Hasty Pudding 'holds space' for Woman of the Year Cynthia Erivo

Harvard’s Hasty Pudding Theatricals honored “Wicked” star Cynthia Erivo as its 75th annual Woman of the Year last night. She made it through the event without gripping co-star Ariana Grande’s finger or shedding a tear, but she did pull out her signature “Defying Gravity” riff (twice).

Hasty Pudding, the oldest theatrical organization in the U.S., presents the award each year to a performer who makes a significant impact on the entertainment world. Previous recipients include Kerry Washington, Meryl Streep, and Julia Roberts. The award ceremony follows an unusual format in which  student comedians roast the recipient on stage before gifting them a commemorative pudding pot. Jon Hamm was honored as the society’s Man of the Year last Friday.

Erivo is an Emmy, Tony and Grammy winner and an Oscar nominee known for her work as Elphaba in “Wicked: Part One” and Celie Harris in the Broadway revival of “The Color Purple.”

She started her day in Cambridge with a celebratory parade before moving to the night’s festivities. Erivo was honored on stage at Farkas Hall, attended a short press conference and stayed to watch Hasty Pudding’s 176th production, “101 Damnations.”

The actor took the stage as a band played “Defying Gravity” with dramatic trumpeting. “Yes. Absolutely. Definitely. Always. Never change,” Erivo remarked about the introduction.

Producers Willow Woodward and Daisy Nussbaum led the roast while comedians doing impressions of famous comedians took the stage, including John Mulaney (who was dragged off by a trio from “Erivo’s pr team”), Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Burr.

Erivo was then instructed to paint a portrait of Grande — but not a finger painting because they would never dream of compromising her signature long, intricately manicured nails. The gag referred to Grande discussing painting a watercolor Munchkinland landscape and gifting it to Erivo in an IMDb interview.

Another comedian brought out a fake Oscar for Erivo since it’s the last award she needs to achieve EGOT status, and two singers came out for a live version of the TikTok “Defying Gravity” riff off challenge. They belted out the riff before Erivo casually whipped out her signature notes to thunderous cheering and applause. “I’d go with number one,” Erivo said, choosing the first singer.

Three members of the Blue Man Group awkwardly walked onstage to present Erivo with a blue pudding pot. One donned a witch hat and cape while another blew a gust of wind onto him with a leaf blower.

“I don’t mind this pudding pot. Can I keep this too?” Erivo asked.

After all of the jokes, Erivo took a moment to be sincere. “This has been very awesome by the way,” she said. “Thank you very much for all of it.” She also told the producers that if they were nervous about today, they shouldn’t have been because they did a fantastic job.

Two people finally brought out the real pudding pot and presented it to Erivo, landing kisses on her cheeks.

Erivo attended a brief press conference to answer questions about her recent projects and deep connection to theater. She was asked what an award from an important theatrical organization meant to her after doing so much stage work.

“It means a great deal, actually, because theater doesn't really leave you. The craft that you learn, the work that you are put through, the stamina that you have to build, all of that that you build before you get to screen doesn't leave,” she said. “And in fact, it helps to build the work that you do on screen. I think it's really helped me in that work. So to still be awarded for things that I've done on stage, it means a great deal because it means that it's still shining through.”

Erivo was also asked about what she enjoys and dislikes about stage versus screen. She explained that the stage is different each night and involves a special intimacy with the audience. Regarding the screen, she said, “You spend a really long time with characters, and then you have to let them go … I mean in a practical sense, like, if you've walked like this character for eight months, nine months, now it's intrinsically who you are, and then you have to learn how to walk like you again. You know, that can be kind of tough.”

A final question addressed Erivo’s plans for comedy in the future. She said she may already have something in the works that leans more in that direction.

Erivo posed kissing the pudding pot before holding space for Hasty Pudding’s “101 Damnations.”