The Broadway Theatre Review: Operation Mincemeat
By Ross
It begins with a radio broadcast straight out of every World War II movie in existence, with England standing firm against the onslaught of German forces taking over Europe. These pinstriped souls, who maybe once dreamed of becoming pilots, or, at the very least, born to lead, now find themselves standing in line jockeying for position to pitch ideas to get the odds back in England’s favor. They need to find a way to get Germany to move their troops out of Sicily and into Sardinia, and in this wonderfully sharp and fine-tuned new West End-transferred Broadway musical, Operation Mincemeat, the idea that is finally taken on is as brilliant as this strongly constructed and hilariously charming new musical that delivers perfectly crafted stage magic with aplomb.
It’s the weirdest of stories, but one that I realized, when I first saw this musical in London’s West End, was a tale that I already knew. I had seen the 2021 film starring Colin Firth, Matthew Macfadyen, Penelope Wilton, and the wonderful Kelly Macdonald, which tells the same history book story. But in this hilariously well-built adaptation, which originated out there on the fringe circuit before transferring to Broadway, the team of this West End transfer has elevated it into a sharply choreographed, fully original stage musical, filled with ingenious casting in gender-swapping roles delivering brilliantly funny songs in well-crafted creations.
It’s an irresistible comedic musical, played sharply and distinctly as directed by Robert Hastie (West End’s Standing at the Sky’s Edge) that is both polished and non-predictable, unless, of course, you know the story and the history that lives quite vibrantly within. The musical, penned by David Cumming, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson, and Zoë Roberts, unfolds in a “God, that’s brilliant” manner. “But listen to this,” they tell us, as the crew of exceptional actors dives into the almost improbable idea of tricking Hitler into moving his troops from Sicily before a planned invasion, thus assuring victory where there wasn’t much of any to be found. The ridiculously smart plan involves planting a reformated corpse off the coast of Spain, with a false set of invasion plans handcuffed to his wrist. The hope is that these plans will make their way through the chain of command into Hitler’s hands. And if he truly believes them to be authentic, it might lead him to move his troops to the false invasion spot in Sardinia, leaving Sicily open to a successful invasion. And the rest, as they say, is history.
As the cast takes on the assortment of gender-swapping roles (quite brilliantly, I might add), the musical satire pokes hard at the misogynistic arrogance of the private-school ‘boys club’ mentality that has hampered their success in a war that maybe needed a different, smarter ingredient, “when making a man“. As the overly-swaggering Ewen Montagu (& others), played pumped up perfect by Natasha Hodgson, (co-writer, BBC’s “The Sink“), alongside the always nervous, “devoid of flair” Charles Cholmondeley (& others), played a tad bit over-the-top by David Cumming (co-writer; BAC’s Frankenstein), the energy rarely falters. This is especially true when two of the unsung women, portrayed magnificently by Jak Malone (Alexandra Palace’s Sondheim on Sondheim) as the tenderly controlled Hester Leggatt (& others) and Claire-Marie Hall (West End’s Les Misérables) as the wonderfully appealing Jean Leslie (& others) from the secretarial pool, join into the creative juice-pool, with a quick hilarious nod to Beyoncé, courtesy of the wonderfully fun choreography of Jenny Arnold (West End’s Spamalot).
Malone delivers a tour-de-force portrayal in almost every framing the talented actor engaged with, giving the whole musical its emotional centeredness with the performance of the beautifully written and lovingly delivered “Dear Bill“. The subtle body language and the carefully controlled energy send this number over the moon, holding the audience at attention without any grand proclamation. And let us not forget the wonderful Zoë Roberts (co-writer; Swamp Motel’s Saint Jude) assisting strongly in numerous well-portrayed parts like the captivating Johnny Bevan (& others), while surrounded by the tremendously agile design of both set and costumes by Ben Stones (West End’s Standing at the Sky’s Edge), expert lighting by Mark Henderson (Broadway’s The History Boys), and a stellar sound design by Mike Walker (Crucible’s She Loves Me).
Each of the five cast members works wonderfully together as a unified team of musical and comedic pros, delivering deliciously funny and engaging songs, brought forth delectably through the orchestrations and vocal arrangements of Steve Sidwell (Jim Steinman’s Bat Out of Hell) and dropped into our laps by the solid musical direction and supervision of Joe Bunker (Southwark’s The Rink). It’s all so tight and sure-footed, giving us simple theatrical moments of magic from the simplest framings, like a curtain rod and some red velvet curtains, held out to give me their celebrated entrance.
“Is any of this legal?” asks Cumming’s non-courageous Cholmondeley. “Good question,” answers Montagu with utter confidence sliced with a tad bit of privileged arrogance. “The answer is, of course, never mind.” And with that, Operation Mincemeat, the new musical, finds the exact right formula for hilarity and loving engagement, telling a near-perfect tale in the most inventive theatrical fashion. I didn’t really expect this oh-so-British creation to make its way over to Broadway, to be honest, but here we go. Curious how well it will be received on these shores, but this formidably sure-footed production has definitely found its legs here at the Golden Theatre on Broadway, not even coming close to drowning in the seawater off America’s coastline.
