Posted: 3/20/25 at 10:47pm
I’m really surprised by the mixed response here.
And I bet their team was expecting better too.
Posted: 3/20/25 at 11:00pm
Quite bad reviews. Word of mouth probably counters then but man, rough night
Posted: 3/20/25 at 11:04pm
DTLI Consensus: Mission accomplished — the funniest Broadway musical of the spring by far has arrived.
12 positive, 2 mixed (including the NYT), 2 negative.
https://didtheylikeit.com/shows/operation-mincemeat/
Posted: 3/20/25 at 11:05pm
huh? Aside from the NYT, I am seeing only the sort of positive snippets that will soon be plastered across ads, 45th Street, etc. Dont get how these can be considered mixed by any stretch?
Posted: 3/20/25 at 11:05pm
Hardly "bad" by any means. There is a traditional "America First" (especially with musicals) mentality with the NYTimes, Post and TimeOut (Washington Post too sometimes) who also can't decide if a good book original musical matters, or not. The Wrap's Hofler hates most things. None of these are a bit surprising. Management probably prepped the British team before the reviews - they have with others crossing over. The audiences are loving it and on their feet before the lights for the bows come on.
Updated On: 3/20/25 at 11:05 PM
Posted: 3/20/25 at 11:06pm
MemorableUserName said: "The Wrap
‘Operation Mincemeat’ Broadway Review: This British Import Works Way Too Hard to Be Fun
Nothing kills a laugh faster than seeing actors sweat
https://www.thewrap.com/operation-mincemeat-broadway-review/"
Finally getting around to reading some of these in full. Okay, I know Hofler is typically negative, but even for him this review is incredibly stupid. He praises the movie for adding a love triangle, criticizes the musical for not having one or a love story, and questions why they have Hester sing "Dear Bill" instead of Jean "to help spark a romance with either Cholmondeley or Montagu."
That may be the dumbest thing I've read in a piece of professional criticism in a very long time. It's not even a matter of disagreeing with him. The very idea that they should have taken the song away from the person who wrote the letter the song is based on to create a fictional love story... That's stupid.
Updated On: 3/20/25 at 11:06 PM
Posted: 3/20/25 at 11:15pm
Yes, terrible review - as usual from this person.
"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."
How old with this "person". It's fast paced, but to end the review this is ridiculous. The cast makes it look EASY via the direction and choreography. I'm not sure he saw the show...
Posted: 3/21/25 at 12:02am
These aren't bad reviews by any means, but they do feel a little underwhelming. Certainly plenty to work with for advertising but I think the creative team was probably hoping for/expecting raves and even the positive reviews don't feel like raves.
Posted: 3/21/25 at 12:13am
Management now preps British creative teams for the "hit overseas" anti-British musical reviewers, on par with tonight. They were ready for what was to come.
Updated On: 3/21/25 at 12:13 AM
Posted: 3/21/25 at 2:41am
certainly not straight raves but to say they got bad reviews across the board is false. Plenty of good stuff to work with and honestly after giving Redwood a critics pick Jesse Green is a total joke.
Honestly the word of mouth from audiences is already great and it will likely pick up momentum into award season which is just around the corner.
Posted: 3/21/25 at 3:41am
I think having the NYTimes give a mixed review always takes the sheen off a bit - for example the Company revival that got raves except basically a pan from the NYtimes (why is it ALWAYS Jesse Green who is the common denominator here??).
So a set of positive reviews, sure - and enough to potentially seal the 'Best Musical' deal but not a guarantee.
Is this not the most exciting Tonys we've had in literally years? So many musical categories it's very close to call right now and could go in many directions.
Posted: 3/21/25 at 4:14am
Can confirm that their advance is 3 million plus. These reviews have enough juice to keep it going. It fascinates me that Jesse Green has become some kind of theater God. His taste doesn’t reflect box office or word of mouth. I wish the system would dethrone him.
Posted: 3/21/25 at 5:38am
Now I want my beloved Operation Mincemeat to win the Tony over my equally beloved Dead Outlaw. Not because I think it's better, I just want to f*ck with Jesse Green's reputation!!!
Posted: 3/21/25 at 5:41am
sppunk said: "Quite bad reviews. Word of mouth probably counters then but man, rough night"
Ummm, quite bad reviews? Check out the Did they like it aggregator
Posted: 3/21/25 at 5:59am
I'm pretty sure Jack Malone will still get a nomination and probably win (though some of those Dead Outlaw guys are pretty great) but I think that New York Times review trashed any hope of Natasha getting a nomination with it already being an overstuffed category. Unless they put her (and all) in Supporting?
Updated On: 3/21/25 at 05:59 AM
Posted: 3/21/25 at 7:57am
The Times always sets the tone. If they don't love it - all the raves sadly disappear.....
Posted: 3/21/25 at 8:05am
God, I'm so sick of Jesse Green. I had issues my issues with Brantley, but he was a) a much better writer and b) seemed to be more "in touch" with his reviews.
Posted: 3/21/25 at 8:30am
Adam Feldman’s review comes closest to nailing how I felt about the show. Clever, but ultimately too sweaty and self-involved to really take off. All these production shots of pulled faces, giant grins, and deeply furrowed brows just make me want to take a nap.
Posted: 3/21/25 at 8:33am
I think the reviews bore out exactly what we saw in the previews thread here, about 1 out of 5 people commented they were disappointed by it or didn't like it. And while there is a lot of focus on Green, he's not alone. The Feldman piece is very well written and in much the same spot as Green.
The vast majority of reviews are positive, and give them a lot to work with. It's also true the majority of reviews intimate the show is too long. Theatremania, which outright says they loved the show, takes time in the review to point out none of the underlying issues with the show have been addressed.
I think this indicates Mincemeat is not winning Best Musical. In a season where Maybe Happy Ending got straight raves, and Dead Outlaw is well poised to do the same, 1 out of 5 not enjoying it while the rest "like it in spite of it's flaws" is likely not enough in a season where every single vote will matter.
The reviews do back up Jak Malone is practically a lock, so congrats to him!
Posted: 3/21/25 at 9:04am
BETTY22 said: "The Times always sets the tone. If they don't love it - all the raves sadly disappear....."
This isn’t true at all.
Posted: 3/21/25 at 9:09am
CoffeeBreak said: "Management now preps British creative teams for the "hit overseas"anti-British musical reviewers, on par with tonight. They were ready for what was to come."
If British creative teams are such delicate flowers who can't handle the fact that reviewers and audience members elsewhere may have different perspectives and may view their work differently, and "Management" has to tell them that New York critics are just big meanies who are going to say negative things about their perfect shows because they're British, that's pretty pathetic. Don't put work out there (and certainly don't bring it over) if you can't handle the idea that some people may not love it, for perfectly valid reasons.
As someone who really enjoyed the show (more than Green or Feldman) without quite loving it, I found their reviews on point and find it hard to disagree with a single word. (Green's final paragraphs about the show's treatment of real-life people in particular zeroes in on something that bothered me about it, and still does.) But perhaps I'm just a mean ol' Murrican.
Updated On: 3/21/25 at 09:09 AM
Posted: 3/21/25 at 9:16am
Also this:
CoffeeBreak said: "Hardly "bad" by any means. There is a traditional"America First" (especially with musicals) mentality with the NYTimes, Post and TimeOut (Washington Post too sometimes) who also can't decide if a good book original musical matters, or not. The Wrap's Hofler hates most things. None of these are a bitsurprising. Management probably prepped the British team before the reviews - they have with others crossing over. The audiences areloving itand on their feet before the lights for the bows come on."
The same can be said for Maybe Happy Ending and you spent months rebutting any positive comments about that (and decrying the idea that anyone saying negative things about a show could be biased or guilty of a conspiracy against the show). Your responses defending this show against the nefarious motives of NY critics seem deeply ironic.
Posted: 3/21/25 at 9:43am
Although it didn’t get unanimous praise, this was still a well-reviewed production. People need to stop treating reviews as a rave/pan binary.
And these reviews don’t necessarily knock Mincemeat out of the Tony race, either.
Updated On: 3/21/25 at 09:43 AM
Posted: 3/21/25 at 11:14am
I was clicking through their FAQs today and I noticed they say they recommend the show for ages 5+, which really surprised me given Aladdin is 6+. What's an actually realistic age limit for this show?
Posted: 3/21/25 at 11:33am
this will uncountably me an early post Tony casualty.
