Review: Operation Mincemeat

Review of the Sunday, June 1, 2025 matinee performance at John Golden Theater in New York City. Starring David Cumming, Claire-Marie Hall, Natasha Hodgson, Jak Malone and Zoe Roberts. Book, music and lyrics by David Cumming, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson, and Zoe Roberts. Orchestrations by Steve Sidwell. Set and costume designs by Ben Stones. Lighting design by Mark Henderson. Sound design by Mike Walker. Choreography by Jennie Arnold. Directed by Robert Hastie. 2 hours 30 minutes, with one intermission.

In a season stuffed with excellent musicals, very good musicals tend to get lost in the shuffle On the way out of Operation Mincemeat, I thought, "that was good. Everything about it was perfectly executed, but it just isn't as great as [insert any number of musicals from this season]." As the days since I saw the show have passed, however, I find myself thinking back to scenes, songs and actors; it continues to stick with me. Is it becoming a favorite of mine? No. I just appreciate it for what it is. That's not a bad thing.

Ultimately, this frenetic, frequently hilarious romp suffers under the weight of its own brilliance. It is hyper from the first minute to the last, as exhausting to watch as it must be to perform. It is no wonder then that the few moments where things slow down, and the story reveals its heart, are also the ones that got the most audience response. One such moment, the song "Dear Bill," is a simple melody, simply played and simply sung by Tony nominee Jak Malone. It was a rare, touching moment.

Perhaps this enterprise suffers from a lack of editing made more challenging by the fact that four of the five cast members are also responsible for the book, music and lyrics. Could it be that they were too close to it all to judiciously trim things down by about a half an hour. Spy capers such as this tend to be more effective when precision is a watchword. It's funny (both as in humor and as in irony) that a character in the show is Ian Fleming, author of one of the world's greatest spy caper franchises. One has to think the guy who created 007 might have helped to sharpen this overlong affair. All of that said, I'm not sure what could have been cut. Maybe that riotous if mildly offensive act two opener, "Das Ubermensch," which is dazzling to look at and owes its existence to The Producers and Six. Or maybe that very funny "A Glitzy Finale" which goes on. And on. And on. Granted, it justifies the comparatively outrageous ticket prices for the Broadway run. (Eye-popping sets, costumes and lighting by Ben Stones and Mark Henderson, respectively.)

So why is it that I find myself constantly thinking back to it with a smile on my face? It comes down to two things: impeccable staging and even more impeccable acting. The extremely intricate staging by director Robert Hastie and choreographer Jennie Arnold is endlessly creative - to its credit, the controlled chaos allows the audience to fully relax and enjoy each costume, scenic and character change. Think Benny Hill meets Masterpiece Theater meets The Spy Who Loved Me and mixed with Six, Hamilton and The 39 Steps. Just when you think you've seen it all, Hastie and Arnold come up with something even more surprising and clever. The low-tech sight gags mixed with the high-tech spectacle are a heady mix of first-rate theatricality.

(L to R) Roberts, Malone, Hodgson, Cumming and Hall

The five-member company is utterly perfection, really. Each one plays a multitude of characters, many times more than one character in the same scene (heck, sometimes within the same conversation). Zoe Roberts, surely a chameleon in a previous life, plays two characters primarily, chief of the MI-5 operation in WWII, and a goofball undercover spy. Her accents and broad gestures are beyond hilarious. (She also appears as the aforementioned supercilious Ian Fleming.) As the shy secretary dragged into spy duty, Claire-Marie Hall is alternately sweet and a tower of strength. It is her transformation that gives the piece a human touch.

The three "most" main characters are the master planners of this true-story, tide-changing escapade, and a quiet assistant who really steps up in a moment of crisis. David Cumming plays the impossibly smart Charles Cholmondeley, a nerdy wallflower, whose ideas are really the best ones. His rubber band-like physicality and facial expressions call to mind a British Tim Conway at his peak during his Carol Burnett days - a supreme compliment in my mind. He is wonderful. As his co-hort, Ewen Montagu, Natasha Hodgson is a wonder. I can't understand how she isn't nominated for every acting award this season. She uses every skill in her giant bag of tricks, from raspy voices to carefully calibrated physicality, and really steals the show. However, it is the rightfully critically-acclaimed star turn of Jak Malone that stole my heart. Like the others he plays many roles broadly and with bravado. But his most notable turn is as the unassuming Hester Leggatt. Like many an assistant the world over, Hester is the real brains of the operation, and Malone nails that delicate balance between blending into the background and inserting herself into the action.

In any other leaner season, Mincemeat would be the toast of the town. I can think of several recent seasons where this would be the big winner. That's not to say this show isn't terrific; it is. But a shorter, more streamlined script and another breather or two in the action would make this very good musical an excellent one.

📸: J. Cervantes