On January 24, for the fifteenth year, LM’s Amazing Ace hit the stage. Amazing Ace, LM’s annual charity fundraiser and talent show, consistently brings in a vast audience, and it’s one of, if not the, largest philanthropic event of the entire school year. This year, the event was themed around Disney Villains.
Since 2010, Amazing Ace, formally known as Mr. Lower Merion, has featured a wide array of entertainment, with performances by both LM’s dance team as well as a talent portions, catwalks, question and answer sessions, and dance routines all done by the show’s cast. Amazing Ace 2025 was emceed by Ella Milby ’25 and Maya Zada ’26. The two presented the eight talented upperclassmen along with their “sidekick” partners that would be competing in the event, each representing a Disney Villain. Contestant Dotun Okunade ’25 comments about working with his sidekick Elle Kudic ’25, “I love the energy in the show, everyone else’s energy is what gives me energy. I love my sidekick Elle, and how she was able to hype up the crowd.”
After a short introduction to the event by senior class officers, the audience sat back in their seats as they watched the event’s intro video, featuring a stellar acting performance by our very own principal Dr. Michael Johnson, and depicts the beloved mascot, Ace, being kidnapped by an evil wizard. In the video, Milby and Zada, alongside Johnson, decide to team up with the Disney Villains to save Ace.
Physics teacher Nora Christman, who has overseen the event since its inception, worked early with the student production to figure out the theme. Assistant Stage Manager, Matty De Jesus ’26, explained, “We were thinking of Inside Out emotions, but then leaned into the Disney theme, with having both heroes and villains. We then decided to just stick with villains because they are lowkey a lot cooler.”
The Amazing Ace production team then held interviews with potential contestants. When asked in the interview why he was interested in being a contestant for Amazing Ace, Sam Fenning ’25 added, “I just love Amazing Ace, I love being a part of it the past 2 years. Not being able to do lighting this year, I decided that I wanted to perform, because I love performing. I think I can bring the energy. I am really committed to this, and I also think it would be cool to raise a lot of money for something.” Lots of contestants decided on their final talent after the interviews were held, but Rhys Applestein ’25 came to the interview prepared with what she wanted for her talent, “For my talent, I want to dance to Vogue by Madonna. She has this one performance from the VMAs where they all have fans, and are sort of like Marie Antoinette, so I would like to do something with that.” Applestein’s vision for her dance did not change throughout the production, as she and her ladies wowed the audience with their big gowns, fans, dancing skills, and rose petals falling from the sky.
This was brought together with help from the talented behind the scenes production team, controlling the curtains, sound, lights, teleprompter and more. Sound Designer Nate Warren ‘25 talked about his experience working on sound for the past 2 shows, “Running live sound for a big show like that is always a challenge because of how many things you have to be responsible for. We had a few hiccups in the beginning of the show, but every contestant got heard and sounded good, and that’s the part of my job that matters.” The production and design team worked rigorously together and with the contestants for long hours, to create a cohesive show, like the one that was brought to the stage.
During the many after school and lunch rehearsals, the cast and crew formed a tight bond, one that even Christman comments was “I’ve never worked with a group that was as fun, supportive and close as this one. It was so obvious that they were excited about what they were doing individually and proud of what they were building together, and enjoyed each other’s company too. I just had the best time working with them!” The relationships the audience saw up on stage were well in part to the constant banter on the cast and stage manager group chat, group dinners at Olive Garden, and even sledding during a snow day. It is remarkable how much of a difference a tight knit cast can play into the overall performance of the production, and that truly showed on stage during the event.
Before learning who was crowned the winner, Sam Fenning was crowned the charity winner after raising an impressive $3000 for his charity, The Lustgarten Foundation. Finally, it was time to announce who would be crowned as Amazing Ace. For the first time in fifteen years, not one, but two contestants took home the crown. Both Applestein and Ridgeway wowed the judges and audience enough to tie the competition down to half of a point. Amazing Ace never fails to impress the LM community. Not only is Amazing Ace one of the biggest charity events of the year—the proceeds of tickets from the event going to both charities as well as the senior class—but it also acts as a way to bring the whole community together for a one night only event, support their friends, and watch an exciting show—truly acting as a Main Line staple.
