'Wicked' star Cynthia Erivo headlines parade for Harvard's Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — Screaming fans lined the streets in frigid conditions Wednesday to catch a glimpse of Cynthia Erivo, the “Wicked” star who is being celebrated as Harvard University’s Hasty Pudding Theatricals Woman of the Year.

Erivo, bundled in a parka, blew kisses to the crowd and mouthed “I love you” as the car she and costumed members of the Hasty Pudding Theatricals were in slowly made its way through Cambridge. One fan handed her a red rose and several held up signs praising her star power. She also got a few kisses on the cheek from the two theatrical members.

The half-hour parade also featured marching bands, a mechanical bull in the back of a pickup truck and members of the Blue Man Group who shot colorful confetti into the air.

“She's such an icon,” said Onovughakpor Otitigbe, a 21-year-old Harvard student from New York who followed Erivo.

“She’s done so much for Black women, especially in theater," Otitigbe said. “As a Black woman in theater myself, it was just really amazing to finally see her in person ... Oh my gosh, I got so many selfies. Me and my friend, we were chasing her from the start to the end of the parade.”

Along with starring in the smash hit musical, the British entertainer is a two-time Oscar nominee and an Emmy Award, Tony Award and Grammy Award winner.

Erivo burst onto the scene with her brilliant performance in the Broadway revival of "The Color Purple," winning her the 2016 Tony for best actress in a musical. She performed songs from the play on the "Today" show, earning the Daytime Emmy for outstanding music performance in a daytime program. The show's soundtrack won best musical theater album at the 2017 Grammys.

Last year, Erivo starred in and produced "Drift," which follows a young Liberian refugee who has escaped her war-torn country to a Greek island. In 2021, Erivo was nominated for an Emmy for her portrayal of Aretha Franklin in the National Geographic series "Genius: Aretha."

“We are holding space for Cynthia Erivo’s arrival,” 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.”

The theater group, which dates to 1844 and claims to be the world’s third-oldest still operating, said Erivo will receive her Pudding Pot award at a celebratory roast Wednesday evening. Afterward, she will attend a performance of Hasty Pudding Theatricals’ 176th production, “101 Damnations.”

Actor Jon Hamm, who came to fame starring as ad executive Don Draper on the AMC series “Mad Men,” is the 2025 Man of the Year. He received his Pudding Pot on Jan. 31.

Every year since 1951, the Pudding has bestowed its Woman of the Year award on actors including Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Scarlett Johansson and Annette Bening.