Operation Mincemeat Musical WEST END - News/Discussion Thread

[Dylan Smith4]

Posted: 7/1/23 at 7:59pm

I could not find a thread for this show specially but I need to share my thoughts on this one! Holy moly what a show! 
 

★★★★★(★)

In Operation Mincemeat, we take a look at a mission that helped the Allies during World War II. However, this task had many bumps in the road and was almost a complete failure. Nonetheless, the team worked hard and their mission was a success! This show is played by a VERY TALENTED (cannot say that enough) company of actors! 5 to be exact! 3 of whom wrote the show as well! I think it’s cool to see the writers of a show perform their own material as well! I went into this show knowing almost nothing and left being taught a lesson in history! Also, this was probably one of the funniest shows I have seen since seeing Company last year in New York! Throughout the show, it made me think of my Grandfather, who’s fascinated with World War II in Europe. I know for sure that he would love this production and would be talking about it for a long time! I for one will be talking about this show for a long time. As I mentioned earlier, this show teaches us a lesson of history. Kind of like Hamilton, or 1776 for example. This is one of those shows that I feel will be the next big musical sensation! I can feel it with this one. One can only hope that this little show will have a life outside the West End! Maybe Broadway next year? To anyone who’s in London between now and it’s scheduled closing in November, go see it! You won’t be disappointed! 

Updated On: 4/16/24 at 07:59 PM

[DCS]

Posted: 7/1/23 at 8:39pm

thanks for sharing your review!  The cast recording is available and it's a real treat...extremely funny and clever.  For anyone interested in learning more about Operation Mincemeat, there was a fun movie based on the story (although a little bit fictionalized) starring Succession's Matthew MacFadyen and Oscar winner Colin Firth released in 2021 that's available on Netflix.  The show has gotten raves in London, but I'm not sure how it would do on Broadway.  It's a piece of British WW2 history, but I don't know if US audiences would be that interested.  I hope I'm wrong and they do bring it over because I am very eager to see it!!!

[Dylan Smith4]

Posted: 7/1/23 at 8:47pm

When I talked with the cast, they said they want it to go to New York or at least have a continued life outside the West End. One of them said they had a large group of Americans the previous day and they all enjoyed it and also would like to see it in New York! This show was spectacular and I learned more about what went down during World War II. It’s definitely a major history lesson but told through musical comedy! Absolutely brilliant!

[jkcohen626]

Posted: 7/1/23 at 11:07pm

I LOVED this show SO much!!! 

Some have said that it's too British, but I'd at least disagree that that's a problem. I just saw Prima Facie and there is SOOOO much more in that show that I didn't get than Operation Mincemeat. Barristers, King's Counsel, chambers, rooms and paying for them, the list goes on. It didn't ruin my appreciation/enjoyment (just feels weird to say I enjoyed it) at all. It was still fantastic. 

I'd KILL to see it come to New York!

[binau]

Posted: 4/14/24 at 4:39am

I finally saw this and agree it’s fantastic. I could easily imagine this on a NYC stage. I’m guessing it will win the Olivier for best musical this evening. 

[Jmuep2]

Posted: 4/14/24 at 8:31am

Glad folks liked this, but I will say I had the opposite reaction.
I found the score tedious and did not laugh once. The lead actress was horribly unfunny and I couldn’t understand 80% of what came out of her mouth whenever she was pretending to be a male character.  I was so bored and miserable I got up and left at the interval. One of the worst things I’ve ever seen. 

[BWAY Baby2]

Posted: 4/14/24 at 8:42am

Saw it in London with my brother and his wife- we all LOVED it. Highly recommend this show. Witty, funny, intelligent , fast moving and highly entertaining. 

[JWolfpack]

Posted: 4/14/24 at 9:09am

I saw this in March with my extended family (my mom all the way down to my 10 year old son), and we all loved it. It is clever, the music is catchy, and we were impressed with what 5 people could pul off. We've had the cast recording on repeat in our home ever since. I think what we all liked best is that it doesn't take itself too seriously. I hope it wins tonight!

[two ladies tickets]

Posted: 4/14/24 at 9:26am

Jmuep2 said: "Glad folks liked this, but I will say I had the opposite reaction.
I found the score tedious and did not laugh once. The lead actress was horribly unfunny and I couldn’t understand 80% of what came out of her mouth whenever she was pretending to be a male character.I was so bored and miserable I got up and left at the interval. One of the worst things I’ve ever seen."

Because the show is so physically/vocally demanding are two separate casts that perform the show. There's the A Company, which is the original cast and then there's also a B Company. And on certain nights, it's a mixture of the two depending. The B Company essentially serve as swing/understudies as well. Some of the performers are better than others. I was fortunate enough to get to see the original company. 
There is a lot of talk of this coming to New York at some point, I wonder if they will utilize two casts or if they will just have the original cast and supplement swings as needed? 

Updated On: 4/14/24 at 09:26 AM

[KevinKlawitter]

Posted: 4/14/24 at 10:07am

It was recently announced that the licensing rights for the show have been acquired by Concord Theatricals

 

[quizking101]

Posted: 4/14/24 at 10:10am

two ladies tickets said: "Because the show is so physically/vocallydemanding are two separate casts that perform the show. There's the A Company, which is the original cast and then there's also a B Company. And on certain nights, it's a mixture of the two depending. The B Company essentially serve as swing/understudies as well. Some of the performers are better than others. I was fortunate enough to get to see the original company.
There is a lot of talk of this coming to New York at some point, I wonder if they will utilize two casts or if they will just have the original cast and supplement swings as needed?"

They only have 4 actors (2 male and 2 female) understudying all roles, so they couldn’t possibly have a “B” Company since they would require a 5th person. It’s an undoubtedly demanding show and now that they are further in the run, I’ve seen they swing in the covers frequently.

What I find interesting is that they use this to their advantage, in the form of a bingo game for all possible combinations of cast members, as an incentive to get people to keep coming back - including small prizes and special discounts for those who wish to participate. It also shows that the production truly values their understudies where they are actively engaging the public to come see them and I wish shows did that more often. (Honestly, had “A Strange Loop” been a bigger hit and run longer, something like this could’ve worked.)

I saw the show with the full original cast last year and it was about 4 hours after I just got in from a red eye flight. I didn’t know what to expect but a friend of mine at the Drama League was raving about it and I figured why not? It was EASILY one of the top shows of my trip. I was laughing, crying, and THRILLED that new and original theatre was alive and well in London. I already bought my ticket to see it again when I go in July.

If it comes to New York, I will be going as often as I can.

 

[quizking101]

Posted: 4/14/24 at 5:47pm

And now it is the well deserved winner of the Olivier for Best Musical!

[MrsSallyAdams]

Posted: 4/15/24 at 11:13am

The cast album is making a poor first impression. All character voices and exposition. It seems like a show that would work better live.

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 4/15/24 at 1:31pm

It definitely is a show that works better live, as it has a lot of "let's put on a show" energy, where it almost feels like one extended skit, but it's well written enough that you don't mind that once you settle into the tone of the show, because it really felt like they knew what they were doing and not like they were just throwing things out to see what stuck.

I really enjoyed this, and I think the whole cast (I saw the main cast with the writers in some of the roles) were firing on all cylinders (super excited to see Jak Malone won the Olivier).  The songs are quite catchy but the staging makes them even better, and everything is great fun to watch, though I'll admit there were a couple of moments in the book where the motivations were a tiny bit confusing, but it was nothing so major that it derailed the show.

I also don't really get the comments of people saying this show is too British for NYC.  I don't know that it would do well on Broadway, and I think a Broadway stage might swallow up what makes this show so charming, but I think it could certainly find an audience on a smaller stage (like the oft-mentioned New World Stages) because the most British thing about it outside of the setting (in my view) is really just the tone of the show and the scrappiness that seems to be a little more common over there than it is on Broadway (but still fairly prevalent off Broadway).

[TBFL]

Posted: 4/16/24 at 1:23am

If anyone saw the 2008 Broadway production of 'The 39 Steps' where the story is told by only 4 actors and very few props, it's not dissimilar to that, in terms of style and tone.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vd-XpwOggE

[inception]

Posted: 4/16/24 at 9:28am

I don't know anything about the original cast's private lives, but for people with families or children traveling with the show for an extended period overseas may not be ideal.

They could take notes from the productions of Six, where it is the show itself & not a specific cast that is the draw.  I would have thought that they might have slready had plans for something like what Six did, with perhaps out of town runs in places like LA or Chicago for this Summer or Fall before moving to New York in the Spring of 25. 

Maybe the naysayers calling it too British have been too strong?  I would have thought the WW II angle would be able to sell plenty of tickets to military enthusiasts. But perhaps in the US people are only interested in stories about American operations?

Maybe this weekend's opening box office of Guy Ritchie's new film with similar themes will give some indication?

[binau]

Posted: 4/16/24 at 9:53am

in my opinion the show is British but not ‘too British’. It follows the craft and form of well made American musicals - it’s just that some of the references, humour and story of course is very British. But in an accessible way that would appeal not turn people away. Very different than standing at sky’s edge - which rejects some of the form and tradition and American musicals, is a different musical style, is very very local in terms of story. THAT show is ‘too British’. 

[CurtainsUpat8]

Posted: 4/17/24 at 10:50am

I hope it's not lost on anyone that it won over A Strange Loop, which was one of the worst musicals I have ever seen.

[BroadwayNYC2]

Posted: 4/17/24 at 11:13am

I think the comedy is quite broad actually. Don’t see why this wouldn’t succeed in a large off broadway/small Broadway house. 

[BMcGregor]

Posted: 4/17/24 at 11:28am

CurtainsUpat8 said: "I hope it's not lost on anyone that it won over A Strange Loop, which was one of the worst musicals I have ever seen."

And one of the best that many others have seen.