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[title]With Broadway about to be blitzed by [Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical,] the feel-good musical tale of a top-secret mission that changed the course of WWII, it seems fitting to reveal a few secrets about the hilarious and best-reviewed show in West End history. How did a dead body, a fake love letter and the creator of 007 come together to catfish Hitler? And how did a brilliant, endlessly inventive troupe of actors take their insanely joyful show from London’s fringe to conquer the West End, winning the 2024 Olivier Award for Best New Musical? We’ve got all the answers!
The year is 1943 and the Allies are losing the war. Between cigars and tumblers of single malt, a few well-meaning, occasionally inept British intelligence operatives—with the approval of Winston Churchill—are about to gamble the world’s future on a stolen corpse. Whether it’s the inspired performers or their countless characters, you’re bound to cheer on these underdogs as they gleefully trample across class, gender and nationality, skewering privilege, bureaucracy and jingoism to save the day for democracy.
Since this British invasion of Broadway hinges on classified information, here are a few strictly confidential facts about Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical, for your eyes only.
The story is incredibly true
Seriously, when someone says, “You can’t make this stuff up,” this is what they mean. It’s a real-life spy caper so sensational that it inspired three books and two movies. But to capture the absolute lunacy of the biggest trick in history played on the worst enemy imaginable, nothing beats musical comedy chops and a healthy dash of Pythonesque silliness. Don’t trust the intel? There are 74 five-star reviews for confirmation.
The original—and phenomenal—West End cast is bringing the show to Broadway
In spite of the 12th extension of the hit London production, audiences in New York will get to see the spectacular performers who created the show (David Cuming, Claire-Marie Hall, Natasha Hodgson, Olivier Award-winner Jak Malone and Zoë Roberts). In total, the multi rolling cast play 82 characters throughout the show. You might not know their names, or maybe the name of their troupe, SpitLip… yet. There was a time when no one had heard of Monty Python, either. The decision to write the extraordinary debut musical was the last roll of the dice from the young British creatives after years of performing sketch shows at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. You won’t want to miss your chance to grab tickets seeing as the New York preview sold out in just over four hours.
One name in the show you have heard is Ian Fleming, who gave us James Bond
Yes, the man who dreamed up 007, Q, Moneypenny and Pussy Galore was part of Operation Mincemeat in WWII. The fact that he is played by a woman is typical of the endless creativity of this cast. You will buy everything they pitch, however far-fetched and love every moment of it.
Saying that audiences love the show is maybe an understatement
British reserve? Not so much. A devoted, growing fan community has been tracking down the history of the show’s (previously) unsung heroes and occasionally attending performances dressed as their favorites—one record-breaking fan has even attended the show 171 times. Fans even got the British Security Service MI5 to issue an official confirmation that Hester Leggatt (Jak Malone in an Olivier-winning performance) worked in the office that ran double agents. Broadway audiences will be able to dive in as well by following along @mincemeatbway via every social platform (X, Bluesky, Instagram, Threads and TikTok) and on Facebook at Operation Mincemeat Broadway.
The biggest secret about Operation Mincemeat is that the show will make you cry, and not just with laughter
Who would imagine that a fictional love letter to a non-existent soldier (penned by Hester, see #4) could break our hearts? Or that sending up the foibles of pampered oddballs and their overlooked underlings would reveal the shared humanity and devotion that won a world war? Although it’s been dubbed one of the year’s funniest musicals, underneath its screwball surface, Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical is a show with boundless heart.
Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical begins performances February 15 at the Golden Theatre, 252 W 45th Street, New York, NY 10036. Get your tickets now at OperationBroadway.com