“Gentlemen, we have a problem…” --- Operation Mincemeat ---
“Gentlemen, we have a problem…” is not the kind of announcement Broadway usually makes with a grin. But for the Tony® and Olivier Award®-winning musical Operation Mincemeat, the problem is too many fans and not enough seats.
Producers said that, after “overwhelming demand” and an overbooked waitlist for the final performance of the original Broadway cast — Natasha Hodgson, David Cumming, Zoë Roberts, Tony Award® winner Jak Malone, and Claire-Marie Hall — they will add a second evening show on Feb. 22, turning the farewell into a two‑performance victory lap. The original cast will now play their last Broadway shows on Sunday, with a newly added 7:30 p.m. curtain. To join the waitlist for both performances, audiences are being directed to www.operationbroadway.com/tickets#waitlist, with general sale set to begin at 11 a.m. Eastern on Wednesday, Feb. 11, via Telecharge and operationbroadway.com.
SpitLip — the British writing collective of Cumming, Felix Hagan, Hodgson, and Roberts — framed the move as a thank‑you to the show’s ardent base. “We could not be more ecstatic to be able to share our final few hours on Broadway with 790 more people on Sunday night in the added show,” they said in a statement. “It’s a testament to our incredible fans who have been with us from day one. We are doing this for them.”
The send‑off arrives at a moment when Operation Mincemeat is, paradoxically, also settling in for the long haul. The production has just extended for the seventh time and is now booking on Broadway through Sept. 13, 2026, with an all‑American cast set to take over beginning Feb. 24 — the first time the show will be carried by a non‑British company. Wednesday evening performances will be replaced by Sunday evenings starting March 22.
That kind of longevity is unusual for a show that began life in a 77‑seat London fringe space. Since its 2019 debut at the New Diorama Theatre, Operation Mincemeat has accumulated 1,807 performances across the fringe, the West End, and Broadway, and built a fervent fandom that calls itself “Mincefluencers.” On Broadway alone, producers say more than 2,000 ticket buyers — roughly one in fifty — have returned for multiple visits, including 53 superfans who have seen the musical 10 or more times.
The industry response has matched the grassroots enthusiasm. The show has been nominated for 64 awards and has won 13, including three Best Musical honors from the Olivier Awards®, WhatsOnStage Awards and Off‑West End Awards. On Broadway, it earned four Tony Award® nominations in 2025, including Best Musical, and claimed the Tony for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for Malone’s performance as Hester Leggatt, a role that had already brought him an Olivier. It has also picked up nods from the Drama League, Outer Critics Circle, BroadwayWorld Theater Fans’ Choice Awards, and the Broadway.com Audience Choice Awards. One critic, Taffy Brodesser‑Akner of The New York Times, called it “not just the best musical I’ve ever seen; it’s the most rewarding theatrical experience I’ve ever had.”
Directed by Robert Hastie, Operation Mincemeat began Broadway performances on Feb. 15 at the Golden Theatre. The five‑actor ensemble — Cumming, Hall, Hodgson, Malone, and Roberts — reprises the original staging, playing a dizzying slate of roles in a show that describes itself as equal parts farce, thriller, and Ian Fleming‑style spy caper. Set in 1943, the musical retells the true story of a covert British intelligence scheme that helped change the course of World War II, hinging on a corpse, a pocketful of forged documents, and a breathtaking amount of bureaucratic bluff.
The Broadway and West End productions are produced by Avalon, in association with SpitLip. The musical was commissioned by New Diorama Theatre, co‑commissioned by The Lowry, and developed with support from the Rhinebeck Writers Retreat.
More information:
No comments:
Post a Comment