CAMBRIDGE, Mass. >> Screaming fans lined the streets in frigid conditions Wednesday to catch a glimpse of Cynthia Erivo, the “Wicked” star who is being celebrated as Harvard University’s Hasty Pudding Theatricals Woman of the Year.

Erivo, bundled in a parka, blew kisses to the crowd and mouthed “I love you” as the car she and costumed members of the Hasty Pudding Theatricals were in slowly made its way through Cambridge. One fan handed her a red rose and several held up signs praising her star power. She also got a few kisses on the cheek from the two theatrical members.

The half-hour parade also featured marching bands, a mechanical bull in the back of a pickup truck and members of the Blue Man Group who shot colorful confetti into the air.

“She’s such an icon,” said Onovughakpor Otitigbe, a 21-year-old Harvard student from New York who followed Erivo.

“She’s done so much for Black women, especially in theater,” Otitigbe said. “As a Black woman in theater myself, it was just really amazing to finally see her in person … Oh my gosh, I got so many selfies. Me and my friend, we were chasing her from the start to the end of the parade.”

Along with starring in the smash hit musical, the British entertainer is a two-time Oscar nominee and an Emmy Award, Tony Award and Grammy Award winner.

Erivo burst onto the scene with her brilliant performance in the Broadway revival of “The Color Purple,” winning her the 2016 Tony for best actress in a musical. She performed songs from the play on the “Today” show, earning the Daytime Emmy for outstanding music performance in a daytime program. The show’s soundtrack won best musical theater album at the 2017 Grammys.

Last year, Erivo starred in and produced “Drift,” which follows a young Liberian refugee who has escaped her war-torn country to a Greek island. In 2021, Erivo was nominated for an Emmy for her portrayal of Aretha Franklin in the National Geographic series “Genius: Aretha.”