Latest news with #OperationMincemeat
Forbes
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
‘Operation Mincemeat': Next Stop, The World
From left: Claire-Marie Hall, David Cumming, Zoë Roberts, Natasha Hodgson, Felix Hagan and Jak ... More Malone announce the show's world tour Operation Mincemeat, the hit Broadway and West End musical is embarking on an epic tour that will bring the production around the globe with performances throughout the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, China, Mexico and New Zealand. The show, which began in 2019 at the 77-seat New Diorama Theatre in London, tells a wild I-cannot-believe-that-happened story in the midst of WWII. In 1943, when most of mainland Europe was under Nazi occupation, the Allied forces knew that in order to get a stronghold on the war, they had to invade what Winston Churchill called 'Europe's underbelly.' Determined to invade Sicily, the Allied forces had to do whatever they could to keep their plans from the Nazis so they could attack without massive resistance. But how? The British naval intelligence hatched a stranger-than-fiction plan to get a corpse and gave him a detailed fake identity and back story. They dressed him as a British officer they named Major William Martin and attached a briefcase handcuffed to his wrist filled with fake mission papers revealing plans to invade Sardinia. The body was dumped off the coast of Spain so the briefcase with key details about the fake invasion could be washed up and fall into the hands of the Nazis. And crazily enough, the plan worked. The mission inspired Hitler to move thousands of troops from Sicily to Sardinia and became a turning point in the war. And upon hearing this story—Natasha Hodgson, Zoë Roberts, David Cumming and Felix Hagan—the writers/composers and masterminds behind the theater collective SplitLip, knew it would have the makings for a great musical. Make that a madcap musical comedy with a lot of heart. 'We had been making comedy together for a while and love getting into a room together, making ourselves and audiences laugh,' says Hodgson. 'We decided to embark on the biggest challenge of our lives, which was to create a two-act musical based on a true story. And we wanted to dedicate these years of our lives to a story that we fell in love with completely.' Roberts, Hodgson and Cumming first connected when they were students at Warwick University and created and performed horror comedy shows, which they did throughout the United Kingdom, including at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Hagan and Hodgson met when they were in a band together. While searching for ideas, Hodgson's brother suggested that she listen to a Stuff You Should Know podcast about Operation Mincemeat. 'It was a crazy, true spy story that changed the course of World War II. My jaw was on the floor. I sent it [to the others] and we never looked back,' says Hodgson. 'There was never a question in our hearts or minds that we had to tell this story.' With just two songs and a scene, the group got the support of the 77-seat New Diorama Theatre which offered a five week run. In 2019, with a cast that included Hodgson, Roberts, Cumming the tiny-budgeted production was a big success. That production launched more theater transfers and a passionate and devoted fan base of 'Mincefluencers.' In 2023, Operation Mincemeat opened at Fortune Theatre on London's West End, where it has been extended fifteen times and won the Olivier Award for Best Musical. In addition to Hodgson, Roberts and Cumming, the cast also starred Claire-Marie Hall and Jak Malone, who has been with the show since the Diorama production and won an Olivier Award for his performance. (Malone is also nominated for a Tony this season.) 'Maybe in our secret hearts that we never spoke we might have hoped one day that the show might make it on the West End for one day,' said Cumming: 'We never thought it would get to the West End let alone pop across the pond to like the home of musical theater. It's beyond anything we ever imagined possible. This show was made by a very small team, with no money, doing it for free, just to try and get this story told.' Even when times were hard and their intrepid determination kept them unstoppable. 'What is great about theater—particularly fringe theater—is that at no point were there so many gatekeepers that stopped us from doing the first version of the show which was cheap as possible. We were in it, cast two [additional] people who are really talented and got a box of sweaty hats' says Hodgson. 'The great thing about theater is that you can put something on yourself. And we wanted to do this more than anything.' This past February Operation Mincemeat debuted on Broadway at the John Golden Theatre with the original five member West End cast playing around 86 people. In fact 300 Mincefluencers flew to New York just to be at the first performance. Directed by Robert Hastie, the musical is nominated for four Tony Awards, including Best Musical. In a fitting nod to its roots, the world tour will begin at the Lowry theater in Manchester, on February 16, 2026, where the musical was nurtured in its early development. (Tickets go on sale June 5.) In 2017, during the Lowery's Rewrites showcase for new musicals, SplitLip presented some early songs and one scene from the show, including 'God That's Brilliant,' which permanently remained in the production. 'The Lowry Theater in Manchester was the very first theater we ever performed in as a team and the first theater to ever give us money because they believed in our potential to make work that could really fly,' said Cummings. 'We have been desperate to pay them back ever since. So we are delighted to get to start our world tour where our careers all began. And also it means our mums can see it, which is pretty nice as well.' With all the accolades and world tours the actual dead man, whose real name was Glyndwr Michael, who made Operation Mincemeat a success is never find from their minds. They are particularly honored to take a kind of custodianship of his memory and hope that his legacy will be remembered throughout history. 'We we say his name during every performance in front of hundreds of people—both sides of the Atlantic now. And soon, internationally,' says Roberts. 'That in itself is a hugely powerful.' The Operation Mincemeat cast plays around 86 characters. From left: Claire-Marie Hall, Zoë Roberts, David Cumming, and Natasha Hodgson
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Latest Tony Awards odds: ‘Maybe Happy Ending' and ‘Oh, Mary!' maintain their leads, Best Actress in a Musical tightens
With less than three weeks until the 78th annual Tony Awards, the Gold Derby odds have shown some movement, reflecting momentum shifts in the race based on industry buzz and following the announcement of the winners of the Outer Critics Circle and Drama League Awards. Although there is little to no overlap between these awards bodies and the pool of Tony voters — these prizes are not precursors akin to the Oscars and their industry and guild prizes — they nevertheless contribute to the perceptions of the races that swirl among insiders. Based on the predictions of more than 700 Gold Derby experts, editors, and users, here is where the top eight races stand. And be sure to scroll to down for a current tally of wins by show in all 26 categories. Our projected winners are denoted in gold. More from GoldDerby 'Sentimental Value' hailed as a 'masterpiece,' the 'best movie' at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival 'The Daily Show' editor Cathy Trasborg on letting Trump supporters 'reveal themselves' in the edit: 'We just let them play out' 'Beast Games' editor Mack Hopkins on the scene that was inspired by 'Dunkirk' 1. — 31/20 2. Dead Outlaw — 9/2 3. Death Becomes Her — 9/2 4. Operation Mincemeat — 7/1 5. Buena Vista Social Club — 7/1 Maybe Happy Ending continues to lead the Best Musical field and has maintained steady odds of winning over the past two weeks, but there has been movement amongst its challengers. Dead Outlaw takes the lead over Death Becomes Her for second place, even though the latter earned more overall nominations and has been gaining momentum according to industry chatter. The shift makes sense in our projections, though, as our users predict Dead Outlaw will win the more important prize of Musical Book, while Death Becomes Her is only slated to pick up the trophy for Costume Design. Operation Mincemeat has now pulled up to even odds with Buena Vista Social Club and inched its way forward to fourth place. The former is expected to win one prize for Featured Actor for Jak Malone, while the latter will likely claim four for Featured Actress for Natalie Venetia Belcon, Orchestrations, Choreography, and Sound Design. 1. — 39/20 2. Purpose — 7/2 3. John Proctor Is the Villain — 37/10 4. The Hills of California — 15/2 5. English — 17/2 As with Maybe Happy Ending in Best Musical, frontrunner Oh, Mary! retains a formidable lead over the competition. But should there be an unexpected upset in this top category, our users now believe Purpose has a better chance at winning than John Proctor Is the Villain. Both dramas had healthy showings in nominations, earning six and seven respectively, though John Proctor has support across numerous categories including Best Direction for Danya Taymor, whereas Purpose only gained recognition for five of its performers. The largest factor swaying more predictions toward Purpose is undoubtedly its recent win for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Historically speaking, receiving this highest honor in American letters does not necessarily correlate with winning the Tony — the official statistic is less than half — and Oh, Mary! also received a boost to its prospects as it was cited a finalist for the same prize. 1. — 83/50 2. Gypsy — 27/10 3. Floyd Collins — 4/1 4. Pirates! The Penzance Musical — 11/2 This race also remains steady as director Jamie Lloyd's Sunset Boulevard leads over its closest rival Gypsy. The nominations tipped the scales in its favor as Gypsy missed out on a crucial bid for its director George C. Wolfe, though the revival of the classic Stephen Sondheim, Jule Styne, and Arthur Laurents musical could win support amongst some voters who found this bold production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Sunset Boulevard polarizing. Even so, Sunset further solidified its frontrunner status with a victory for Musical Revival at the Drama League Awards, besting its three Tonys competitors. 1. — 19/10 2. Eureka Day — 49/20 3. Our Town — 4/1 4. Romeo + Juliet — 9/2 David Henry Hwang's Pulitzer finalist Yellow Face has further solidified its lead in this category, though Jonathan Spector's Eureka Day has a very strong contingent of support. With only one nomination apiece, Our Town and Romeo & Juliet, directed by Tony winners Kenny Leon and Sam Gold, respectively, are not predominant factors in this race for a victory. SEE Tony Talk: Predicting the tricky musical acting categories including Audra McDonald vs. Nicole Scherzinger 1. Audra McDonald, — 11/5 2. Nicole Scherzinger, Sunset Boulevard — 53/20 3. Jasmine Amy Rogers, Boop! The Musical — 11/2 4. Jennifer Simard, Death Becomes Her — 13/2 5. Megan Hilty, Death Becomes Her — 7/1 Though Gold Derby's ranking of the five nominees in this captivating category has not changed, there have been numerous important developments since the nominations were announced. First, Jasmine Amy Rogers prevailed over three of her fellow Tony nominees in the Lead Performer category at the Outer Critics Circle Awards. Subsequently, Nicole Scherzinger won the Distinguished Performance prize at the Drama League Awards, an honor a performer may only win once in their career. Notably, Audra McDonald was not eligible there as she previously took home the award in 2012 for The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess. Although Scherzinger has more overall users predicting her to win, McDonald leads our odds as more experts and editors favor her victory; McDonald has also started to close the gap in the raw total of user predictions, too, as only some three dozen votes now separate her and Scherzinger. Watch our video interview with Boop! The Musical's Jasmine Amy Rogers here. 1. Darren Criss, — 10/3 2. Jonathan Groff, Just in Time — 4/1 3. Jeremy Jordan, Floyd Collins — 5/1 4. Tom Francis, Sunset Boulevard — 11/2 5. Andrew Durand, Dead Outlaw — 13/2 6. James Monroe Iglehart, A Wonderful World — 17/2 Maybe Happy Ending's Darren Criss continues to lead this supersized field and might be the Best Musical frontrunner's biggest prize on Tony night. Although they trail significantly, three challengers are starting to separate themselves from the pack. Jonathan Groff, previously third in our predictions, has been gaining momentum and now ranks second for his charismatic and energetic performance as Bobby Darrin, although no performer in the history of the Tonys has won the Best Actor (Musical) category twice in two years. Jeremy Jordan previously ranked second and now falls to third, but maintains a smattering of backers for his harrowing turn as real-life explorer Floyd Collins. Consistent in fourth place but also with a sizable number of predictions is Tom Francis, who has one of the season's standout moments performing the title number from Sunset Boulevard live on camera in the streets of Manhattan eight times a week. Such a splintered field could either produce a shocking upset or mark a clearer path for Criss to prevail. Read our interview with Sunset Boulevard's Tom Francis here. 1. Sarah Snook, — 8/5 2. LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Purpose — 9/2 3. Laura Donnelly, The Hills of California — 5/1 4. Sadie Sink, John Proctor Is the Villain — 11/2 5. Mia Farrow, The Roommate — 17/2 Snook now has the most commanding lead amongst all four of the top acting races in terms of overall vote tallies. But Gold Derby users have given further thought to who might win if the Succession star shockingly does not prevail. While our earlier predictions favored Laura Donnelly, she has been usurped for second place by LaTanya Richardson Jackson. Although Donnelly received rave reviews and had a more predominant role in The Hills of California than Jackson in Purpose, the switch makes sense as Jackson's play runs throughout the Tony voting period, so voters attending Broadway performances now before casting their ballots will have her more front of mind than Donnelly. A performer from a closed production occasionally wins this top honor, such as Deirdre O'Connell in Dana H. in 2022, but the category typically favors actresses from running shows. That may also give Sadie Sink in John Proctor Is the Villain an advantage, should that play overperform our expectations with a win for Best Play or Best Direction. Watch our video interview with John Proctor Is the Villain's Sadie Sink here. 1. Cole Escola, — 3/1 2. Jon Michael Hill, Purpose — 9/2 3. Daniel Dae Kim, Yellow Face — 9/2 4. George Clooney, Good Night, and Good Luck — 11/2 5. Louis McCartney, Stranger Things: The First Shadow — 13/2 6. Harry Lennix, Purpose — 8/1 Snook may now have the biggest lead of all acting contenders, but Cole Escola is not far behind for their hilarious performance in Oh, Mary! The rest of the lineup has not shifted, with Jon Michael Hill, Daniel Dae Kim, and George Clooney receiving small pools of votes. Hill could receive a boost to his prospects on Tony night if voters favored Purpose for the Best Play prize, though it looks incredibly unlikely that they would opt to not support Escola in either the top playwriting or performing categories. Kim could similarly garner votes from folks supporting Yellow Face for Best Revival, though it looks more likely that the show's featured performance, Francis Jue, could prevail than its lead. George Clooney recently announced that Good Night, and Good Luck will live-stream its penultimate performance on CNN, though this effort to democratize access to the best-selling Broadway play in history will not likely yield enough votes to overcome Escola's lead. Read our interview with Stranger Things: The First Shadow's Louis McCartney here. Buena Vista Social Club — 4 Maybe Happy Ending — 4 Sunset Boulevard — 3 Dead Outlaw — 1 Death Becomes Her — 1 Gypsy — 1 Operation Mincemeat — 1 Oh, Mary! — 5 Stranger Things: The First Shadow — 3 Eureka Day — 1 The Picture of Dorian Gray — 1 Yellow Face — 1 See our official odds for our winner predictions in all 26 categories, updated on May 21. The 2025 Tony Awards will take place on Sunday, June 8. SIGN UP for Gold Derby's free newsletter with latest predictions Best of GoldDerby Who Needs a Tony to Reach EGOT? Sadie Sink on her character's 'emotional rage' in 'John Proctor Is the Villain' and her reaction to 'Stranger Things: The First Shadow' 'It should be illegal how much fun I'm having': Lea Salonga on playing Mrs. Lovett and more in 'Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends' Click here to read the full article.
Glasgow Times
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Glasgow Times
Date revealed for award-winning musical's Glasgow premiere
Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical will be performed at Glasgow's Theatre Royal from November 10 to November 14, 2026. The show, directed by Robert Hastie, tells the wildly improbable and hilarious true story of the covert operation that helped the Allied Forces in 1943. Read more: Bosses urged to let workers finish early if weather reaches 20 degrees It has already garnered significant praise, having won a 2024 Olivier Award and a nomination for the 2025 Tony Awards. At the entrance to the United Nations in New York City on May 13, it was announced that the show will be embarking on a world tour, with Glasgow marking the show's Scottish premiere. The tour comes after the show's third Broadway extension through to February 15, 2026, and its fifteenth West End extension through to February 28, 2026. The show stars David Cumming, Claire-Marie Hall, Natasha Hodgson, Olivier Award-winner Jak Malone, and Zoë Roberts, who reprise their original, acclaimed performances for the musical's Broadway (American) premiere. Read more: Glasgow to bask in sunshine as temperatures to soar SpitLip, the musical's writers and composers, said: "Broadway opened the literal world to us, and we couldn't be more grateful for every unpredictable twist of this astonishing journey. "Most of all, we wish to thank the audiences who continue to carry this show with love and enthusiasm. "Operation Mincemeat reminds us that in uncertain times, the bonds between allies are more important than ever - and that message feels especially relevant as we consider all the great nations in which our show will now have the opportunity to play. "This show continues to be the adventure of a lifetime, and we're wildly excited about what's to come." Operation Mincemeat is produced on Broadway and the West End by Avalon (in association with SpitLip). It was commissioned by New Diorama Theatre, co-commissioned by The Lowry, and supported by the Rhinebeck Writers Retreat.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical to be performed in York in 2026
An award-winning musical is coming to York as part of a world tour. The Olivier Award-winning and Tony Award-nominated production, Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical, will be performed at the Grand Opera House in June 2026. The show tells the true story of a covert operation during World War II, Operation Mincemeat, which, in 1943, saw the Allied Forces make use of a particular "trick" in the pocket of a stolen corpse. The musical, described by a spokesperson as "equal parts farce, thriller, and Ian Fleming-style spy caper," was written and composed by British creative quartet, SpitLip. They said: "We wish to thank the audiences who continue to carry this show with love and enthusiasm. "Operation Mincemeat reminds us that in uncertain times, the bonds between allies are more important than ever - and that message feels especially relevant as we consider all the great nations in which our show will now have the opportunity to play. "This show continues to be the adventure of a lifetime, and we're wildly excited about what's to come." Operation Mincemeat began as a small production at London's New Diorama Theatre, and later had sold-out runs at venues including Southwark Playhouse and Riverside Studios. It premiered in the West End on May 9, 2023, at the Fortune Theatre. Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical will be performed at the Grand Opera House from Monday, June 1 to Saturday, June 6, 2026. Tickets for the Grand Opera House performances will be made available for sale (date TBC) via
USA Today
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
These British spies tricked Hitler. Now, their insane true story is a Broadway musical.
These British spies tricked Hitler. Now, their insane true story is a Broadway musical. Show Caption Hide Caption 'Operation Mincemeat' cast meets fans of the Tony-nominated musical Fans gathered outside the Golden Theatre stage door to serenade the "Operation Mincemeat" cast with a rendition of "Sail On, Boys" from the musical. NEW YORK — Like a sequin-studded black ops mission, 'Operation Mincemeat' has infiltrated the unlikeliest of Broadway audiences: the dads. The farcical World War II comedy tells the mind-boggling true story of how British spies used a stolen corpse to mislead Nazi Germany about where the Allies planned to invade next. The scrappy, gender-bending show appeals to a unique cross section of theater kids and history buffs, with many audience members returning with their fathers. 'We never set out to make a piece of theater for the dads, but do you know what? We're really here for it,' says Natasha Hodgson, one of the musical's cocreators and stars. 'It's lovely to have the dads come and see a show, which is essentially about fighting fascism, how gender isn't real, and how women should claim their history. Bring all the dads!' The Olivier Award-winning production was conceived by Hodgson, David Cumming, Zoë Roberts, and Felix Hagan, who make up the theater company SpitLip. It is now up for four Tony Awards including best musical, with rapturous reviews and diehard fans (known as Mincefluencers) that have followed the show from London to New York. 'How does one react when you walk into Times Square and there's your poster up there?' Hagan says. 'Suddenly you're afloat in an ocean, as opposed to standing in a puddle. It's really quite astonishing.' Tony-nominated 'Operation Mincemeat' brings an outrageous true story to Broadway 'Operation Mincemeat' is based on an elaborate 1943 scheme by British intelligence to trick the Germans into thinking that Allied troops were set to invade Greece instead of Sicily. The plan hinged on an unclaimed body from a London morgue, which agents dressed as a fake British officer named William Martin, whom they planted with forged documents. They then dropped the corpse off the Spanish coast and his briefcase was later recovered by the Nazis, who delivered the falsified orders straight to Adolf Hitler. As a result, the Germans were caught off guard when Allied forces invaded Sicily, which helped further Benito Mussolini's downfall and was considered a major turning point in World War II. Hodgson first learned of the real-life Operation Mincemeat through a podcast that her brother recommended. 'Initially, I was like, 'There's enough art about World War II and I'm crushingly bored of it,'' Hodgson says. But she was quickly enraptured by the story's vibrant characters and heist-like adventure: 'I fell in love with it completely. It's global stakes, but with this gang of little idiots.' The fast-paced show got its start in 2019 at an 80-seat black-box theater in London. Some early audience members were vehemently opposed to the musical, arguing that it was too far-fetched and 'disrespectful.' 'We got feedback saying, 'You cannot lie about the war like this,' when in actuality, it was all 100% true,' Cumming says. 'For instance, there was a war magician who worked in the same department as these guys and created inflatable tanks to deceive the Germans. There was also a night-blind racecar driver who drove the body up to Scotland and crashed numerous times because he couldn't see. We tried to put these things into the story, but there's a limit to what audiences will believe. The truth is far more wild than you're allowed to put on stage.' Laughing, Hagan adds, 'If we put in everything that we thought was funny, it'd be three days long. We should do a director's cut.' The musical honors 'invisible' World War II heroes including Glyndwr Michael The show features a bevy of well-known figures including James Bond author Ian Fleming, who worked for Britain's Naval Intelligence Division during World War II and helped brainstorm ideas for Operation Mincemeat. The Nazis also briefly appear in satirical fashion, with a K-pop-style dance number about succumbing to the far-right movement. 'Sonically, that's why that song is so modern, because fascism was the new ideology at the time,' Cumming says. 'It's popular! It's sexy! It's cool! Then you catch yourself applauding and you're like, 'Did you turn your brain on for one second through any of that? Or did you just go along with it because it was exciting?'' Although the song has been met with laughter in the U.K., it's often greeted by stunned silence on Broadway, where it perhaps hits too close to home for American theatergoers. 'The discomfort here is quite palpable,' Roberts says. 'I've had a couple people at the stage door say to me (proudly), 'I didn't clap after that number!' And I'm like, 'Well, thank you? We're all going to be OK, aren't we?'' 'Operation Mincemeat' shines a light on MI5's unsung female employees Jean Leslie (Claire Marie-Hall) and Hester Leggatt (Jak Malone), whose photographs and love letters were instrumental in crafting a believable backstory for the fictitious William Martin. The musical also gives a sneakily poignant tribute to Martin, who in reality, was a homeless man named Glyndwr Michael, who died after eating rat poison. Michael's body was buried with full military honors in 1943 under his fake moniker, and in 1998, the British government added his true identity to his tombstone. Throughout the show, the British spies frequently question who this man really is, although they don't prioritize the answer until the very end, when details of Michael's life are revealed to the audience. It's a chance 'to pay respects to this person that had been invisible in society; that had fallen through the cracks and been forgotten about,' Roberts says. 'It gives us a huge moment of catharsis.' By the finale, 'we drop all the artifice and say, 'Everybody is important.' That being the lasting message of the show is something that we're really proud of.' 'Operation Mincemeat' is now playing at the Golden Theatre (252 W. 45th Street).
