The Hasty Pudding building will undergo repairs beginning this April and lasting through 2007, forcing the HPT to perform its annual show at a different Harvard Square theater.
The men of the Hasty Pudding Theatricals (HPT) will kick up their high heels on their historic stage for the last time this spring after 114 years of performances.
HPT announced yesterday that their 12 Holyoke Street location will undergo a major renovation beginning in April and lasting through 2007. During the interim years, the HPT will still perform in a Harvard Square theater whose name will be announced shortly.
Though talks of renovations have been going on for several years, this time the HPT is not crying wolf.
“This is very exciting for all of us. The good aspects of the present building will be preserved and there will be so many great improvements,” said Sam Gale Rosen ’06, Vice President of the Cast for the HPT.
The renovation plans are focused on maintaining the traditional aspects of the theater while remedying the stage’s faulty technical facilities, and other evidence of the slow deterioration of the Holyoke Street house.
The proposed changes include restoring the historical facade of the building and adding a glass enclosure at the south porch, according to a report released from the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Communications Office. The size of the theater will be similar, but a side balcony will be installed.
“There is a worry among the group that we will lose some of the history, but we are excited about the possibilities of these changes,” said President of the Theatricals Matt J. Ferrante ’05.
The new space will accommodate other student performance groups during the months when the HPT is not using the space to rehearse or perform.
“Opening up the space to other theatrical groups will be wonderful,” said Technical Director and Adviser for College Theatre Programs Alan P. Symonds ’69. “It will not compromise the independence of the Theatricals but will benefit more students.”
In 1888, the HPT—which has its roots in a secret society started in a Harvard dorm room in 1795—took its place in its ivy-covered Holyoke digs, closed off to other student groups.
Even after the University purchased the space from a private group called the Institute of 1770, in April 2000, the building was deemed unfit for many theatrical performances due to safety and maintenance issues, according to Associate Dean of the College Judith H. Kidd.
“Expanding use of the theater to other groups will cause us to have more audiences, publicity, and momentum,” said Co-Producer of the Theatricals Romina Garber ’06, who is also a Crimson editor.
Until it came upon its own new building on Garden Street last year, the Hasty Pudding Social Club shared the Holyoke Street space with the HPT. Today, Harvard a capella groups the Krokodillos and the Radcliffe Pitches use the building—but not the stage—of the old building.
The refurbished building will also include classrooms space, but despite the threat of academic intrusion, the HPT seems open to accommodating other functions of the new building.
“It will definitely be a different sort of space with students coming in and out during the academic day,” Garber said. “But we’re excited to attract more people to the building.”
