OPERATION MINCEMEAT Reviews

Fetch all those write-ups, agents!

Will it be Jesse or Elizabeth? Could make a huge difference........

Best wishes to the team on their opening night.


A terrific show that hopefully gets the same glowing notices as London and BSVC got last night.

Updated On: 3/20/25 at 06:12 PM

3 stars from TimeOut. Praise for Malone, mixed-ish on the rest

https://www.timeout.com/newyork/theater/operation-mincemeat-musical-broadway-review

"Some of the things that bothered me about Operation Mincemeat are inherent to the material, such as the way it builds Jean’s arc as a feminist parable (starting with her defiant Six-ish pop number, “All the Ladies”) but actually gives her almost nothing to do but take notes. And some things probably just don’t land as well here as in London, such as the show’s preoccupation with class or its general tendency—true to many British musicals—to call attention to itself as a musical. Yet I can’t help suspecting that something has been lost in this production’s trip across the ocean. Maybe, after five years, the actors’ gameness has gone a bit gamy; maybe, too, they have overenlarged their performances to fill the space."

NYT:

Green is mixed.

Review: The Stiff Who Saved Europe, in ‘Operation Mincemeat’

A proudly silly British musical comedy about the “Trojan corpse” of World War II comes to Broadway.


"is it funny?

Whether “Operation Mincemeat,” the diverting if irksome musical comedy about the plan, works as well will depend a lot on your answer to that question. A hit in London, it has come to Broadway, where it opened on Thursday at the Golden Theater, having paid close attention to differences in accent, dialect and usage between British and American audiences. (Public school there is private school here.) But neither the authors, a collective called SpitLip, nor the director, Robert Hastie, appear to have given sufficient thought to our different senses of humor.

Theirs you will recognize. It combines Oxbridge snootiness with panto ribaldry to create a self-canceling middlebrow snark. You may detect in the show’s DNA elements of Monty Python, Benny Hill, “The Play That Goes Wrong” and the Hitchcock stage spoof “The 39 Steps.” But if those influences have made you laugh, even as much as they have made me, you may still experience diminishing returns in the nonstop tickling of “Operation Mincemeat.” The Pythons kept their satire sharp and their sketches quick.

Not so here. At more than two-and-a-half hours, the show is hardly svelte. Nor, with its aim so scattershot, is it clear what it is satirizing."

Updated On: 3/20/25 at 10:01 PM

A from Entertainment Weekly

Operation Mincemeat review: An irresistible musical farce brings British boldness and belly laughs to Broadway

The wartime spoof from comedy troupe SpitLip is an undeniable success.

https://ew.com/operation-mincemeat-review-british-hit-delivers-broadway-11697974

"Here, history isn't static or unfeeling; it's fizzy, exciting, and emotional. And though never saccharine, the production doesn't shy away from prodding at deeper ideas: like what its absurd plot means for the very real people involved. So much like the operation it's named for, Mincemeat has already gone down in history as an undeniable success."

Daily Beast



‘Operation Mincemeat’: The Season’s Most Surprising Showstopper Lands on Broadway

MAKE 'EM LAUGH

The raucous musical “Operation Mincemeat,” one of the best-reviewed productions in West End history, is finally stateside—and you’ll want to grab a ticket now.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/operation-mincemeat-review-seasons-most-surprising-showstopper-lands-on-broadway/

Theatermania:

Review: Operation Mincemeat, a Hilarious Musical That Isn't "Too British" for Broadway

A zany little West End show about World War II charms its way to New York City.

https://www.theatermania.com/news/review-operation-mincemeat-a-hilarious-musical-that-isnt-too-british-for-broadway_1768137/

A wacky evening of pure British delight.

https://www.facebook.com/michael.musto.96

WSJ:

‘Operation Mincemeat’ Review: A Madcap Military Plot on Broadway

This British production mines for antic musical comedy the true story of an outlandish plan to trick the Nazis during World War II.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/operation-mincemeat-review-a-madcap-military-plot-on-broadway-92d630a9

"With its relatively arcane-for-Americans subject matter, “Operation Mincemeat” might seem to be a longshot for Broadway success. I admit to finding that its goofball humor eventually approached what the British call “much of a muchness”—variations on the same self-consciously twee raillery that can become monotonous."

Vulture: Holdren is positive

Dead Men Do Tell (Funny) Tales: Operation Mincemeat

'Operation Mincemeat,' SpitLip's genuinely funny musical about one of World War II's oddest espionage gambits, comes from London to Broadway.

https://www.vulture.com/article/theater-review-operation-mincemeat-on-broadway.html

"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. Director Robert Hastie and choreographer Jenny Arnold keep the quintet of actors in such constant motion, rife with genre winks and references, that I was astonished not to see Ben Stones’s crisp, transformable base costumes of pinstripes, suspenders, and ties soaked clean through by the finale. While some moments certainly sizzle more than others, there’s more than enough sincerity and goofy charisma on stage to keep the show powered."

NY Sun

From Across the Pond, ‘Operation Mincemeat’ Brings Its Gleeful Irreverence to Broadway

The latest English invasion has roots in a tradition that runs through music hall and Monty Python, and obliterates the line between clever and divinely goofy.

https://www.nysun.com/article/from-across-the-pond-operation-mincemeat-brings-its-gleeful-irreverence-to-broadway

Washington Post split review with BVSC

Two must-see Broadway musicals that find joy in wartime

The outlandish comedy “Operation Mincemeat” and sonic sensation “Buena Vista Social Club” double down on delight in the midst of adversity.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/theater/2025/03/20/operation-mincemeat-buena-vista-social-club/

"Malone gives the featured stage performance of the year so far, with a heart-wrenching ballad about writing to a soldier in action. Of all the tactical maneuvers at play, Malone’s feathery and sincere delivery of “Dear Bill” is the show’s secret weapon."