Discover how the New York critics are reacting to the British musical based on true events.
Variety: “Think of it as Monty Python on speed, and then throw in some Ealing Studio wit and a bit of “Beyond the Fringe” slyness. Too British? Not if you want to laugh uproariously — and perhaps even unexpectedly shed a tear or two.”
Talkin’ Broadway: “That’s the thing about Operation Mincemeat. If you pay attention, you’ll see there is much more than what on the surface might be thought of as just another of SplitLip’s “big, dumb musicals.” On one level, it is that. But it is also a sly, witty, and heartfelt take on a moment in history. In keeping with that perspective, we’ll give a final salute, as does the show, to Glyndwr Michael. Look him up. And, oh, in case you were wondering, a newt does have an anus.”
New York Post: “Malone, the finest actor and singer in “Mincemeat,” performs a moving and refreshingly serene, if slightly overlong, number called “Dear Bill” in which a teary Hester pens a letter pretending to be the cadaver’s worried fiance back at home.”
Vulture.com: “Operation Mincemeat isn’t exactly blazingly clever—the jokes fly thick and fast, and they tend toward broad grin-crackers rather than breathless zingers—but it overflows with good humor and heartfelt commitment.”
WhatsOnStage: “Yet it’s Malone’s first-act solo “Dear Bill” that lingers long after the curtain falls. One of the most poignant musical theatre ballads in recent memory, Malone delivers it as a masterclass in stillness and emotional acuity, hitting us like a ton of bricks. It’s the kind of performance that wins awards, and it wouldn’t surprise me if Malone collects a Tony come June to go with his Olivier.”
Time Out: “Jak Malone, who not only provides the show’s best mincing—as a campy fraudulent coroner bedecked in sequined blood—but also, by far, its meatiest dramatic moment: the Act I ballad “Dear Bill,” in which Hester imagines a letter to the fictitious downed airman from his fictitious sweetheart, and which rings truer in feeling than anything else in the show.”
The Wrap.com: “Robert Hastie provides the frenzied “Mincemeat” direction. It forced someone behind me to whisper halfway through Act 1, “This is exhausting.” Nothing kills a laugh faster than seeing actors sweat.”
Wall Street Journal: “It may be telling that the song receiving the most enthusiastic response in the daffy British musical “Operation Mincemeat” is not one of the many comic romps that are the show’s bread and butter—or should I say tea and crumpets? Instead it’s a tender ballad in which the schoolmistressy secretary Hester Leggatt, played by Jak Malone, sings an imagined love letter to be planted on a corpse to add verisimilitude to the dead man’s manufactured life story. Intrigued yet?”
New York Stage Review: ” Their ensemble presentation is like nothing—or very few things—seen on a local stage before. It’s a major reason, though hardly the only of abundant reasons, to make Operation Mincemeat gleeful obligatory viewing.”
Observer.com: “Imported from London, this musical about a WWII counterintelligence operation is totally lovable and expertly zany.”
New York Theatre Guide: “Operation Mincemeat is a cup of British comedy, sometimes with drawn-out humor to a fault — not for every American. But it also captures the Hollywood hagiographic, the self-deprecating, the ironic, and the tragic that will make you gasp.”
Theatrely.com: “There are plenty of winks and nudges to the audience throughout, but make no mistake—Operation Mincemeat is some of the best of what musical theatre can be. It demands to be seen.”
To find out more about the production visit: https://operationbroadway.com/