the Class of 2025, featured a collection of funny moments, “inside” jokes, and memories that have spanned the class’ time at Malvern Prep.
One of the concerns from past videos has been that not everyone in the audience understands the jokes. This was something the production team took into consideration this year, though they reported it was difficult due to time constraints.
“We just tried to include as many teachers in the video and try to keep the jokes broad and generally funny so that everyone can laugh. Some jokes that not everyone understood could be laughed at for other reasons like the way we filmed it or what we say,” Murphy said.
The theater watched in anticipation as eventually the actors arrived onstage in the theater, like every year. The video provided a comical opening, lightening everyone’s mood and setting the stage for the acts to come.
“It was definitely my favorite senior video. It definitely was very focused on seniors with the jokes, but it was hilarious,” Michael Waugh ‘25 said.
After the video concluded, the audience watched as a large group of seniors performed a senior skit, acting as their teachers and faculty.
The skit featured close to 20 different comical impersonations, with the impersonees watching on. The skit’s format consisted of impersonators for Head of School Mr. Patrick Sillup’s and Associate Head of School Mr. Ron Algeo ‘87 sitting at a table on stage and greeting each teacher or group that walked in. They would then have a conversation about a particular point of concern in the school before they exited. After each punchline, the theater roared in laughter, with even some of the outfits evoking reactions.
“The skit was great, [and] a lot of the guys nailed their [impersonations],” Waugh said.
The day then transitioned to talent show acts, with Ben Donohue ‘25 leading the way with an original song. His performance proved to be the first of many that demonstrated the breadth of talent among the student body, especially seniors. Other notable acts include singing performances by Gabe Bedwell ‘25; Andrew Kent ‘26; Nolan Murphy ‘25 and Will Cipollone ‘25; and Landen Mathias ‘25, Andrew Davis ‘25, and Jason Torres ‘25. After each act, Malvern roared with applause.
Donohue has performed in the talent show during his sophomore, junior, and senior year. Working on his music and performing it has become one of Donohue’s favorite activities these past few years.
“I love my piano. I love to write songs. It’s a great outlet. It’s a great artistic form. There’s nothing better than going home and just hopping on the piano for a few hours and watching the time fly by,” Donohue said.
Beyond the benefits he gets from it, Donohue hopes that his performances can inspire his peers to also pursue their talents and interests.
“I hope I can inspire other people to get up on stage and just enjoy the day. I hope I can inspire people to find their own hobbies and outlets and things that they enjoy,” Donohue said.
The talent show proved to be a success yet again, despite some technical difficulties along the way. It was a clear showcase of the support the Malvern community has for one another, especially in the biggest moments.
After the talent show, the annual dodgeball tournament took place in the O’Neill Sports Center. Waugh participated in the tournament for the first time as a senior.
“We were [a] first round exit. But it’s always fun to have, and I love seeing everybody get dressed up the way they do,” Waugh said.
Each team made up of 6 members wore unique colored shirts and competed in a single-elimination bracket until one team of seniors remained.
Overall the day was a success, allowing students to showcase their talents, humor, and athletic ability. It has become one of Malvern’s most-loved days among students and faculty alike.
”It’s one of Malvern’s best traditions that we do every year, and I definitely think it should stay the same,” Waugh said.
