Photo: Getty Images
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — After a gravity-defying year on the big screen, Harvard's Hasty Pudding Theatricals named "Wicked" star Cynthia Erivo as their 2025 Woman of the Year.
Erivo is fresh off appearing as Elphaba, the wicked witch of the West, in the screen adaptation of the iconic Broadway musical. She is, however, an accomplished Broadway actress in her own right, winning a Tony, Emmy, and Grammy awards for her role in "The Color Purple". Erivo was also nominated for two Academy Awards for her role in the 2020 film "Harriet".
“We are holding space for Cynthia Erivo’s arrival,” Hasty Pudding's Man and Woman of the Year Events Coordinator Hannah Frazer said in a statement. “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.”
Read More: Jon Hamm Named Hasty Pudding Man of the Year for 2025
The Hasty Pudding Theatricals chose Erivo as their Woman of the Year to "celebrate her truly unique and impactful presence in the world of entertainment". She will be honored on Feb. 5 at Farkas Hall with a celebratory roast and the presentation of her pudding pot. After she will attend a performance of the group's 176th production, "101 Damnations".
“Looks like someone might need to hold Cynthia’s hand—or finger—during this roast,” Hasty Pudding Producer Daisy Nussbaum said in a statement. “That said, we promise not to be as mean as the wizard. By the end, she’ll be the one who’s truly popular with the crowd.”
The Hasty Pudding Theatricals, the oldest theatrical organization in the U.S., will honor Jon Hamm as the 2025 Man of the Year on Jan. 31.
WBZ's Brooke McCarthy (@BrookeWBZ) reports.