What petition do I have to sign to give Sam Hartley a principal run as Hester?
Operation Mincemeat round six— May 9th, 2026 matinee show ($35 rush ticket)
Cast: Brandon Contreras (Charles), Julia Knitel (Monty), Jessi Kirtley (Jean), Amanda Jill Robinson (Bevan), Sam Hartley (standby Hester, this was a scheduled date from my knowledge)
It’s been almost 5 months since I saw Sam as Hester; I saw him my very first visit to MI5, and I fell in love with his portrayal of one of my favorite characters. Just last weekend? I finally saw him again after months of waiting for a scheduled date I could go to! I still hold the sentiment that he has one of the best voices I’ve heard live. In my opinion. I haven’t seen Nicholas Christopher or Joshua Henry live yet, so maybe that’ll change once I see them. Whenever that is. But Sam is amazing either way!
I feel like I should also note that this was my first time ever sitting in the center orchestra! For any show! I got there pretty early (at around 8:20) and was the fifth person in the rush line. I was sat in the back, row P to be specific but it was still a fantastic view of the stage. I find it cool that I’ve sat almost everywhere in the golden theatre. All I need is to sit in the front mezz and the right side orchestra! That’s neat! I’ve found it really easy to rush Mincemeat, and on a Saturday too; I was surprised how easy it was. There isn’t a big line like the shows next to it (BVSC and The outsiders) which is good for me because the amount of people at those lines— or more specifically the outsiders is terrifying. Someone had a whole ass TENT over there. Insane.
This was a dream combo for me- Sam, Amanda, Brandon and Jessi, with Julia on top to round off the perfect cast combo. I saw Sam with Jessi my first time seeing the show and him. I loved their chemistry together and I still do, because it’s so fun! Useful got me in my feels once again, but obviously so did that dear bill. Let’s talk about that, shall we?
The obligatory dear bill section of this post
This man came firing on all cylinders with his dear bill, the vibrato, the delivery, his high notes? The high notes were gorgeous. Sam himself started to get choked up right around the “and it’s fine, and we’re fine” part of the song if I remember correctly. The only thing that kind of ruined it for me was the people laughing at “that your roses quite frankly were the first thing to go,” another part where Sam was choked up. I never really understood why people feel the need to laugh at that part of dear bill, but that’s just me. His performance of that song is beautiful nevertheless. I felt a little awkward being the only person to give him a standing ovation but that’s just me. I love Sam, okay? He’s my favorite actor and I feel like he deserved it. It was a little embarrassing for me to be the only one standing but it’s fine!
The other highlights
^((I’ll be using she/her when talking about Hester. Mainly because I don’t want it to get confusing when I talk about Sam, and when I talk about the character))
- I forget how giggly his Hester can get. She’s very giggly at times, and her moments of playfulness are always so cute! The stamp line especially was really cute, I love how excited she gets over her very complicated stamps.
- Not related to Sam, but Brandon broke the chalk they needed to write down on the blackboard. This is the first time I’ve seen an audible mishap like this happen, and it was incredibly funny. They stayed in full character during the mistake too, which made the entire thing even funnier.
- Sam’s Willie Watkins and Spilsbury both had a lot of rasp and growling for some reason, and honestly? I dig it. The evolution of his Spilsbury specifically is so fascinating. His runs during that part of making a man are so crisp and clean too! I’m actually in love.
- Her interactions with Jean during both the first scene we see them and useful meant the world to me. I’m not close with the grandmother figure in my life, our relationship is very rocky and I don’t want to get into it. Sam’s Hester is so grandmotherly and warm. So understanding, and poised. I want to give her a hug. A genuine hug. His Hester gives me a lot of comfort, and I find myself thinking about her more than I should.
Did I spend 15-20 minutes on the bus writing a post that’s practically glazing this guy and his performance? Yes. But did I enjoy glazing his performance? Also yes. Sam is a fantastic performer, with a fantastic voice! He deserves his flowers. Roses to be more specific. I don’t know why I feel the need to post every time I see this show, but I do. I feel like people should know my thoughts on it, and any silly mishaps that happened at that specific performance. And hey! Free will!!