Hasty Pudding Theatricals is a student theatrical society at Harvard University known for its annual burlesque crossdressing musicals as well as its Man and Woman of the Year awards. [1] The Pudding is the oldest theatrical organization in the United States and the third oldest in the world. [2] Its annual production is a musical comedy that often touches on topical social and political issues.
Hasty Pudding Theatricals was formed in 1795 as a social club for Harvard College students to cultivate the social affections and cherish the feelings of friendship & patriotism. On December 13, 1844, the Pudding put on its first full performance - William Barnes Rhodes’ burlesque opera Bombastes Furioso. After a period of producing popular comedies by established playwrights, student members of the Pudding began to write their own shows, starting in 1882 with a production of Dido and Aeneas by Owen Wister. [3] The event was interrupted for 2 years during each of the World Wars and the fifth time came in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Women played a role in the company for many years, primarily as costumers. In 1948 Felisa Vanoff became Pudding’s first female choreographer, [4] [5] and in 1978 Diane Nabatoff became its first female producer. In 2009 Megan Amram and Alexandra Petri became the first all-female team to write the musical comedy. The technical crew, band, and business staff has been co-ed for many years.
The Hasty Pudding name comes from a Colonial era (originally British) dish called hasty pudding, a kind of porridge made from cornmeal with molasses, honey or other ingredients. It is not clear whether the dish was originally a staple or a dessert, but it is now served for dessert at the banquets thrown by the Pudding, such as opening night celebrations and the annual 'roasts' for their Man and Woman of the Year.
The society is notable for their annual selection of famous entertainers as Woman of the Year since 1951 and Man of the Year since 1967. These awards are usually treated with great seriousness by the honorees. Since the unanticipated personal appearance of Jane Fonda to accept her award in 1961, always attend the awards ceremony, and are treated to a celebratory "roast," and a parade.
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The Hasty Pudding Theatricals has adopted many significant symbols. It has two official logos: The first is a sphinx holding a pudding pot, and the second is a pudding pot depicted hanging over a fire. Its main colors are deep blue, crimson, green and yellow. The shade of yellow used by the club is an ode to the color of traditional hasty pudding. The Hasty Pudding Theatricals, Hasty Pudding Club, and Harvard Krokodiloes are all organizations of the Hasty Pudding Institute of 1770 and share the same meeting space and social events on Harvard's campus.
Concordia Discors is the official motto of the Hasty Pudding, literally meaning: Discordant Harmony, or organized chaos, in English.
Owen Wister was an American writer and historian, considered the "father" of western fiction. He is best remembered for writing The Virginian and a biography of Ulysses S. Grant.
Maurice Alberto "Mo" Rocca is an American humorist, journalist, and actor. He is a correspondent for CBS Sunday Morning, the host and creator of My Grandmother's Ravioli on the Cooking Channel, and also the host of The Henry Ford's Innovation Nation on CBS. He was the moderator of the National Geographic Society's National Geographic Bee from 2016 until its final competition in 2019, as the 2020 and 2021 competitions were cancelled and the competition was ended in 2021. He is also the host of the podcast Mobituaries with Mo Rocca from CBS News. He is a regular panelist on the radio quiz show Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!
David Adam Javerbaum is an American comedy writer and lyricist. Javerbaum has won 13 Emmy Awards in his career, 11 of them for his work on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. He runs the popular Twitter account @TheTweetOfGod, which at its peak had 6.2 million followers. The account was the basis for his play An Act of God, which opened on Broadway in the spring of 2015 starring Jim Parsons, and again in the spring of 2016 starring Sean Hayes. The play has gone on to receive over 100 productions in 20 countries and 11 languages.
Theodore Roosevelt IV, also known as Theodore III, was an American banker, government official, and veteran of World War II. He was a grandson of President Theodore Roosevelt through his father, Brig. Gen. Theodore Roosevelt III. His name suffix varies since President Roosevelt's father was Theodore Roosevelt Sr., though the same-named son did not commonly use a "Jr." name suffix.
The Hasty Pudding Club, often referred to simply as the Pudding, is a social club at Harvard University, and one of three sub-organizations that comprise the Hasty Pudding - Institute of 1770. The club's motto, Concordia Discors, derives from the epistles of the Latin poet Horace.
The Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year award is bestowed annually by the Hasty Pudding Theatricals society at Harvard University. The award was created in 1951, and its first recipient was Gertrude Lawrence, an English actress, singer, and dancer. It has since been awarded annually by the society members of the Hasty Pudding to performers deemed to have made a "lasting and impressive contribution to the world of entertainment".
The Hasty Pudding Man of the Year award is bestowed annually by the Hasty Pudding Theatricals society at Harvard University. It has been awarded since 1967 to performers deemed by the society members to have made a "lasting and impressive contribution to the world of entertainment."
Harvard College has several types of social clubs. These are split between gender-inclusive clubs recognized by the college, and unrecognized single-gender clubs which were subject to College sanctions in the past. The Hasty Pudding Club holds claim as the oldest collegiate social club in America, tracing its roots back to 1770. The next oldest institutions, dating to 1791, are the traditionally all-male final clubs. Fraternities were prominent in the late 19th century as well, until their initial expulsions and then eventual resurrection off Harvard's campus in the 1990s. From 1991 onwards, all-female final clubs as well as sororities began to appear. Between 1984 and 2018, no social organizations were recognized by the school due to the clubs' refusal to become gender-inclusive.
The Harvard Krokodiloes are Harvard University's oldest a cappella singing group, founded in 1946. The group consists of twelve tuxedo-clad undergraduates, and they sing songs from the Great American Songbook and beyond.
Laurence Crawford "Larry" O'Keefe is an American composer and lyricist for Broadway musicals, film and television. He won the 2001 Lucille Lortel Award, Outstanding Musical as composer for Bat Boy: The Musical.
Mark O’Donnell was an American writer and humorist.
Gordon Davidson was an American stage and film director and the founding artistic director of Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles.
Megan Amram is an American comedy writer, producer, and performer. She is most known for her work as co-writer and producer for the NBC series The Good Place. Amram created and starred in the comedy web series, An Emmy for Megan, which depicts Amram's quest to win an Emmy.
Josh Brener is an American actor. He played the roles of Kyle on the IFC series Maron and Nelson "Big Head" Bighetti on the HBO series Silicon Valley. In animation, he provides the voices of Mark Beaks in the 2017 reboot of DuckTales, Donatello on Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Neeku Vozo on Star Wars Resistance, Dylan Dalmatian on 101 Dalmatian Street, Twig on "The Mighty Ones", and Intelligence Pete on "Sniper Grit".
Felisa Vanoff was an American dancer, choreographer, producer, and philanthropist.
Alexandra Attkisson Petri is an American humorist and newspaper columnist. In 2010, she became the youngest person to have a column in The Washington Post. Petri runs the ComPost blog on the paper's website, on which she formerly worked with Dana Milbank. In 2017, a piece of satire she wrote about president Donald Trump was miscategorized as news and included in one of the White House's daily press briefings. She was recognized in the Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2018.
Matthew Bohrer is an American actor and writer best known for roles in the television shows Lucifer, Goliath, and Masters of Sex.
42°22′21.2″N71°7′5.2″W / 42.372556°N 71.118111°W
