amBroadway | ‘Operation Mincemeat’ to get all-American cast, Adrien Brody to make Broadway debut and more

The Olivier Award–winning musical “Operation Mincemeat” will replace its original, all-British cast with an all-American company on February 24, as the show enters its second year on Broadway. The original cast—including creators David Cumming, Natasha Hodgson, Zoë Roberts, Tony winner Jak Malone, and Claire-Marie Hall—will play their final performance on February 22.

Originally announced as a limited 16-week engagement, “Operation Mincemeat” has defied expectations, extending six times and now booking through July 5. The musical—an irreverent, Ian Fleming–adjacent WWII spy farce based on a real Allied deception—has become one of Broadway’s most unlikely word-of-mouth successes, boasting an unusually high number of repeat ticket buyers and a devoted fanbase known as “Mincefluencers.”

Adrien Brody to make Broadway debut in true-crime drama

Two-time Academy Award winner Adrien Brody will make his Broadway debut opposite Tessa Thompson in “The Fear of 13,” a true-crime drama set to begin performances March 19 at the James Earl Jones Theatre, with an official opening on April 15.

Written by Lindsey Ferrentino (“The Queen of Versailles”) and directed by Tony Award winner David Cromer (“Bug”), “The Fear of 13” is based on the documentary by David Sington and tells the true story of Nick Yarris, who spent more than two decades on death row for a murder he insisted he did not commit—and was ultimately exonerated by DNA evidence. The play unfolds through a series of prison visits with a volunteer named Jackie, tracing conversations that blur the line between witness and participant while interrogating belief, justice, and freedom. The production also arrives in partnership with the Innocence Project, whose mission is to free the wrongfully convicted and reform the criminal legal system.

Brody, best known for “The Pianist” and a career defined by psychologically intense film performances, and Thompson—whose résumé spans “Creed,” Marvel’s “Thor” films, and HBO’s “Westworld”—will both make their Broadway debuts with the production.

Free ‘Othello’ to play Harlem in the summer

The Classical Theatre of Harlem has announced that its 2026 Uptown Shakespeare in the Park production will be William Shakespeare’s “Othello,” directed by Carl Cofield and presented free of charge in Marcus Garvey Park next summer. Now a summer fixture in Upper Manhattan, Uptown Shakespeare in the Park is CTH’s annual outdoor series that brings large-scale, professional Shakespeare productions to Harlem at no cost, drawing thousands of audience members each season.

The announcement arrives in pointed contrast to last season’s Broadway revival of “Othello,” starring Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal, which drew headlines for ticket prices that placed the tragedy well beyond the reach of many theatergoers.

‘The Fantasticks’ to be reconceived for Broadway as gay love story

A new version of “The Fantasticks”—reconceived as a contemporary gay love story—is in development for a Broadway debut. The production will be directed and choreographed by Tony Award winner Christopher Gattelli (“Death Becomes Her”), with a revised book and lyrics by original author Tom Jones, completed shortly before his death in 2023, and music by Harvey Schmidt.

In this new version, the musical’s central romance—traditionally Matt and Luisa—becomes Matt and Lewis, while the scheming fathers who engineer the young lovers’ relationship have been reconceived as mothers. The adaptation was first presented in 2022 at Flint Repertory Theatre.

Originally premiering Off-Broadway in 1960, “The Fantasticks” ran for 42 years and more than 17,000 performances at the Sullivan Street Playhouse, becoming the world’s longest-running musical and a foundational work of intimate, low-budget American theater.