What do a homeless corpse, James Bond and the island of Sicily all have in common? As bizarre of a combination as it may sound, they’re all memorable plot points in one of Broadway’s newest musical-comedies. And that’s just scratching the surface of “Operation Mincemeat.”
“Mincemeat” is new to the States but is not a new story. First starting performances in 2019, the British musical roots itself in the operations of MI-5 during World War II. Operation Mincemeat was an undertaking that led to the British invasion of Sicily, reclaiming it from Axis control. How did they do this? Quite simply: they threw a corpse onto the coast of Spain, made the body look like a British pilot with secret files, and let German spies in the nation report the information to their authorities. However, to quote the show, “This is war; things never go quite to plan.”
The titular maneuver is such a comedic premise that one almost doubts the veracity of its “based on a true story” plot, but make no mistake: despite some humorous portrayals of figures and the war, the musical’s writing team made sure to stick as closely to the truth of this ridiculous situation as possible. The creative team is another element of what makes the production so astounding: of the four writers David Cumming, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson and Zoë Roberts, all but Hagan perform in the show. Rounding out the five-person cast is Claire-Marie Hall and Jak Malone.
It’s nearly impossible to single out a particular cast member’s performance, as they’re all stellar. Luckily for me, there’s only five people to talk about. No single performer plays only one role, with all five actors taking on a variety of characters throughout the show, using lightning-quick costume changes to great effect. Yet every character is distinct and obvious. In productions with this much actor doubling, sometimes the waters get murky; however, through excellent vocal work and simple, yet striking costume choices, “Mincemeat” never runs into that problem. Cumming, Hall and Hodgson give the most central performances and in turn play the least amount of characters. This is not to say, however, that they are not putting in the legwork their co-stars are.
I want to give a particular focus to the remaining stars of the show, Malone and Roberts. Malone won the Olivier (the highest British theatre award) for his supporting part in the show, and the reasoning is obvious once you see him perform live. His solo-number “Dear Bill” is not only heartbreaking, but an endurance marathon of a song that is nearly five and a half uninterrupted minutes of emotional balladry. This is contrasted with Malone’s hilarious turn as both the lavish coroner Pillsbury and the American pilot Willie Watkins in act two. Similarly, Roberts becomes a scene stealer herself, operating half the time as stoic leader Johnny Bevan, a small amount as former British intelligence officer and real-life author of the James Bond books Ian Fleming and the British expat Haselden. Haselden is perhaps the play’s most charming character, with Roberts getting some of the funniest scenes and moments in the second act and musical overall.
“Operation Mincemeat” is a phenomenal comedy and wildly fun musical. Technically impressive because of its costuming, set design and lights, these elements allow the show’s brilliant performances, writing and music to shine. The aforementioned “Dear Bill” is definitely one of the best moments of the show, but my favorite numbers of the production include “Making a Man,” “Born to Lead” and “The Ballad of Willie Watkins.”
The show claims, “What this country needs is a genius plan.” I recommend to anyone who can: you should plan to see “Operation Mincemeat.”
