Hasty Pudding Theatricals Decides on 'Denial'

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."

Other musical numbers include "Afterlife Goes On," "Livin' Libido Loco" and "Shot, Stuffed and Smitten," which Grandy describes as a "sexy, romantic song."

None of the scenes are set in stone however. The pair will have to revise their work in conjunction with the show's director and producer until winter break.

The production schedule kicks off with a special parade and performance for the Theatricals' 50th Woman of the Year, to be announced in late January. The Man of the Year attends opening night one week later.

HPT President Sarah A. Knight '00 said the six-member executive board chose "The Jewel of Denial" from four submissions.

All of the writing teams had to undergo a script comp, in which Knight and other Pudding executives correspond with authors throughout the summer until the scripts are turned in at the beginning of the school year.

"We read the scripts out loud and were bowled over by how good they were," Knight said. "We could not have had a bad show no matter what."

After the executives decided on Dudley and Grandy's submission, they toasted the pair with champagne at Upstairs at the Pudding.

Both Dudley, an economics concentrator, and Grandy, who studies astronomy, express some curiosity in continuing in the playwriting field.

"I've been interested in this for a while," Grandy said. "It can be quite lucrative."

Dudley has already received one job offer--although he said it was just tongue in cheek.

"She was being facetious about it, but this kind of thing has opened doors for people," he said. "If I did want to get into the entertainment industry, this would be good."