Charmingly Odd

Oh, this was British British. A mix of Monty Python, Ian Fleming, and John le Carré, Operation Mincemeat has arrived on Broadway with splashy dreams. What an odd splash it is. I had a good night at the theater. I was not ready to keep falling in love with the show as I re-listened to the album. More emotion unfolds. More laughs are discovered. On the surface, the story appears to be a madcap dash to distract the Germans during World War II. What it surprisingly nails is identity and the people who accidentally become part of a larger conversation. It feels easy to push this show aside because of its shrill antics. It is not easy to push away the heart.

The best stories allow breathing room to enjoy what is happening in the moment. They also plant little seeds inside your head. With “Dear Bill” and “Sail On, Boys”, Operation Mincemeat has infiltrated my Spotify On Repeat playlist and my heart. I knew the emotion was there while watching the show, but listening to the album lyrics again made me appreciate its specific kind of oddness even deeper. It is so unapologetically itself and so consistent that if you do not like it, you might feel like you are being beaten on the head with British wit. If this is your cup of tea, you are in for one of the best treats on Broadway.

This is a very true story centered around five characters: Charles Cholmondeley (David Cumming, who also co-wrote the book), Ewen Montagu (Natasha Hodgson), Jean Leslie (Claire-Marie Hall), Hester Leggatt (Jak Malone), and Johnny Bevan (Zoë Roberts). Bevan is on the lookout for a plan to distract Hitler and take control of Sicily. The issue is getting the German troops away from Sicily to nearby Sardinia so the British can successfully infiltrate the island. Cholmondeley and Montagu come up with the wild plan of taking a dead body, pretending he was carrying classified British information, then letting the Germans believe their plan. Yes, the actors all play the other parts as well.

The story is told intentionally as a madcap comedy that relies so much on physicality. It does not disappoint. Great timing allows the jokes to flesh out and breathe with an audience ready to take them in. Fair warning, the sound system in the Golden Theater is not the best, and it does not help that some of the lines are delivered as a whisper. A strange choice that led to a longer line at the audio assistance table during intermission.

As you become accustomed to how the story is being told, something surprising occurs. It begins during “Making A Man” where Montagu is explaining how they are going to capture a dead body to traverse underwater and be picked up in Spain. He begins to lay out a story about this man (who gets named Captain William Martin) who is doing something good for his country. It hits: that little lump of emotion in the throat. Then comes Jak Malone with “Dear Bill”. The song tells us the (fake) backstory of “Captain Martin” via a letter to his love back in England. Spoiler: it becomes about something else. Expertly layered, expertly sung, and expertly acted. I would be lying if I said I did not tear up listening to it again the following day. The show is full of these moments and they provide grounded glue to a plot that lives so much in the light-hearted air of its comedy.

Another piece of the production to note is the set design (Ben Stones). Starting off with just the five actors and turning it slowly into a full-blown musical was a shrewd choice. It gives the actors room to play around while also giving them things to play around with. In a show full of surprises, it was fun to find out what set pieces they had in store for us, especially the “glitzy” finale.

Operation Mincemeat is straight-up charming. Come for the story, stay for the comedy, remember its heart.

The Bottom Line: 4.786/5

Running Time: 2 hours and 35 minutes, with one intermission.

Venue Information: John Golden Theater
252 W 45th St, New York, NY 10036

5 Plays I Thought Of While Writing This Review

• Spamalot
• The Play That Goes Wrong
• Six
• Everybody’s Talking About Jamie (This might be a stretch, but I kept thinking about it, so I’m adding it because I can.)
• Matilda