*****/***** (5 stars out of 5)
Laughter is the best medicine, as the saying goes—especially in these troubled times. But how that medicine is prescribed and administered can vary from culture to culture.
That’s the surprise and delight of Operation Mincemeat, now playing on Broadway at the Golden Theatre. It’s an exuberant musical comedy hit just transferred here from London’s West End, and it provides entertainment and enlightenment through the most improbable choice of genre, given its serious subject matter.
“Operation Mincemeat” was the name of the greatest spy scheme of World War II. In 1943, British military intelligence approved a secret plan to distract and deter Hitler from the Allies’ imminent invasion of Sicily. According to the ruse, they took the body of a homeless person who died in the streets of London (after eating rat poison), dressed him in a military uniform, kept his body in a cooler while they concocted false ID papers, and shipped him off in a submarine, where his body was ejected, just off the Spanish coast. Among his papers were false plans suggesting that the Allies would be invading Sardinia—not Sicily—as their ingress into Europe.
The plan was an incredible success. The papers were retrieved and passed into the hands of Hitler himself, who, convinced of their authenticity, diverted German troops to Sardinia while the Allies invaded Sicily in July, as planned. Their successful invasion is credited for helping to determine the outcome of the war.
What’s so audacious is that a daring young British comedy troupe called SpitLip has adapted this chapter of history into a wildly entertaining musical. “It’s just a really crazy, true story that we completely fell in love with, and we wanted to share the story with people who possibly have no idea it even happened,” says Natasha Hodgson, one of its creators. Drawing from the long tradition of English comedic theater (from its 17th century “panto” roots, to the 19th century British music hall, to the 20th century Monty Pythons, to today’s The Play That Goes Wrong), this hybrid genre features songs, gags, gimmicks, slapstick, dancing and unapologetic silliness.
A company of five enact this absolutely true story. All deserve to be mentioned here for their exuberant performances, each playing multiple roles (male and female) of the true personages involved: David Cumming as Charles Cholmondeley; Claire Marie-Hall as Jean Leslie; Natasha Hodgson as Ewan Montagu; Jak Malone as Hester Leggatt; and Zoe Roberts as Johnny Bevan. Three of the ensemble members (Cumming, Hodgson, and Roberts) co-wrote the book and music/lyrics, together with Felix Hagan. The twenty songs are composed in a style of “brassy jazz from the olden days with hyper modern pop” (says Hodgson), and the wonderful choreography is by Jenny Arnold. (Set and costumes are by Ben Stones).
Amidst the playfulness there are poignant moments, such as the song Hester sings (“Dear Bill”) while composing a (false) love letter to the corpse, planted on him for authenticity. There’s also the final homage to the true identity of this “man who never was” (as the subsequent film called him): Glyndwr Michael.
So how, you might ask, can such a serious story be adapted into a wildly entertaining and enlightening show?
Reportedly, the show’s award-winning director, Robert Hastie, worried that British humor might not “translate” to American audiences. So he made some changes to the script for its Broadway run. But I wish he hadn’t changed a single word! Why can’t we learn to laugh from a perspective that isn’t totally ours? Doesn’t that enrich our humanity, our universality? Learning to appreciate another culture’s humor in the theater (like the Italian commedia dell’arte or the French vaudeville) will only bring us closer together. As Natasha says, the eclectic style of the show is “a joyful thing; there’s something for everybody.”
Filing out of the theater, elated by this joyous tribute to a vital chapter of history, I met a British woman who said she has seen the show eight times: five in London, three here. I may go again, too.
Operation Mincemeat. Through August 10 at the Golden Theatre (252 West 45th Street, between Eighth Avenue and Broadway). www.operationbroadway.com
