Harvard's venerable annual drag show will be a gem this year.

The Hasty Pudding Theatricals (HPT) announced yesterday that male students will don dresses and high heels in "The Jewel of Denial," HPT's 152nd production, which will open in mid-February.

Co-authors Andrew D. Dudley '00 and Nicholas P. Grandy '00, both of Mather House, began writing the show in April.

This summer, the two lived in London, Grandy's hometown, which made it easier to collaborate and gave them an idea for a setting.

Victorian London provides the backdrop for the "Jewel of the Nile"-inspired parody in which a nasty thief steals wealthy Denise Ovanuncle's prized Jewel of Denial.

When Ovanuncle offers a reward for finding the possession and hires a private eye (Scott Linyard), the story takes off.

"Different characters, down on their luck in some way, join her, and it becomes a hunt," Dudley said.

Eventually, they track down the thief Colin Izer, but before Ovanucle can regain her jewel, they must travel to Egypt, where the second act is set.

Dudley said one character to keep an eye out for is Middlefex, Ovanuncle's sexually ambiguous pet peacock who figures prominently in the song "The Way that I Strut."