Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical Parody

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If you didn’t see this Canadian series about the romance between two closeted gay hockey players when it became a sleeper hit on Netflix, you can stop reading here. There’s little point in seeing or even reading about a parody if you’re not familiar with the material it parodies. If you’re still here and were a fan of the show, read on. Triple threat Dylan MarcAurele has written the clever book, tuneful music and smart lyrics for this very entertaining show now gracing the postage-stamp-size stage of The Culture Club. The original series and the parody are based on a series of popular novels by Canadian author Rachel Reid. Audience research revealed, to the surprise of many, that a large portion of the books’ readers and the show’s viewers were straight women. Go figure. MarcAurele has cleverly used this fact to frame the story with narration by three middle-aged housewives, all named Susan. Shane Hollander, the Canadian hockey star, is at the heart of the story. Not yet out, he falls hard for the bisexual Russian player Ilya Rozanov, who claims to be in the relationship strictly for the sex. With broad strokes, the show reprises the ups and downs of their relationship over several years. To make room for interpolations by the three Susans that occasionally mention current pop culture memes and present-day events, MarcAurele has intelligently trimmed the script. The songs work well to advance the plot and are often melodious. The lyrics, many of which include obscenities, deserve to be heard. Unfortunately, the sound design has amped up the music to a level that occasionally makes that difficult. The two leads, Jimin Moon as Shane and Jay Armstrong Johnson as Ilya, are both very good. Ryann Redmond is a hoot as the main Susan. Cherry Torres amuses as Shane’s verbally abusive mother and Ryan Duncan is strong as Ilya’s disapproving father. Except for the two leads, all the actors play multiple roles. In a nice touch, each night a member of the audience is chosen to play the small but key role of NY hockey player Scott Hunter. The night I attended Scott was played by a very tall, athletic man who, with script in hand, did a pretty good job of acting. The scenic design by Sully Ross is appropriately tacky, as are the costumes by Brendan McCann. The choreography by Brooke and Tiffany Engen makes the most of a tiny space. Director Alan Kliffer keeps the show moving briskly. The audience, about 50/50 men and women, was wildly enthusiastic. All in all, it was a diverting 75 minutes for those who loved the series. Note: Avoid seats in rows B, C or E; they are not elevated above the row ahead.