THEATER

A Tsar Is Born

by Mark Baskin and Jason Cooper

directed by Tony Stimac

at the Hasty Pudding Theater

Ron Weiner has an answer for those who wonder why all the parts in the annual Hasty Pudding show are played by men.

"William Shakespeare is the finest author in the English language," notes the Dunster House senior who composed the music for Hasty Pudding Theatricals 147, A Tsar is Born. "The original performances of Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet and countless other classic Shakespearen texts featured exclusively male casts. This dynamic was integral to the theatrical tradition in the time of the great William Shakespeare, and it remains so today. What is my point? Simply that HPT 147 was written by William Shakespeare."

Okay, so Weiner makes a much better composer than he does a historian. But if his version of the Pudding's origin is a load of hooey, his larger point remains valid: the Pudding show is steeped in tradition.

Now, traditions are all well and good, especially at a place like Harvard. But they can have a down side. Those who aren't clued in to the tradition may not quite understand what's going on.

Fear not. Here's a quick guide to the Pudding's top traditions:

1. The show is most famous as the world's oldest continuing cross-dressing musical comedy.

2. Puns. The show has lots of them. All the characters' names are puns. Much of the dialogue is punny. Often, even the title is a pun. (In 1989, the show was called Whiskey Business. Two years ago, it was Romancing the Throne. This year it's A Tsar is Born. You get the idea.) Every show contains a pun on the words "Hasty Pudding," as well as a "punrun"--a run of puns on one theme.

3. The show always includes one derogatory joke about Yale and one about Wellesley.

4. The show's penultimate song is a torch song.

5. The show ends with a kickline.