Frontmezzjunkies reports: Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical Parody: The Show Everyone Wants

by Ross

I’m pretty sure you noticed that there is some unmistakable on-ice thirst in the air this winter for a Crave Canada television show about gay hockey players. And as it turns out, there’s also some electricity fully formed in that same winter air for a musical parody of that same television show, as pretty much every ticket has been snatched up for the initial performances of Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical Parody before one even fully registers that this show exists. This vanishing act was not a slow sell, nor a gradual buzz, but a blink-and-it’s-gone musical event that leaves you staring at a sold-out calendar and wondering what, exactly, just happened. When that whistle blew, Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical Parody, at The Laurie Beechman Theatre, sold completely out within fourteen hours of announcement, telling you everything you need to know about that gay hockey romance energy. Now the final buzzer has sounded on the first ticket drop, and everyone else is trying to catch up.

The staged reading, running March 14 through 18 (before additional dates at The Bell House), brings together performers who seem perfectly calibrated for parody that understands both affection and absurdity. Jay Armstrong Johnson, the gleeful architect behind the wildly popular  I Put a Spell on You: ALiiVE at Webster Hall, takes on the role of the dangerously charming Russian hockey star Ilya opposite Zachary Noah Piser (Broadway’s Redwood) as his love interest and rival hockey player, Shane Hollander. The two stars are joined by Ryann Redmond, Cherry Torres, and Ryan Duncan, artists whose comedic instincts and musical precision suggest this project is aiming for more than an inside joke.

The musical promises to follow Shane on “his journey from power center to power bottom,” and the tone is refreshingly upfront about what kind of night audiences are signing up for. Written by Dylan MarcAurele (Pop Off, MichelangeloI!), and inspired by Jacob Tierney’s television adaptation of Rachel Reid’s beloved novels, the project arrives with exactly the kind of mischievous energy these kinds of venues exist for. What makes the rapid sell-out especially notable is how easily Heated Rivalry bridges two communities that increasingly overlap: devoted fandom and theatre audiences eager for something a little less polite.

“See all of your favorite moments,” reads the press release, promising a pop-infused score, chaotic time jumps, and cameo appearances that sound gleefully unhinged even on paper. The tone feels knowingly ridiculous, proudly sincere, and fully aware that audiences are arriving ready to laugh both with and at the material. It is hard to read the description without sensing that everyone involved understands exactly why this exists and why people want it.

Parody musicals have quietly become theatre’s most reliable testing ground for surprise successes. Shows like Titanique proved that passionate creators, beloved source material, and performers willing to lean all the way into comedy can transform a small staging into something that feels much larger. When creators actually love what they are making fun of, staged readings have a habit of turning into something bigger, and the line between staged reading and future production begins to blur. The excitement surrounding this musical does not feel accidental. It feels like the natural result of a community already invested in seeing these characters live outside the screen.

When I previously wrote about the television adaptation, I argued that ‘Heated Rivalry‘ resonated because it placed queer intimacy inside one of the last strongholds of performative masculinity, professional hockey, while still negotiating the complications of representation along the way. What made the story compelling was never just romance, but longing shaped by secrecy, rivalry, and visibility. Turning that emotional intensity into musical parody feels less like a stretch and more like the logical next step. Theatre has always loved exaggeration, confession, and emotional excess, and this story already operates comfortably at all three speeds.

So yes, I will likely miss the entire initial run. Theatre history, however, is full of moments that begin exactly this way: a small venue, impossible tickets, and audiences talking about the show everyone suddenly wishes they had seen. When seats disappear this quickly and artists of this caliber sign on, a staged reading starts to look less like a one-off curiosity and more like an opening chapter.

If Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical Parody proves as sharp, funny, and emotionally tuned-in as its creative team suggests, this sold-out engagement may only be the beginning. Theatre, much like sport, rewards momentum, and right now this production feels less like a limited engagement than a show already skating toward a much bigger rink.