HEATED RIVALRY: THE UNATHORIZED MUSICAL PARODY

Review by Celia Ipiotis

In case you haven’t been paying attention, ice hockey is steamy stuff as proven by the Netflix sensation Heated Rivlary. Now, the summer’s  cheery musical, Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical Parody at the Culture Club is riffing off the original series and generating gales of laughter and good will. Gamely composed and written by Dylan MarcAurele, it was performed on a postage stamp sized stage, where it was transformed into a cheeky parody by director Alan Kliffer. 

Dressed in frumpy, suburban outfits by Brendan Mccann, a Greek chorus of three moms named “Susan”– Ryann Redmond, Cherry Torres and Ryan Duncan — huddled around the two leads, Jay Armstrong Johnson as Ilya Rozanov and Jimin Moon as Shane Hollander.

For the uninitiated, Shane is the star of the Montreal Metros and Ilya leads the Boston Raiders. Fierce competitors, they met and oohlala! Very much the all-American guy who could grace a Wheaties box, Shane followed his gut and agreed to meet Ilya (a Russian) in his hotel room. Contrary to the Netflix series, the musical toned down the sexual athletics. Instead, the musical knitted together funny, poignant snapshots of Ilya dominating the sexually naive Shane –who even had to be mentored in writing hot sexting.

Due to space restrictions, the movement sections choreographed by Brooke Engen and Tiffany Engen were limited and yet, still found bouncy ways to shift characters from one side of the stage to the other. Shane executed a few balletic steps that suggested a deep dance ability. The spare scenic design by Sully Ross, included items like stationary bikes, a vertical bed, curtains and a musical stand that reeked of kids shouting: “I know, let’s put on a play in my garage!”

A genuinely wonderful moment occurs when the quick paced show halted. Lights came up and the audience heard: “Tonight, the role of Scott Hunter will be played by….” when an audience member was invited up, handed a microphone and asked to read from a script. Pulled from the front row, a tall, lean man in Bermuda shorts and a floral shirt acquiesced.

However, the script he was handed was so ludicrous he giggled non-stop, hardly able to survive to the end. Audience members cheered the anonymous actor.

Assuming multiple roles, the buoyant company,
turned Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical Parody into a cool, sweet shower of delight on a hot summer night. 

EYE ON THE ARTS, NY — Celia Ipiotis

*All Photos by Matthew Murphy