After making hasty introductions, Howe arranged for the chop shop owner to remove the lock from the truck with an arc welder. In return, Howe provided him two bottles of whiskey.

Transaction completed, Howe made it to the airport just in time to catch the flight to Bermuda.

While Pudding members have their fair share of such last-minute crises, at least as exciting are the celebraties they meet.

Howe points to a photo on the wall: “That’s a picture of Jamie-Lee Curtis in her bathroom wearing the Hasty Pudding thong we gave her when she was Woman of the Year in 2000.”

The Pudding building is filled with such memorabilia from previous shows.

“Occasionally alumni come back here to see their old costumes,” Howe says. The first thing they want to do is see if their high heels still fit.”

High heels are only one feature of the all-male Pudding cast’s uncoventional wardrobe.

“We have these things called dance belts. they’re essentially male thongs,” says Snyder.

“To hide our packages,” Atkinson interjects.

“They need to be washed frequently,” adds B.J. Averell ’03.

The conversation shifts to the professional quality of the shows the group produces each year.

With its reputation and resources, the Pudding provides undergraduates the opportunity to work with professional directors and technical crew members.

“We [even] have makeup workshops to learn how to properly accentuate our cheekbones,” Averell says.

Having honored Huston as its Woman of the Year last week, the Pudding premiered It’s A Wonderful Afterlife last night after roasting Man of the Year Scorsese. Fresh off a Golden Globe victory for Gangs of New York, the director and his historical epic received Oscar nominations on Tuesday, with Scorsese the frontrunner in the race for best director.

—It’s a Wonderful Afterlife runs at the Hasty Pudding Theater until March 16.

—Staff writer Steven N. Jacobs can be reached at snjacobs@fas.harvard.edu.