Every single year the Hasty Pudding Theatre announces and honors the Man and Woman of the year to kick off the beginning of their show’s run, but unfortunately, due to the pandemic, this will not be the case this year. Even though there will be no live shows, The Hasty Pudding Theatre wants to try to keep as much normalcy as possible. Thus, the Woman of the Year event will be held virtually! 

The Hasty Pudding Community is extremely excited to announce Viola Davis as being the 71st Woman of the year! The Hasty Pudding website writes, “Viola Davis is a critically revered, award-winning actress of film, television, and theater. She is the first Black actress to win two Tony Awards (“Fences” & “King Hedley II”), an Oscar (“Fences”), and an Emmy (“How to Get Away with Murder”). In 2012, Davis and her husband founded their production company, JuVee Productions, with its focus being on giving a voice to the voiceless through strong, impactful, and culturally relevant narratives.” 

This is an extremely unique event because, in addition to the Woman of the Year being honored, there will be a roast of Viola Davis as well. If you are unsure of what a “roast” is ... you should definitely look it up on YouTube. Roasts became popular in 2015 starting with the most iconic roast of all time--Justin Bieber’s 21st Birthday Roast. To briefly describe it, a panel of (usually) acclaimed people take turns making jokes at the “roastee’s” expense. Therefore, if you are interested in having some good laughs at the expense of Viola Davis then I highly recommend that you attend!

The 30-minute event will take place on April 22nd starting at 9 p.m. EST. The live stream will feature the roast of the honoree, a Q&A session, and the award is given to the honoree. 

The event is free to the entire Hasty Pudding community. Click here to register!

Even though the event is free, the Hasty Pudding Theatre is accepting donations to support them through this tough time of not being able to perform live shows.