New College Theater To Be Renamed Farkas Hall

The New College Theatre will be renamed Farkas Hall following a significant donation from Andrew L. Farkas ’82.

The NCT is best known for housing the annual show of the Hasty Pudding Theatricals, of which Farkas served as president for two years when he was an undergraduate at the College.

"My times at the Hasty Pudding were amongst the most joyful and memorable," Farkas said in a release. "That generations of Harvard students will learn, grow, and flourish in Farkas Hall, in the building that has been the ancestral home of the Pudding and all of the organizations it has spawned, is a great privilege for the Farkas family."

Farkas is the CEO of Island Capital Group, a real estate merchant bank based in New York City.

"This is definitely going to put us forward," said Ian Shields ’13, who is the technology vice president of the Theatricals. "Improvements are going to be made to the theater, and there are definitely things that can be done."

The renaming represents an endowed commitment by the Farkas family to maintain the NCT.

Faculty of Arts and Sciences Spokesperson Jeff Neal said the School would not disclose the amount of the gift out of respect for donor privacy.

Formerly known as the Hasty Pudding Theatre, the NCT was rebuilt from 2005 to 2007 with only the façade and lobby of the 1888 building maintained. The Harvard Krokodiloes and Radcliffe Pitches often use the theater space as well.

The New College Theatre will be renamed Farkas Hall following a significant donation from Andrew L. Farkas ’82.

The NCT is best known for housing the annual show of the Hasty Pudding Theatricals, of which Farkas served as president for two years when he was an undergraduate at the College.

"My times at the Hasty Pudding were amongst the most joyful and memorable," Farkas said in a release. "That generations of Harvard students will learn, grow, and flourish in Farkas Hall, in the building that has been the ancestral home of the Pudding and all of the organizations it has spawned, is a great privilege for the Farkas family."

Farkas is the CEO of Island Capital Group, a real estate merchant bank based in New York City.

"This is definitely going to put us forward," said Ian Shields ’13, who is the technology vice president of the Theatricals. "Improvements are going to be made to the theater, and there are definitely things that can be done."

The renaming represents an endowed commitment by the Farkas family to maintain the NCT.

Faculty of Arts and Sciences Spokesperson Jeff Neal said the School would not disclose the amount of the gift out of respect for donor privacy.

Formerly known as the Hasty Pudding Theatre, the NCT was rebuilt from 2005 to 2007 with only the façade and lobby of the 1888 building maintained. The Harvard Krokodiloes and Radcliffe Pitches often use the theater space as well.

—Staff writer Gautam S. Kumar can be reached at gkumar@college.harvard.edu.

—Staff writer Hana N. Rouse can be reached at hrouse@college.harvard.edu.