OPERATION MINCEMEAT Will Recreate Stage Door Canteen at Sardi's to Celebrate Fleet Week

Operation Mincemeat will partner with Sardi's to recreate the famous Stage Door Canteen to celebrate the beginning of 2025 Fleet Week. Taking place inside the iconic theatre district eatery's first floor bar, at 234 West 44th Street, the gathering will commence today Wednesday, May 21 from 5:00pm – 7:30pm. All uniformed military personnel are welcome. Refreshments and entertainment will be provided.

During World War II, the Stage Door Canteen was a legendary New York institution where Broadway's brightest volunteered their time to entertain and uplift American servicemen before they shipped out. Operated by the American Theatre Wing in the basement of the old 44th Street Theatre, the canteen became a vibrant meeting ground for stars and sailors alike. With dancing, live music, and impromptu performances, it offered comfort, camaraderie, and a touch of glamour in uncertain times. 

Operation Mincemeat has been extended through February 15, 2026 by popular demand, originally set to be a 16-week run.

In Operation Mincemeat, it's 1943, and the Allied Forces are on the ropes. Luckily, they've got a trick up their sleeve. Well, not up their sleeve, per se, but rather inside the pocket of a stolen corpse. Equal parts farce, thriller, and Ian Fleming-style spy caper (with an assist from Mr. Fleming himself), Operation Mincemeat tells the wildly improbable and hilarious true story of the covert operation that turned the tide of WWII.

Directed by Robert Hastie, Operation Mincemeat began performances on Broadway on February 15 and is now playing at the historic Golden Theatre (252 West 45th Street).

Starring in Operation Mincemeat are David Cumming, Claire-Marie Hall, Natasha Hodgson, Olivier Award-winner Jak Malone, and Zoë Roberts, who have reprised their original, acclaimed performances for the musical's Broadway (American) premiere.

The decision to write the musical was the last roll of the dice from the quartet of young British creatives after years of performing sketch shows at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and echoes the journey of Beyond the Fringe from the world-famous quartet Alan Bennett, Peter Cook, Jonathan Miller, and Dudley Moore, which premiered at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1960 before moving to the Fortune Theatre and later to the Golden in 1962.

Operation Mincemeat began as a tiny (and tiny-budgeted) production at London's New Diorama Theatre. The show quickly gained a devoted following, spurring sold-out runs at venues including Southwark Playhouse and Riverside Studios. It finally premiered in the West End on May 9, 2023, at the Fortune Theatre, where it has since received 74 five-star reviews and counting, becoming ‘the Best Reviewed Show in West End History.' Now in its third sold-out year, the show continues to play to standing-room-only crowds and has built one of London's most passionate fanbases, affectionately known as the "Mincefluencers."

Buy Tickets to Operation Mincemeat

Best Book of a Musical - Live Standings

Will Aronson, Hue Park - Maybe Happy Ending - 27% David Cumming, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson, Zoe Roberts - Operation Mincemeat - 22% Marco Pennette - Death Becomes Her - 15%

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