Massachusetts (1196)

• March 12, 2026
• Colleen Johnson
• 191
• 0

---

Hasty Pudding is the longest-running US theatrical group, and for almost eight decades, they’ve been honoring some of the biggest names in Hollywood, and this year was no different. The first Woman of the Year was in 1951, honoring Gertrude Lawrence, and the Man of the Year tradition began in 1967, with its first honoree being Bob Hope.  This year’s affairs honored Michael Keaton and Rose Byrne; the latter will be someone you want to keep your eye on this Sunday, when she is up for an Oscar for Best Actress for her most recent, and seemingly most challenging, role so far. Her Oscar nomination stems from her latest film, If I Had Legs, I’d Kick You, but let it not discount the hilarity she has provided in films like Bridesmaids and Neighbors. 

While both Keaton and Bryne were feted with a roast, as is tradition, Bryne sparkled at the parade thrown in her honor, clad simply in a knit blue sweater and blue jeans, and was treated like a queen by all in attendance. The parade was very pure, and as it fell right before Valentine’s Day weekend, sweet moments, like a Harvard student hanging out a window with a sign for his paramour reading, “Will you be my valentine,” were part of the pomp and circumstance.  It was a moment of collegiate joy and spirit that warmed up the pretty chilly day. 

While the roasts were obviously a bit of harmless fun thrown at both Keaton and Byrne, the ending comments from Keaton at the end of his roast were on point. Keaton talked about how he had been tapped for the MOY honors thirty years prior, but couldn’t attend, and talked about how he was happy to be there, but that Hasty Pudding was “not too hasty.” He ended his appearance at the roast saying, “I’m ridiculously encouraged for this country. Based on these people, we’re in great shape, folks.” 

Keaton spoke to the press after his roast, touching on his wanting to come into the celebrations pretty blind, his time spent around the late Catherine O’Hara, and his role as Ray Kroc in The Founder.  In speaking about Catherine O’Hara, he referred to her as a goddess and spoke, when asked by People Magazine, about a piece he wrote about her for Time magazine just after her passing. He brought up again how secure he feels about our world’s future, as  well by saying, 

“I don’t know if you saw, but earlier I was talking about, if I was concerned about our future, who’s going to run things, and thank god it ain’t a lot of people my age. Hopefully, many will be long friggin gone. And you think, boy, what about these next few generations? Man, I’m encouraged as hell if this is any indication of these people I hung out with here the last day or so. These women and men have just been great.”

 

When it came to Byrne’s roast, which followed her aforementioned parade a few hours later, Byrne came out to a standing ovation accompanied by the Hasty Pudding orchestra performing the ending song to Byrne’s iconic film, Bridesmaids, with Wilson Phillip’s “Hold On”. It was an indication that the roast for Bryne would be a little more adoring than the treatment given to Keaton. Still, it was one Keaton talked about being something he’s used to, saying in the conference afterwards, “they were great, it was fun, and you just roll with it. If you come from the family from what I come from, trust me, this is nothing.” 

A highlight of Bryne’s roast was a skit of her  getting “married,” and her excitement was so pure when she saw an actor she had clearly already met that day, going “Bernardo!” Bernardo Sequiera ( Class of ‘26) responded immediately, “I’m not the husband, I wish!” Dressed in her wedding finery, of course, Bryne was asked, “Are you ready to meet your future husband,” as her “husband” then came on stage in the form of her Pudding Cup trophy. Her roast ended with a light, harmless ping, and in a final remark from the roasters, one said, “If you know it, this is Rose Byrne, and if you didn’t, it’s Jessie Buckley.” The latter being one of her fellow Best Actress nominees and a frequent award winner this season, for Hamnet. We all know what happened last year, and with Michael B. Jordan recently getting his flowers for Sinners, who knows what this Sunday’s events will bring. 

Bryne took it all with ease and to the cheers of the clearly adoring crowd before heading to speak to the press briefly about her experience that day. The opening question, from People Magazine, asked if she had started writing a speech to which she immediately quipped, “Yeah, I’ve been starting to write, I’m up to 23 pages, just writing, writing, writing. No, gosh no, I’m one day at a time (laughs).” While she started out light and as her comical self, the conference took a similar route to touching on easily her most heavy role yet, her Oscar-nominated role in If I Had Legs, I’d Kick You, when asked by a member of Harvard Independent,  if there was a character that had a lasting effect on her either professionally or personally. She was asked as well  about if the preparation is different depending on if it’s a dramatic or comedic role, with her responding, “I mean, the stakes really always have to be high with comedy, and with drama, but I’d say even higher in comedy, it’s a serious business as they say (laughs).” 

A lot is happening for both Hasty Pudding Theatrics and WOY Rose Byrne this next week or so. The Oscars take place this Sunday night, no pressure there, and for Hasty Pudding, while their run has completed at Farkas Hall, they will be in NYC tomorrow at Kaye House at Hunter College for two shows and will be headed to Bermuda next week. The Bermuda shows will be from March 18th through the 20th, at Earl  Common Theater. 

Limited tickets for the NYC shows are available here, as well as tickets for the Bermuda shows here! 

 

---

Photos – Hasty Pudding Man of the Year at Farkas Hall in Cambridge, MA on February 6th:

Photos – Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year at Farkas Hall in Cambridge, MA on February 13th: