'Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical Parody' Off-Broadway review — a pucking good time

Read our review of Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical Parody off Broadway, Dylan MarcAurele's adaptation of the award-winning TV series Heated Rivalry.

Summary

• Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical Parody spoofs the hit TV series Heated Rivalry
• The story centers on the secret romance between closeted pro hockey players Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov
• The show exceeds parody-musical expectations with a strong and catchy score and hilarious original jokes
• The show is recommended for Heated Rivalry fans; fans of other parody musicals like Titanique; and theatre fans who will enjoy the many references to famous musicals

I won't skate around it: Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical Parody is better than it has any right to be.

To preempt the question, yes, I am a Loon — the name for fans of the Heated Rivalry TV series that hit the pop culture scene with such sudden force as to catalyze multiple parody musical adaptations within six months of its release. But that's just the thing: The Off-Broadway production by Dylan MarcAurele, who penned the book, music, and lyrics, exceeds expectations for a show written so quickly and adapted from hockey smut. So maybe I'm biased, but MarcAurele succeeds with his musical for much the same reason showrunner Jacob Tierney did with the TV adaptation: They make something new out of the story without losing its heart, and they take that assignment just a bit more seriously than the genre requires.

You likely already know this if you're here, but just in case: Heated Rivalry's key players are Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, two hockey stars whose supposed "rivalry" masks an equally heated, yearslong romance off the ice. Perhaps most notably, MarcAurele deploys verbatim lines and pictures from the TV show only sparingly. Too many parodies over-rely on reference after reference, cartoonishly delivered, but Heated Rivalry contains (gasp!) actual, original jokes, and consistently funny ones at that.

There are the obvious ones — about the story's huge time jumps, slightly older player Scott Hunter being elderly, Shane's "cottage" basically being a mansion — but also plenty of less obvious ones (like the concept of Shane's landmark Reebok deal meaning that "the whole world will be thinking about [his] feet") and obvious ones with a twist. Since it would be too much of a downer to maintain actual depression and parental abuse as a source of trauma for Ilya, for example, here it's the oppressively unwieldy size of his butt (a physical attribute for which Connor Storrie, who plays Ilya in the TV series, has become known. While this subtle nod to the actor works, the brief inclusion of audio from Storrie's childhood YouTube videos is one of the few bits of the show, along with a few easy reliances on gay stereotypes, that misses the mark).

All this is set to a score of certified bangers, of which I need a cast album stat. No fewer than five have remained stuck in my head on rotation, including the opening number "What We Want" (in which a trio of suburban moms named Susan, representing the show's highly publicized female fanbase, succinctly set up the sexual and emotional stakes) and its jaunty follow-up "Shane Hollander, Slap That Stick!" Other highlights of the genre-diverse lineup are the '80s-jazzercise "Gym Song" (aka "Eye-Fucking in the Hotel Gym"), Ilya's emotional power ballad "Big Ass, Cold Heart," the gospel-tinged "I Can Host," and "One Heated Rivalry!," a doo-wop ditty sung by Shane's teammates a la the Urchins in Little Shop of Horrors's title track.

The only downside is that, amid all the gags, Shane and Ilya's relationship takes a backseat. The slow-burn tenderness that captivated TV fans — the kind that gave away the depth of the boys' feelings long before they admitted them — is largely absent here, and missed even as MarcAurele lovingly honors so many other elements of the show. If anything, the TV show's B-plot — another secret romance between the closeted Scott Hunter and smoothie shop worker Kip Grady — emerges with more heft thanks to a dedicated mid-show sequence and a delightful ending payoff involving a hand puppet.

That's no fault, though, of Jimin Moon, a comic yet earnest standout as Shane, and Jay Armstrong Johnson, who nails Ilya's Slavic stoicism. One wishes they had more stage time together, enough to fully ignite their currently simmering chemistry as much as the heart they bring individually. But in just about all other respects, Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical Parody is on fire. You're in for a pucking good time.

Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical Parody summary

Dylan MarcAurele's musical spoofs the story of Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, closeted pro hockey players whose casual hookups blossom into a passionate romance over the course of nearly a decade.

Heated Rivalry is based on the first two books of the Game Changers hockey romance series by Rachel Reid. Creator Jacob Tierney's TV adaptation achieved mainstream global popularity in 2025, even winning a Peabody Award and other accolades.

The parody musical employs a framing device that's not part of the book or series: Suburban mom Susan, while her kids are in bed and her husband's who-knows-where, kicks back with an "Ambien margarita" and introduces us to her and her friends' comfort TV show.

What to expect at Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical Parody

The first moment of humor at Heated Rivalry comes when you climb the nondescript stairs from street level and enter a luxe, red-velvet-cloaked lounge, a relic of the building's big-budget former tenant, Sleep No More. You know, the six-story, immersive Macbeth-meets-film-noir experience that ran for 15 years? The fact that a scrappy parody musical is its successor in the highbrow space, whose decor has not been altered, is hilarious in and of itself. The lounge is, though, a great place to catch up with friends over a ginger ale or a Blue Moon Over Brooklyn smoothie pre-show.

The musical is performed in the intimate, cabaret-like Culture Club a few floors up, where actors make up for the small stage size by making ample use of the aisles. And if you're a conventionally attractive man, you might get picked to play Scott Hunter, which is very much a speaking role. Don't worry, you'll get a binder — and a banana.

What audiences are saying about Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical Parody

Audiences at early performances of Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical Parody have shared mostly enthusiastic responses to the story's move from screen to stage.

• "There's no way in hell the writers of this show could have predicted I'd see MULTIPLE productions and cry both times [...] honorary tony specifically for the moment where ilyas mom shows him a sign from the beyond and it's shane." - Mezzanine user Alyssa Daguimol
• "As someone who sees basically everything on and off-Broadway, and has been reheating, rereading, and deep in fics since December, I am very much the demographic for this show [...] Jimin Moon and Jay Armstrong Johnson are both so good, and after seeing Jimin in Sunset Blvd., I already knew he was great, but Jay was such a surprise since I hadn't seen him in a lead role before." - Reddit user u/NattoRiceFurikake
• "Even though they call it "a love letter" to HR, the framing device of a straight wine mom in an unhappy marriage sounds a bit making fun of the female section of the audience." - Reddit user u/daisyemeritus
• "The plot parodies the show perfectly while not following the TV show closely." - Mezzanine user B A
• "To be honest it's more of a parody of heated rivalry fans' conception of the show than the show itself [...] But it was really well done, in terms of script, direction, production, and acting." - Mezzanine user Nisha Rao

Who should see Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical Parody

• It goes without saying that any fan of the Heated Rivalry TV show and/or its source material will want to experience the story on stage. The show is made for us.
• Plan a parody-musical double header by seeing this show and the equally irreverent (and cleverly crafted) Titanique on Broadway. Bonus: Both got their start in a basement (Titanique of Gristedes, Heated Rivalry of the West Bank Cafe on 42nd Street).
• Fans of other musicals that parody theatre itself, like The Book of Mormon or Schmigadoon!, will enjoy the references to Anything Goes, Rent, Hamilton, and Wicked, among others. The Venn diagram between theatre kids and Loons is most definitely close to a circle.
• Fans of Sleep No More may want to see Heated Rivalry just to experience a new offering in its old space. That was reason enough for one of my friends to want to go.

Learn more about Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical Parody off Broadway

Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical Parody scores with catchy earworms and lovingly crafted jokes. Even though its central romance comes off lukewarm, this show still a hot ticket worth snagging for any Heated Rivalry fan.

Learn more and get Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical Parody tickets on New York Theatre Guide. Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical Parody is at the 6th Floor Theater at The Culture Club at 530 West 27th St. through September 7.

Photo credit: Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical Parody off Broadway. (Photos by Matthew Murphy)