The Hasty Pudding Theatricals, the oldest theatrical organization in the United States, announces ROSE BYRNE as the recipient of its 2026 Womanof the Year Award. From her iconic performances in Neighbors, Bridesmaids, Insidious, and Damages, to her Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe-winning role in If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, 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.
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 Cynthia Erivo, the 75th Woman of the Year.
The Woman of the Year festivities will take place on Friday, February 13th, 2026. The Hasty
Pudding Theatricals will host a celebratory roast for Ms. Byrne at 7:00pm and present her with
her 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 7:20pm. Afterwards, Ms. Byrne will attend a
performance of the Hasty Pudding Theatricals’ 177th production Salooney Tunes.
“We are thrilled to honor Rose Byrne as our Woman of the Year,” said Hasty Pudding Theatricals
President Daisy Nussbaum. “Hot off a Golden Globe win and an Oscar nomination, it’s only
right that she receives the most prestigious award of all: a pudding pot.”
“Rose may have been a bridesmaid, but now it’s her turn to walk down the aisle… or should we
say, parade through Harvard Square?” said Producer Cate Schwarz. “After fighting demons and
zombies, we’re sure Rose is well prepared to earn her pudding pot.”
Rose Byrne is an Academy Award nominated and Golden Globe winning actress from Sydney, Australia.
Most recently, Byrne was seen starring in Mary Bronstein’s If I Had Legs I’d Kick You for A24. For her performance, she garnered the Silver Bear for
Best Leading Performance at the 2025 Berlin International Film Festival, as
well as an Academy Award ‘Lead Actress’ nomination and Golden Globe
Award honor in the category of ‘Best Performance by a Female Actor in a
Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy.’ Upcoming, Byrne is set to star in
Stephanie Laing’s TOW.
Previously on television, Byrne starred in Damages opposite Glenn Close for which she garnered
two Golden Globe nominations and one Emmy nomination for her portrayal. Her additional television credits include Physical, Platonic and Mrs. America. It was recently announced that Byrne is set to star in Peacock series The Good Daughter.
Previous film credits include: Juliet, Naked; Peter Rabbit; Instant Family; Spy; The Place Beyond
the Pines; Bridesmaids; Insidious; Get Him to the Greek; 28 Weeks Later; Bridesmaids; Marie
Antionette; Troy; The Goddess of 1967 for which she garnered the Volpi Cup at the 2000 Venice
Film Festival and Two Hands.
Her theatre credits include Medea, You Can’t Take it With You (Broadway debut), Sydney Theatre
Company’s Speed-the-Plow, La Dispute, and Three Sisters. Upcoming on stage, Byrne will be
seen starring in Noël Coward’s revival of FALLEN ANGELS opposite Kelli O’Hara at the Todd
Haimes Theatre.
PRESS CREDENTIALING is open for the Woman of the Year event. An online application can
be submitted through the following form: MOY/WOY 2026 Press Credential Form. Please
submit forms by Monday, February 9 th at 5 PM ET.
TO PURCHASE TICKETS to the Hasty Pudding Theatricals’ 177th production, Salooney
Tunes, 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 7thto March 8th. The
company then travels to NYC for performances on March 13th and 14th. They will then travel to
Bermuda for performances from March 18th to 20th.
ABOUT HPT 177: SALOONEY TUNES
Notorious outlaw ROBIN YABLIND has just burst into the Goldendamaire Hills saloon! And
he’s joined by his lesser-known sidekick…uh…what was his name again? WYATT AINTME? In
any case, hapless WYATT needs a clean robbery if he ever wants to see his name in the
papers—under ‘TERRORIST WATCH’—but their gold heist doesn’t necessarily pan out. News
of the whole affair alarms unscrupulous mayor GERRI MANDARIN, who is also after the
town’s cash, so she enlists pregnant sheriff CARRIE N TWINS to put the bandits behind bars.
Unfortunately for the outlaws, CARRIE’s resolve is unbreakable, unlike her water. With the
robbers on the run, GERRI devises a con so outlandish that only idiots would fall for it. Good
thing these hills are chock-full. Speaking of idiots, will skittish saloon owner BART ENDER
keep his unlicensed saloon afloat? Can sultry saloon-singer SARAH PROBLEM sustain a life of
cheap thrills and cheaper jokes? Can twelve year old dancer ANNA FIVESIXFIVESIXSEVENEIGHT muster the courage to stand up to her mayor-mother’s war crimes before bedtime? Will eager rancher TILDA COWSCOMEHOME’s…cows ever come home? Will depressed horse GIDEON UP ever kick his ketamine addiction? And will colorblind prospector DUSTIN MYEYES finally realize that his shiny grey rocks are actually worth something? Seems like this town has more emotional baggage than gold, meaning WYATT has a long way to go before getting his own WANTED sign. See the chaos unfold at Farkas Hall this
spring for Hasty Pudding’s 177th annual musical comedy production: SALOONEY TUNES!
Written by: Benjamin Langman’26 and Gunnar Sizemore’27
ABOUT THE HASTY PUDDING INSTITUTE OF 1770
The Hasty Pudding Institute of 1770’s philanthropic mission is to provide educational and
developmental support in all aspects of the performing arts for the underprivileged, to encourage
satire and comedy, and to cultivate young talent around the world. The Institute comprises the
Hasty Pudding Club (the oldest social club in the United States), the Hasty Pudding Theatricals
(the third oldest theater group in the world) and the Harvard Krokodiloes (the foremost collegiate
a cappella group in the United States). Over the last two centuries, it has grown into a premiere
performing arts organization, a patron of the arts and comedy, and an advocate for satire and
discourse as tools for change worldwide.
THE HISTORY OF THE PUDDING
In 1795, twenty-one Harvard students crowded into a dorm room to celebrate the establishment
of a new on-campus society. Members pledged to maintain the club’s secrecy and “to cultivate
the social affections and cherish the feelings of friendship and patriotism.” Most importantly,
they mandated that “the members in alphabetical order shall provide a pot of hasty pudding for
every meeting.” With this ritual, the Hasty Pudding Club found its namesake, and the theatrical
organization of today found its simpler roots.
The turn of the century saw the introduction of a new tradition into club meetings. In response to
increased rowdiness and anarchy, a mock criminal court was improvised to try club members for
“insolence” and “contempt of the club.” These trials were a great success, and the club
constitution was amended to incorporate these dramatizations into every club meeting. Through
the years, these productions became more elaborate, with the addition of costumes and eventually
scripts.
In 1844, Harvard senior Lemuel Hayward broke with tradition and secretly arranged the
production of a comedic opera, “Bombastes Furioso,” instead of the expected mock trial. Thus,
the first Hasty Pudding Show was born, starting a tradition that has continued for 177
productions, interrupted for only five years by the two World Wars and the COVID-19 pandemic.
The modern Pudding Show has evolved into a spectacle beyond anything ever envisioned by the
founders of the original secret society. Every year, HPT produces an original, entirely
student-written and composed, pun-filled musical extravaganza. Undergraduates receive
guidance by theatrical veterans, and the sets and costumes rival those of many professional
productions. The show runs for four weeks in Cambridge before an annual tour in Bermuda.
Some of America’s most prominent personalities got their start in the Pudding, including Teddy
Roosevelt, FDR, JFK, Jack Lemmon, Alan Jay Lerner, David Javerbaum, and Rashida Jones.
With the introduction of the Woman of the Year celebration in 1951, and the Man of the Year in
1967, the Pudding has gained an international audience—but remains at its heart an organization
driven by the enthusiasm and exuberance of its undergraduate members.nThe Pudding show remains in its essence a no-holds-barred burlesque allowing students of all genders welcome as cast members on stage for the seventh year.