Actor, producer and director Bryce Dallas Howard has been named 2019 Woman of the Year by Harvard University's Hasty Pudding Theatricals.
The nation's oldest collegiate theatrical organization said Howard is being honored because she is "an accomplished actress who has given such a wide range of critically acclaimed performances, and is committed to expanding the role of women in every aspect of storytelling." Howard will be honored with a parade through Cambridge on Thursday, to be followed by a roast where she will receive her pudding pot.
Howard starred in "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom" last year and will next be seen in "Rocketman," an Elton John biopic scheduled for release in May. Previous winners of the award first given in 1951 include Ella Fitzgerald, Meryl Streep and Halle Berry.
'Jagged Little Pill' going to Broadway
Here's some news you oughta know: "Jagged Little Pill" is coming to Broadway. Producers said the musical, which uses the song catalog of Alanis Morissette to confront such contemporary issues as rape culture and addiction, will open next fall. "Jagged Little Pill" has had one previous production, a sold-out 10-week run last year at the nonprofit American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Mass. Reviewing the show for the New York Times, critic Jesse Green said it "takes on the good work we are always asking new musicals to do: the work of singing about real things," but added, "if only it didn't sing about all of them all at once."
Call for civility: Britain's press is urging social media users to tone down inappropriate criticism of Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, and Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge. Palace officials have been seeking help from Instagram to monitor and remove racist and sexist comments about the duchesses, who are married to Prince Harry and Prince William. The Times newspaper said in an editorial that many of the comments are too vicious to publish and have included threats. "Women receive more abuse online than men and this sad truth seems to apply just as much to the royal family," the newspaper said. In response, Hello! magazine this week launched a "kindness" campaign urging posters to think twice before posting nasty comments.
Uncertain future: Britain's leading literary award, the Man Booker Prize, faces uncertainty after its main financial backer announced it is ending its sponsorship after almost two decades. Investment manager Man Group PLC said it will stop funding the Man Booker and Man Booker International prizes after 2019, after having donated 25 million pounds ($33 million) to the foundation since 2002. The prize foundation said its trustees "are in discussion with a new sponsor and are confident that the new funding will be in place for 2020." Founded in 1969, the prize was originally open to English-language writers from Britain, Ireland and the Commonwealth. U.S. authors became eligible in 2014, which remains contentious.
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