Play: "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever!"
December 5 & 6, 2026, ANC students performed “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever!” to delighted audiences. In this hilarious Christmas classic, a couple struggling to put on a church Christmas pageant is faced with casting the Herdman kids – probably the most inventively awful kids in history.
Director Mary Williams said of the show: “Imogene and the Herdmans’ raw, unpolished, utterly unscripted reaction to the Christmas story reminded us of something essential: sometimes the truest understanding comes from those who encounter holiness for the very first time, with no expectations, no polish, and no pretense. And that, I think, is why this story still touches us all.”
The Bradley family–charged with putting on the Christmas pageant after the usual director (Mrs. Armstrong–junior Sarah Roscoe) is injured–were played by seniors Porter Brown (Father) and Isabel Waelchli (Mother) with Durban Cooper (freshman) and Sofia Waelchli (sophomore) as Charlie and Beth. The infamous Herdman children were played by senior Oliver Orthwein (Ralph, the cool teen), sophomore Sammy Hyatt (Imogene, the loud, bossy girl who nabs the part of Mary), senior Tait Asplundh (Leroy, the tough one), sophomore Robert Asplundh (Claude, the combative one), senior Isaac Rose (Ollie, Claude’s partner in crime) and senior Nicole Synnestvedt (Gladys, the feisty one). The incredulous church moms were portrayed by seniors Raelyn Arnott (Mrs. Slocum), Marley Hyatt (Mrs. Clausing) and Chloe Robertson (Mrs. McCarthy). Aurora Gruber was Alice, the prim and proper girl who normally portrays Mary, and the pageant kids were rounded out by Abby Alden (Maxine), Abigail Odhner (Elmira), Zion Nobre (David) and Tano Quigley (Hobie). Tano was also the Reverend Hopkins and Mattias King and Charles McQueen-Prutzman saved the day as the Firemen. (See the full cast list here.)
Senior Windsor Smith was the stage manager, assisted by sophomore Tess Pitcairn. Anthony McDonald (freshman) manned the lightboard and Zoe Martin (junior) ran the sound board. Overall, nearly one quarter of the student body was involved in the production in some capacity.
Mary Williams was the director, assisted by Doug Reuter. Sarah Cooper Waelchli was the producer and Yaicha King costumed the show. The stagecraft elective class for seniors, taught by Chris Waelchli, built the set. Chloe Panicker is the new MPAC manager.
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“The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” was presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc.