Six months. That’s all it took for a Canadian hockey romance about two men desperately in love and equally desperate to deny it to travel from HBO Max debut to Off-Broadway stage. Not a slow burn. A detonation.
After debuting in late 2025, Heated Rivalry became Crave’s highest-rated original show and one of HBO Max’s most successful acquired series, earning a 96% on Rotten Tomatoes and the Outstanding New TV Series honor at the GLAAD Media Awards. And now, because the universe apparently rewards good taste, the queer hockey drama that broke the internet is getting its very own unauthorized musical parody โ headed to a stage in New York City this spring.
From the Ice to the Stage
Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical Parody will run Off-Broadway this spring, following eight sold-out concert performances earlier this month. That backstory matters. This was not a production carefully nurtured over years in some workshop. Writer and composer Dylan MarcAurele had three weeks to write the entire musical before those March concert presentations. The cast had only a few days of rehearsals. Every single concert sold out anyway. If you needed proof of what this fanbase will do for more content โ in any form, on any stage, at any speed โ there it is.
Performances for the full staged run begin May 12 at the 6th Floor Theater, formerly The McKittrick Hotel, with an official opening night on May 26 for eight weeks only. The 199-seat venue sits in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood, which is, it must be said, perhaps the most perfectly situated theater in all of New York for exactly this show.
The Parody That Actually Has a Heart
The musical follows starry-eyed golden boy Shane Hollander on “his journey from power center to power bottom.” Yes, the promotional copy is exactly that cheeky, and no, we are not apologizing for loving it.
But underneath the wordplay and campy humor, something genuinely meaningful is happening here. The show traces key plot points from the series โ now set to songs including “Big Ass, Cold Heart” and “Shane Hollander Slap That Stick” โ and adds a character named Susan, described as a “lovable wine mom,” avid fan, and somewhat unreliable narrator of the whole affair. Susan is not just comic relief. MarcAurele has talked about her representing every fan who found unexpected emotional refuge in the show.
That sincerity living inside a comedy is precisely what elevates a fan project into something worth traveling to Chelsea for. MarcAurele put it plainly: “Embarrassing to say, but I really identify with Shane Hollander. He’s this person who tries so hard to be the best hockey player that he can be, the best son that he can be, and you see his journey as a gay person. There’s just so much of it that resonated with me.”
Broadway Royalty on Deck
The casting alone should silence any skeptics. Jay Armstrong Johnson, known for Parade, plays Ilya Rozanov. Jimin Moon, known for Sunset Boulevard, steps in as Shane Hollander, replacing Zachary Noah Piser from the concert run. Ryann Redmond from Frozen, Cherry Torres from Hamilton, and Ryan Duncan from Gettin’ the Band Back Together round out the company, with all but Moon reprising their concert roles.
Johnson was recruited partly because friends said he bears a resemblance to the character’s original actor, Connor Storrie โ and he had to crack a Russian accent on an accelerated timeline. He appears to have leaned into the absurdity with exactly the right energy.
The full creative team includes MarcAurele on book, music, lyrics, and orchestrations; Alan Kliffer on direction; Brooke and Tiffany Engen on choreography; Sully Ross on scenic design; Brendan McCann on costume design; Devin Cameron on lighting design; and Germรกn Martinez on sound design. This is not a scrappy fan production thrown together in a black box. It is a fully realized theatrical event.
Why This Moment Matters
Gay stories getting the full Broadway parody treatment is not nothing. Friends, Scream, Carrie, The Exorcist, The Real Housewives, and Harry Potter have all received the musical parody treatment over the years. But Heated Rivalry joining that list feels different because the source material is explicitly, unashamedly queer from its very foundation. Based on Rachel Reid’s Game Changers book series, the Canadian-produced show became an instant sensation when it landed on HBO Max.
A queer sports romance now sits comfortably beside cultural touchstones like The Real Housewives and Harry Potter in the unauthorized-parody hall of fame. Pause on that. It signals mainstream cultural saturation in the best possible way. You do not parody what you do not love. You do not fill eight concerts and book an eight-week Off-Broadway run for something niche. Heated Rivalry is not a niche story anymore.
Production on Season 2 of the original series is slated to begin this summer, with an expected release date in April 2027 โ meaning the musical parody lands right in the middle of what promises to be a very long, very satisfying moment in pop culture.
Frequently Asked Questions
When and where is Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical Parody playing?
It runs Off-Broadway from May 12 to June 28 at the 6th Floor Theater, 530 West 27th St., with opening night on May 26.
Who stars in it?
Jay Armstrong Johnson and Jimin Moon lead the company as Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander, joined by Ryann Redmond, Cherry Torres, and Ryan Duncan โ most of whom performed in the eight sold-out concert presentations that sparked this whole run.
Is this officially approved by HBO Max or the show’s creators?
Nope. This is an independent production with no involvement or approval from HBO Max or the creators of the original series. Hence “unauthorized” right there in the title.
Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical Parody is the kind of thing that only happens when a show genuinely captures a community’s heart. Eight sold-out concerts grew into an eight-week Off-Broadway run because fans showed up โ loudly, repeatedly, and without apology โ for a story about two men who cannot stop circling each other on and off the ice. If you are in New York this spring, you already know where you need to be. Follow Facetheboys for ongoing coverage of queer culture, entertainment, and the stories that matter to our community.
