Review: OPERATION MINCEMEAT National Tour Presented by Broadway In Chicago

Operation Mincemeat is an absolute smash. I adore this inventive and fun musical. It’s extremely original, and it’s the kind of show that gives me hope for the future of new one-of-a-kind musicals like it. Written by David Cummings, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson, and Zoë Roberts, Operation Mincemeat tells the true story of the MI5 mission to turn the tide of World War II. Members of the British intelligence agency devised a plan to have a corpse wash up on the tides of Spain, outfitted with fictitious documents detailing Britain’s plan to invade Sardinia — diverting Nazi troops away from Sicily.

If this seems like a wacky and impossible premise for a musical, that’s precisely what makes Operation Mincemeat so magical. Directed by Robert Hastie and choreographed by Jenny Arnold, Operation Mincemeat is a thrilling and gleeful adventure. This show is pure joy, while also never making light of its serious subject matter. It has delectable and brisk narrative pacing. 

It’s also an acting tour de force. Five actors take on all the roles, spanning gender and generation. Each performer takes on one principle character in the Mincemeat tale, while alternating between myriad supporting roles. 

Operation Mincemeat has many madcap, farcical moments. It’s legitimately funny. The show’s creators also make elegant use of the musical theater art form. It’s almost entirely sung-through, and the songs flow flawlessly out of the dialogue. No clunky transitions here. Each song sublimely builds up the storyline and characters. The opening number “Born to Lead” delectably sets the tone as we meet some of the key players.

The characters in Operation Mincemeat are all real-life figures, but they also work spectacularly well as musical theater characters with big personalities. The painfully awkward and nerdy Charles Cholmondeley (Jake Bentley Young), a self-described “amateur naturalist,” has the brains. Operation Mincemeat is his plan. But he’s terrified of public speaking. Enter the cocky and braggadocious Ewen “Monty” Montagu (Katie Kleiger) . Montagu presents the plan to Colonel John Bevan (Mariah Copeland) with extreme confidence. With the help of MI5 administrative assistant Hester Leggatt (Luke Antony Neville) and plucky new staffer Jean Leslie (Erin Ramirez), Operation Mincemeat comes to life. The team works to create fictional Major William "Bill" Martin, replete with a detailed backstory and a briefcase full of fabricated top-secret documents.

I’m thrilled to report this first national touring production is absolutely on par with Broadway (and, notably, creators Cummings, Hodgson, and Roberts all appeared in the original West End and Broadway casts, so these are some big shoes to fill). This is a phenomenal company of game actors who handle the show’s challenges deftly. It’s to this ensemble’s credit that it’s always easy to tell their characters apart, even when they’re switching on a dime. Kleiger leads the way with outsized confidence as Monty. Kleiger’s Monty comes in swinging and never lets up. Monty’s overconfidence and zero care for the rules may be irritating, but Klegier also makes the role winsome. 

Ramirez is supremely charming as Jean Leslie, who wants to seize bigger opportunities as a woman in the workforce while the men are at work. She’s a commanding and affable presence in “All the Ladies,” a Beyoncé-like anthem(and note the nod to “Single Ladies” in Arnold’s choreography.) Young plays the ultimate dweeb as Cholmondeley, precisely timing his character’s truly bizarre non-sequiturs about maggots, tadpoles, and other critters. Copeland is convincingly stern as Bevan, but her performance really comes to life in her secondary role as Haselden — a frazzled field agent in Huelva, Spain who’s responsible for making sure the briefcase of fabricated documents falls into the right wrong hands.

As Hester, Neville has a particularly critical role to fulfill. The solo “Dear Bill” is the emotional centerpiece of the entire musical. Amidst the madcap pacing and quippy jokes, “Dear Bill” is a moment of stillness and contemplation. Luckily, Neville has a gorgeous and stirring interpretation of the song. He’s also terrific as the spooky coroner Spillsbury, who supplies the “perfect body” for the mission. 

All in all, from the opening number to the “Glitzy Finale,” Operation Mincemeat is awesome. Whether you’re a World War II history fan or a musical theater buff, this is exceptional, amusing, and creative must-see theater.

The Broadway In Chicago engagement of Operation Mincemeat runs through October 11, 2026 at the CIBC Theatre, 18 West Monroe Street. Tickets are $40.00 - $150.00 witha select number of premium tickets available.

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