Hasty Pudding To Revamp Building

The men of the Hasty Pudding Theatricals (HPT) will kick up their high heels on their historic stage for the last time this spring after 114 years of performances.

HPT announced yesterday that their 12 Holyoke Street location will undergo a major renovation beginning in April and lasting through 2007. During the interim years, the HPT will still perform in a Harvard Square theater whose name will be announced shortly.

Though talks of renovations have been going on for several years, this time the HPT is not crying wolf.

“This is very exciting for all of us. The good aspects of the present building will be preserved and there will be so many great improvements,” said Sam Gale Rosen ’06, Vice President of the Cast for the HPT.

The renovation plans are focused on maintaining the traditional aspects of the theater while remedying the stage’s faulty technical facilities, and other evidence of the slow deterioration of the Holyoke Street house.

The proposed changes include restoring the historical facade of the building and adding a glass enclosure at the south porch, according to a report released from the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Communications Office. The size of the theater will be similar, but a side balcony will be installed.

“There is a worry among the group that we will lose some of the history, but we are excited about the possibilities of these changes,” said President of the Theatricals Matt J. Ferrante ’05.

The new space will accommodate other student performance groups during the months when the HPT is not using the space to rehearse or perform.

“Opening up the space to other theatrical groups will be wonderful,” said Technical Director and Adviser for College Theatre Programs Alan P. Symonds ’69. “It will not compromise the independence of the Theatricals but will benefit more students.”

In 1888, the HPT—which has its roots in a secret society started in a Harvard dorm room in 1795—took its place in its ivy-covered Holyoke digs, closed off to other student groups.

Even after the University purchased the space from a private group called the Institute of 1770, in April 2000, the building was deemed unfit for many theatrical performances due to safety and maintenance issues, according to Associate Dean of the College Judith H. Kidd.

“Expanding use of the theater to other groups will cause us to have more audiences, publicity, and momentum,” said Co-Producer of the Theatricals Romina Garber ’06, who is also a Crimson editor.

Until it came upon its own new building on Garden Street last year, the Hasty Pudding Social Club shared the Holyoke Street space with the HPT. Today, Harvard a capella groups the Krokodillos and the Radcliffe Pitches use the building—but not the stage—of the old building.

The refurbished building will also include classrooms space, but despite the threat of academic intrusion, the HPT seems open to accommodating other functions of the new building.

“It will definitely be a different sort of space with students coming in and out during the academic day,” Garber said. “But we’re excited to attract more people to the building.”

The University has been particularly supportive of the renovations because the building will now be able to help ease the space crunch currently facing student groups.

“The renovation of the Hasty Pudding Theater has been on my mind since I became Dean of the College,” wrote Dean of the College Benedict H. Gross ’71 in an e-mail. “It’s great that we are going ahead with this project, as it will provide much needed student performance space.”

Yesterday’s announcement of Man and Woman of the Year—Tim Robbins and Catherine Zeta-Jones—has been received with much excitement from the cast, especially in the wake of the recent renovations announcement (see related article, page 1).

In order to celebrate the end of the original building, there will be a special alumni strawberry weekend in the end of March.

The HPT have also set up an art exhibit and have displayed historical information about the shows, in order to celebrate and preserve the history, Garber said.

Though the prospects of the new renovations are exciting, members of the HPT cannot help but feel a pang of separation anxiety.

“The one thing I’m really going to miss about the building is the smell,” Ferrante lamented. “The new building won’t have that same comforting smell.”

“It’s kind of bitter sweet,” Garber added. “It’s the end of an era.”

—Staff writer Nicole B. Urken can be reached at urken@fas.harvard.edu.