Hasty Pudding 2025 Woman of the Year

THE HASTY PUDDING THEATRICALS ANNOUNCES

 

CYNTHIA ERIVO

AS 2025 WOMAN OF THE YEAR

 

CAMBRIDGE, MA (January 21, 2025) – The Hasty Pudding Theatricals, the oldest theatrical

organization in the United States, announces Emmy, Tony, Grammy-winning and 2x Oscar

nominee CYNTHIA ERIVO as the recipient of its 2025 Woman of the Year Award. From her

iconic performances in Harriet and Broadway’s The Color Purple, to her recently critically

acclaimed role as Elphaba in Universal’s Wicked: Part One, the Pudding is proud to celebrate her

truly unique and impactful presence in the world of entertainment.

The Woman of the Year Award is the Hasty Pudding Theatricals’ oldest honor, bestowed

annually on performers who have made lasting and impressive contributions to the world of

entertainment. Established in 1951, the Woman of the Year Award has been given to many

notable and talented entertainers including Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Scarlett Johansson, Anne

Hathaway, Kerry Washington, and most recently Annette Bening, the 74th Woman of the Year.

The Hasty Pudding Theatricals is a program of The Hasty Pudding – Institute of 1770.

The Hasty Pudding Theatricals will host a celebratory roast for Ms. Erivo on February 5th at

7:00pm, after which she will be presented with her Pudding Pot at Farkas Hall, the Hasty

Pudding’s historic home in Harvard Square since 1888. A press conference will follow the

presentation at 7:20pm. Afterwards, Ms. Erivo will attend a performance of the Hasty Pudding

Theatricals’ 176th production, 101 Damnations.

“We are holding space for Cynthia Erivo’s arrival,” said Man and Woman of the Year Events

Coordinator Hannah Frazer, “We’re sweeping out our broomstick closets and prepping some

wicked smart humor as we eagerly await her in February. Before she flies off with her Pudding

Pot, she’ll have to work a little magic to earn it.”

Hasty Pudding: Man of the Year 2025

 THE HASTY PUDDING THEATRICALS ANNOUNCES

 

JON HAMM

 

AS 2025 MAN OF THE YEAR

 

CAMBRIDGE, MA (January 14, 2025) – The Hasty Pudding Theatricals, the oldest theatrical

organization in the United States, announces JON HAMM as the recipient of its 2025 Man of

the Year Award. From his iconic performances in Fargo, Landman, Grimsburg, Top Gun:

Maverick, Baby Driver, and Your Friends and Neighbors, to his Primetime Emmy and Golden

Globe Awarded role in Mad Men, the Pudding is proud to celebrate a truly unique and impactful

presence in the world of entertainment.

The Hasty Pudding Theatricals’ Man and Woman of the Year Awards are presented annually to

performers who have made lasting and impressive contributions to the world of entertainment.

The Man of the Year award was established in 1967, with past recipients including Clint

Eastwood, Tom Hanks, Robert De Niro, Harrison Ford, Samuel L. Jackson, Ryan Reynolds, and

last year’s recipient Barry Keoghan, the 57th Man of the Year.

The Man of the Year festivities will take place on Friday, January 31st, 2025. The Hasty Pudding

Theatricals will host a celebratory roast for Mr. Hamm at 6:00pm and present him with his

Pudding Pot at Farkas Hall, the Pudding’s historic home in the heart of Harvard Square since

1888. A press conference will follow the roast at 6:20pm. Afterwards, Mr. Hamm will attend a

preview of the Hasty Pudding Theatricals’ 176th production 101 Damnations.

“Let’s hope our roast doesn’t give him any heart palpitations—he’s had enough drama with that,”

said Producer Willow Woodward. “But with his work ethic, we’re confident he’ll take on our

stage with as much grit as Texas oil fields. He’s the perfect man to strike gold and earn his

Pudding Pot this January.”

 

“We are beyond excited to honor Jon Hamm as our 2025 Man of the Year,” said President Cathy

Stanton. “Of course, to claim his Pudding Pot, he’ll have to prove he’s the real Jon

Hamm—we’ve seen how good he is at keeping an identity under wraps!”

Hasty Pudding: Woman of the Year 2024

The Red Balloon's favorite line from The Hasty Pudding's announcement of Annette Bening as Woman of the Year: “That said, I can promise earning her Pudding Pot won’t be as difficult as swimming from Cuba to Florida.”

 THE HASTY PUDDING THEATRICALS ANNOUNCES

ANNETTE BENING

AS 2024 WOMAN OF THE YEAR

 

Annette Bening is a Tony Award and five-time Academy Award nominee, and two-time

Golden Globe, and Screen 

Actors Guild Award winner. Most recently, she starred in 

NYAD, directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy 

Chin, and JERRY AND MARGE GO LARGE on 

Paramount+, opposite Bryan Cranston. 

Upcoming, she will be seen in POOLMAN, alongside Danny 

DeVito and directed by/co-starring Chris Pine. 

Additional film credits include DEATH ON THE NILE, 

HOPE GAP, THE REPORT, GEORGETOWN, LIFE ITSELF, 

THE SEAGULL, CAPTAIN MARVEL, FILM STARS 

DON’T DIE IN LIVERPOOL, 20 TH CENTURY WOMEN, 

RULES DON’T APPLY, DANNY COLLINS, THE 

SEARCH, THE FACE OF LOVE, RUBY SPARKS, GIRL 

MOST LIKELY, GINGER & ROSA, THE KIDS ARE 

ALRIGHT, MOTHER AND CHILD, BEING JULIA, 

AMERICAN BEAUTY, IN DREAMS, THE SIEGE, THE 

AMERICAN PRESIDENT, MARS ATTACKS!, RICHARD III, LOVE AFFAIR,

BUGSY, REGARDING HENRY, THE GRIFTERS, GUILTY BY SUSPICION,

VALMONT, POSTCARDS FROM THE EDGE, and THE GREAT OUTDOORS. 

On stage, Bening was last seen in Jack O’Brian’s Broadway revival of Arthur Miller’s classic

ALL MY SONS alongside Tracy Letts, for which she earned a Tony Award nomination.

Previous stage credits include: Public Theater’s 2014 Shakespeare in the Park production

of KING LEAR; RUTH DRAPER MONOLOGUES at Geffen Playhouse; Anton Chekhov’s

THE CHERRY ORCHARD at Mark Taper Forum; Alan Bennett’s TALKING HEADS at

Tiffany Theater; Henrik Ibsen’s HEDDA GABLER at Geffen Playhouse; and MEDEA at

UCLA. 

Bening also received a Tony Award nomination and won the Clarence Derwent Award for

Outstanding Debut Performance of the Season for her role in COASTAL DISTURBANCES. 

Bening graduated from San Francisco State University and trained at the

American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco until she joined the acting company.

Hasty Pudding Theatricals’ 175th production, Heist Heist Baby, visit

https://www.hastypudding.org/buy-tickets/, email tickets@hastypudding.org, or

contact the HPT Box Office at (617)-495-5205. The show will be performed at

Harvard University’s historic Farkas Hall at 12 Holyoke Street from February 2ndto March 3rd.

The company then travels to NYC for a performance on March 9th. They will then travel

to Hamilton City Hall in Bermuda for performances from March 13thto 15th. 

Hasty Pudding 2024: Man of the Year

“With experience as both superhero and supervillain, Barry Keoghan is the perfect choice to fight to earn his Pudding pot.”

THE HASTY PUDDING THEATRICALS ANNOUNCES

BARRY KEOGHAN

AS 2024 MAN OF THE YEAR

CAMBRIDGE, MA (January 26, 2024) –

Barry Keoghan is an Academy Award®, Golden Globe®,

SAG Award nominated performer as well as a BAFTA Award

winning film and television actor, working with the industry’s

leading auteurs.

Currently, Keoghan can be seen co-starring in the AppleTV+

series, Master of The Air, executive produced by Steven

Spielberg and Tom Hanks. From the creators of Band of

Brothers, the series follows American airmen in the 100th

Bomb Group, a brotherhood forged by courage, loss and

triumph. Keoghan portrays pilot ‘Lt. Curtis Biddick,’

alongside Austin Butler and Callum Tuner. He can also be

seen starring in Emerald Fennell’s Saltburn, co-starring Jacob

Elordi, Rosamund Pike and Richard E. Grant, for Amazon

Prime. The film follows Oxford University student Oliver

Quick (Keoghan), who is struggling to find his place, and finds himself drawn into the world of

the charming and aristocratic Felix Catton (Elordi), who invites him to Saltburn, his eccentric

family’s sprawling estate, for a summer never to be forgotten. For his role, Keoghan received a

2024 Golden Globe® Award nomination and is nominated for a BAFTA Award in the category

of Best Leading Actor.

Most recently, Keoghan completed production on Andrea Arnold‘s Bird, starring opposite of

Franz Rogowski; as well as Trey Edward Schults’ and The Weeknd’s untitled project starring

opposite of Jenna Ortega as well. Prior to this, he completed production on Chris Andrews’

Bring Them Down opposite of Christopher Abbott and Colm Meaney.

Most notably, in 2023, Keoghan received the BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor as

Dominic in Martin McDonagh’s The Banshees of Inisherin, opposite Colin Farrell and Brendan

Gleeson. The same year he was also nominated for the 2023 Academy Award® in the category

of Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role; Golden Globe® for Best Supporting

Actor in a Motion Picture; Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Supporting Actor as well as

Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture; Critics’ Choice Award for Best Supporting Actor and Best

Acting Ensemble; Irish Film and Television Award for Best Supporting Actor; as well as The

London Film Critic’s Circle Award for Supporting Actor of the Year among many other

accolades.

Additional film credits include Matt Reeves’ DC Universe The Batman, opposite Robert

Pattinson; Chloe Zhao’s Marvels’ Eternals, with a cast that includes Angelina Jolie, Salma

Hayek, Brian Tyree Henry & Kumail Nanjiani; David Lowery’s The Green Knight; Nick

Rowland’s Calm with Horses (BAFTA, BIFA and IFTA nominations); as well as Bart Layton’s

American Animals (BIFA nomination); Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Killing of a Sacred Deer opposite

Colin Farrell and Nicole Kidman (Independent Spirit Award nominations and Irish Film &

Television Award win); Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster Dunkirk, with Mark Rylance, Tom

Hardy, Kenneth Branagh and Cillian Murphy; Lance Daly’s Black ’47; Konstantin Bojanov’s

Light Thereafter; Rebecca Daly’s Mammal; Adam Smith’s Trespass Against Us; Rachael

Moriarty and Peter Murphy’s Traders; as well as Yann Demanges’ ’71.

Additional television credits include Craig Mazin’s Emmy® and Golden Globe® Nominated

Chernobyl and the third and final season of Top Boy.

TO PURCHASE TICKETS to the Hasty Pudding Theatricals’ 175th production, Heist Heist

Baby, visit https://www.hastypudding.org/buy-tickets/, email tickets@hastypudding.org, or

contact the HPT Box Office at (617)-495-5205. The show will be performed at Harvard

University’s historic Farkas Hall at 12 Holyoke Street from February 4th to March 3rd.

HPT 175: This year we are celebrating the Hasty Pudding’s 175th anniversary. We are the oldest

theatrical organization in the United States, and the third oldest organization in the world. The

Hasty Pudding Theatricals have presented their unique brand of student-written theater every

year since 1844, the only exceptions being for World Wars I and II and the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Red Balloon: Retrospective

There's no better time than now to look back at just some of the stories that The Red Balloon has had the privilege to cover. Here is The Red Balloon's Retrospective:

January 2012: Fenway Park celebrates 100 Years

Vericon March 2012: Author R.L. Stine

August 2012: Bruce Springsteen at Fenway Park (in the pouring rain): The Boss doesn't let anything stop him and neither does The Red Balloon

August 2012: Lenny Kravitz Tour

August 2012: Seinfeld Soup Nazi

Harvard Arts Medal Ceremony April 2013: Recipient Matt Damon with John Lithgow

May 2013: Rhianna Tour

November 2013: Red Sox World Series Parade

June 2014: Pedro Martinez  

August 2014: Swan Lake on the Swan Boats

August 2014: The stars of the film The Giver

August 2014: Michael David Rosenberg, better known as Passenger at the House of Blues

October 2014: Jake Gyllenhaal exclusive

May 2015: Natalie La Rose

May 2015: Ella Henderson

May 2016: Taste of Back Bay

July 4th: Boston Pops

August: Boston Seafood Festival

September 2016: Taste of Downtown Boston

2017 Highlights:
Boston Wine Expo
New England Food Show
Flower and Garden Show
Taste of Downtown Crossing
Perks Convention
TechJam

2018 Highlights:
Cirque du Soleil: Luzia
King Richard's Faire
Hasty Pudding Man of the Year
Taste of Back Bay
Dirty Dancing
Diner en Blanc

2019 Highlights: 
City Winery
Ice Castles
Cape Cod
Cirque du Soleil: Corteo
Travel and Adventure Show: Boston
New England Auto Show

Where will The Red Balloon be next in 2020? Follow along and find out!

Hasty Pudding's Man & Woman of the Year

Woman of the Year: Octavia Spencer

The Hasty Pudding Institute honored Octavia Spencer as the 2017 Woman of the Year. The distinction of Woman of the Year began in 1951 and has been bestowed upon such notable actresses as Meryl Streep, Bette Midler, Shirley MacLaine, Cher, Lucille Ball, Sally Field, Debbie Reyolds, and Dame Helen Mirren.

Octavia Spencer is one of the stars of the film Hidden Figures and has received a SAG, Golden Globe, NCAAP Image, and Oscar nominations for her role. Octavia has acted in a number of films including Zootopia, The Help, Get on Up, and most recently Guillermo del Toro's The Shape of Water. Octavia Spencer was all smiles upon receiving her very own Pudding Pot.

Man of the Year: Ryan Reynolds

The Hasty Pudding Theatrical's recently named Ryan Reynolds as the 2017 Hasty Pudding Man of the Year. Reynolds has starred in countless films including Deadpool, Woman in Gold, Definitely Maybe, The Croods, Safe House, The Proposal, Turbo, Paperman, and The Change Up.

As part of the Hasty Pudding roast, Ryan Reynolds had to endure tormenting a number of notables including a Meryl Streep impersonator. He appeared not at all at ease with the daunting task. However, he had to complete this task in order to earn his Pudding Pot. At last, Reynolds told Meryl that she was "overrated." Sounds of laughter could be heard throughout the evening from the sold-out crowd in the Hasty Pudding's Farkas Hall.    

TO PURCHASE TICKETS to the Hasty Pudding's production, Casino Evil, contact the HPT Box Office at 617-495-5205 or order online at www.hastypudding.org/buy- tickets.

Man of the Year 2016

The Red Balloon is posting a favorite photo from this past Friday night's Hasty Pudding 50th Man of the Year Celebration: seriously, women everyone are asking, "Who wouldn't want to be that Pudding Pot?"

It was an honor to be part of a tradition with the utmost artistic integrity, including that one part when Joseph Gordon-Levitt took his pants off.

This year Joseph Gordon-Levitt became the 50th Hasty Pudding Man of the Year joining the ranks of Robert De Niro, Martin Scorsese, Christopher Walken, Steven Spielberg, Sean Connery, Robert Downey Jr. and Billy Crystal, all of whom have their very own Hasty Pudding Pot. The story of how the Man of the Year title started comes from the very first man of the year, Bob Hope, who contacted the Hasty Pudding Theatre as he knew they had only a Woman of the Year distinction at the time. He told them he had the perfect candidate for Man of the Year: Himself! And so the rest is history. Today the tradition continues as Joseph Gordon-Levitt received his latest title with honor! Here's to the Man of the Year!

Harvard Club

Presenting: The Harvard Club of Boston. Located on the 38th floor of One Federal Street, the space provides exquisite food and drink and boasts exceptional views of the city of Boston. As a member of the club, one also is able to be part of a reciprocal network of clubs located across the globe in countries including but not limited to: Australia, France, Ireland, Hong Kong, Japan, South Africa, and Spain.

The breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus include vegetarian options (the portobello mushroom ravioli is a delight). The club offers an extensive wine list and The Red Balloon highly recommends the Prosecco. 

Notable speakers at the Harvard Club include Eleanor Roosevelt, Henry Kissinger, and Robert Frost. (The Red Balloon was about to make a "Road Not Taken" joke but will save that for another, less serious and more satire post.)

The Harvard Club also has a Back Bay Clubhouse located at 374 Commonwealth Avenue. That clubhouse contains the Veritas restaurant and lounge along with a number of function rooms.

The Harvard Club provides an inviting atmosphere to create a home away from home in the city.