The Hasty Pudding Theatricals Announce Dame Helen Mirren as 2014 Woman of the Year

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Jan. 17, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The Hasty Pudding Theatricals, the oldest theatrical organization in the United States, announces Academy Award-winning actress Dame Helen Mirren as the recipient of its 2014 Woman of the Year Award. The Pudding is proud to honor a talented and renowned actress whose performances have garnered international critical acclaim.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140117/NY47548) 

The Woman of the Year Award is the Hasty Pudding Theatricals oldest honor, bestowed annually on 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, Katharine Hepburn, Julia Roberts, Jodie Foster, Elizabeth Taylor, Anne Hathaway, Claire Danes, and most recently, Marion Cotillard.

The Woman of the Year festivities, presented by The Related Companies, will begin at 2:45 p.m. on January 30, 2014, when Mirren will lead a parade through the streets of Cambridge. Following the parade, the Hasty Pudding Theatricals will host a celebratory roast for the actress. At 4 p.m., Mirren will be presented with her Pudding Pot at Farkas Hall, the Hasty Pudding's historic home in the heart of Harvard Square since 1888. A press conference will follow the presentation. Afterward, Hasty Pudding cast members will perform several musical numbers from the group's production Victorian Secrets. Ms. Mirren will also receive a tour of the new Hasty Pudding Clubhouse, which recently relocated to the historic Hyde-Taylor House in Harvard Square.

"How very saucy of the Hasty Pudding organisation to offer me their award," said Dame Helen Mirren. "As someone who adores Pudding in all its manifestations... Suet, Christmas, Treacle, Bread and Butter, Yorkshire, Plum, Figgy, etc., etc., I am so looking forward to the famous Hasty Pudding."

"It gives us great pleasure to bestow Ms. Mirren with our prestigious Woman of the Year Award recognizing her significant contributions to entertainment," said Tony Oblen, '14, President of the Hasty Pudding Theatricals." "We look forward to welcoming Ms. Mirren and celebrating and honoring her achievements in a truly unique and memorable way."

Helen Mirren has won international recognition for her work on stage, screen and television. For her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II in 2006 of "The Queen," she received an Academy Award®, Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award®, and BAFTA Award for Best Actress.

In 2013, she again met critical acclaim for reprising her role of Queen Elizabeth II, this time in Peter Morgan's play "The Audience." For her performance, she was awarded the prestigious Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress, the highest honor in British theatre.

Mirren will be seen starring in the upcoming Walt Disney Studios' film "The Hundred-Foot Journey." Her recent projects include HBO's 2013 biopic "Phil Spector," a role for which she received Emmy, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild nominations; Summit's action sequel "Red 2," and Disney's animated sequel "Monsters University." In 2012, Mirren starred in Sacha Gervasi's "Hitchcock," a role for which she received Best Actress nominations from the Golden Globes, SAG, and BAFTA.

Her film career began with Michael Powell's "Age of Consent," but her breakthrough film role came in 1980 in John Mackenzie's "The Long Good Friday."  Mirren earned her first Oscar® nomination for "The Madness of King George" for which she also won Best Actress honors at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival.  Her second Oscar® nomination came for her work in Robert Altman's 2001 film "Gosford Park." Mirren earned both Oscar® and Golden Globe nominations for her performance in "The Last Station," playing Sofya Tolstoy.

Mirren has worked extensively in the theatre in many varied and challenging roles over the years. She has received two Tony Award nominations, for her work in "A Month in the Country," and for her role opposite Sir Ian McKellen in "Dance of Death."  She also received an Olivier Award nomination for Best Actress for her performance in "Mourning Becomes Electra" at London's National Theatre.  In 2009, Mirren returned to the National Theatre in the title role in "Phèdre," directed by Sir Nicholas Hytner.

On television, Mirren starred in the award-winning series "Prime Suspect" and earned an Emmy Award and three BAFTA Awards, as well as numerous award nominations.  She won another Emmy Award and earned a Golden Globe nomination when she reprised the role of Detective Jane Tennison in 2006's "Prime Suspect 7: The Final Act," the last installment in the PBS series. Mirren was also honored for her performance as Queen Elizabeth I in the HBO miniseries "Elizabeth I," winning an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe and a SAG Award®.

Helen Mirren became a Dame of the British Empire in 2003.

The Hasty Pudding Theatricals will announce their Man of the Year at a later date and the recipient will be honored on February 7, 2014.

Press credentialing is now open for the Woman of the Year event. Press information and an on-line application form can be found at http://hastypudding.org/media-room and completed forms may be submitted to [email protected].

To purchase tickets to the Hasty Pudding Theatricals' 166^th production, Victorian Secrets, contact the HPT Box Office at 617.495.5205, or order online at the Pudding's newly revamped website, www.hastypudding.org. It will be performed at Harvard University's historic Farkas Hall, located at 12 Holyoke Street. The show continues in Cambridge until March 9. The company then travels to New York to perform at Hunter College's Kaye Playhouse on March 14 and March 15 (call 212.772.4448 for tickets). The tour continues to the Hamilton City Hall in Bermuda for performances on March 19-21.

ABOUT THE HASTY PUDDING INSTITUTE OF 1770
The Hasty Pudding Institute of 1770's philanthropic mission is to promote freedom of expression in all aspects of the performing arts, to encourage satire, comedy and the cultivation of young talent, not just at Harvard but around the world. The Institute is comprised of The Hasty Pudding Club (the oldest social club in the United States), The Hasty Pudding Theatricals (the third oldest theater group in the world, after the Comedie Française and the Oberammergau Passion Players) 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.

For more information about the Hasty Pudding Institute of 1770, please visit:
http://www.hastypudding.org
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https://twitter.com/HastyPuddin1770
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SOURCE The Hasty Pudding Theatricals