See the Broadway Cast of Operation Mincemeat Perform at The Library Of Congress and Explore Washington, D.C.

The trip included a visit to Willie Watkin's grave, who is a character in the musical.

March 13, 2026 By Meg Masseron, Logan Culwell-Block

The Broadway cast of Operation Mincemeat recently went on a mission of their own, taking a trip to Washington, D.C. The objective: to visit sites related to World War II, the setting for the currently running espionage musical at the Golden Theatre.

Cast members Brandon Contreras, Gerianne Perez, Amanda Jill Robinson, Jeff Kready and Jessi Kirtley were given a private tour of the soon-to-be open World War II “In The Air” exhibition at The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, as well as a tour of the International Spy Museum (home of “a missile so tiny it’s shot from a pen," to quote a line from the musical). They also performed to a sold-out crowd at The Library of Congress’ Coolidge Auditorium. The performance was followed by a talkback moderated by Amanda Finney, former chief of staff to the press office and special assistant to Press Secretary Jen Psaki under the Biden-Harris Administration.

The cast also met the family of American Pilot Willie “Bill” Wakins at his burial site in Arlington National Cemetery. Wakins is a character in the musical, who plays a small but pivotal role. See highlights from their adventures in the video above, and photos in the gallery below.

See the Broadway Cast of Operation Mincemeat Explore Washington, D.C.

Operation Mincemeat is the work of U.K. comedy group SpitLip, which comprises Cumming, Hodgson, Roberts, and Felix Hagan—who took the lead on the project's music.

Video: The Opening Number for Operation Mincemeat Took 6 Years to Write

The show tells a wacky, stranger-than-fiction story that is somehow completely true, following a World War II scheme in which British Intelligence officials dressed up a corpse as an officer in the Royal Marines in order to fool the German government into believing an Allied attack on Greece and Sardinia was imminent, covering up their true plans to invade Sicily in the process. Spoiler alert—it actually worked.

An import from the West End, Mincemeat won two Olivier Awards, including Best New Musical and Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical for Jak Malone. It won one Tony Award, also for Malone's performance.

The cast includes Tony Award nominee Julia Knitel (Dead Outlaw, Beautiful) as Ewen Montagu & Others, Jeff Kready (Masquerade) as Hester Leggatt & Others, Brandon Contreras as Charles Cholmondeley & Others, Jessi Kirtley as Jean Leslie & Others, and Amanda Jill Robin asJohnny Bevan & Others. The understudies are Robert Ariza, Allison Guinn, Sam Hartley, Gerianne Pérez and Lexi Rabadi.

Mincemeat is directed by Robert Hastie, who's reunited his full London creative team, including choreographer Jenny Arnold, music director and supervisor Joe Bunker, orchestrator Steve Sidwell, set and costume designer Ben Stones, lighting designer Mark Henderson, and sound designer Mike Walker. Karen Moore serves as production stage manager.

The production is offering $39 tickets via a digital lottery program (enter at Rush.Telecharge.com) and $49 rush tickets in person daily at the Golden Theatre box office.

The Broadway run is produced by Avalon in association with SpitLip. Andrew Fell serves as executive producer.