Listen to this article
Estimated 4 minutes
The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.
It’s finally home ice advantage for the off-Broadway show Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical Parody.
The queer hockey romance based on the hit Canadian TV series skates into Toronto for a limited three-night run at Soulpepper Theatre starting on July 9.
Canadian director-producer Alan Kliffer says bringing the show north is about timing as much as it is about momentum.
“It really is time that we brought it over to Canada.”
From TV binge to off-Broadway hit
The arrival in Toronto reflects the parody’s own origin story. After bingeing the popular TV series Heated Rivalry, writer-composer Dylan MarcAurele asked a simple question: What if the beloved romance between Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie) became a musical?
MarcAurele says the piece took off fast, turning from songwriting bursts into sold-out concert readings before racing to an off-Broadway production, fuelled by the series’ thriving fandom.
And the show’s momentum in New York has felt immediate, according to Kliffer. “It’s hard to believe it,” he said, “it almost is happening too fast for me to take in.”
He says the off-Broadway show, which premiered on May 26, has been a huge hit, noting that the off-Broadway cast has already recorded a cast album. The show’s original eight-week run has also been extended through Sept. 7.
Home is Canada
For its debut in Canada, Kliffer says Toronto’s Soulpepper Theatre was the right home. He has previously worked with artistic director Paolo Santalucia and enjoys it.
“I love Paolo,” Kliffer said, “I’m so thrilled that he’s the artistic director of Soulpepper. They couldn’t have made a better choice.”
In a statement to CBC News, Santalucia said the Heated Rivalry musical parody “naturally” belongs at Soulpepper, and that it has “already galvanized a passionate global community, offering a thrilling reminder of what Canadian work can do: take up space with joy, humour, sensitivity, and subversiveness.”
“To bring that energy into our home alongside the momentum of the Fringe and on the heels of Pride Month feels like exactly the kind of cultural moment Soulpepper should be helping to amplify,” Santalucia said.
Kliffer says he’s lined up most of the Canadian cast, leaning on his knowledge of the local theatre scene and people he knows would be the right fit.
Toronto to Montreal and beyond
The Toronto dates, set for July 9 to July 12, will be presented as a staged concert reading rather than a fully mounted production due to logistics and timing. Kliffer promised it still won’t feel stripped down.
“Binders will be in hands,” he said, “there’ll be light costuming, light props … you’re still gonna get something fun.”
After Toronto, the Canadian cast is scheduled to head to Montreal’s Just for Laughs comedy festival, where the show will perform twice daily from July 17 to 19.
Kliffer also said the production’s path is still expanding. He is preparing a U.K. production to open later this year.
Asked about what happens next, Kliffer said the Toronto staging could also be a stepping-stone to something bigger.
“I would love the full-stage production to come to Canada,” he told CBC News, adding that he’d like to someday mount a major “anchor” production in Canada. “That’s my dream.”
Kliffer says another reason for bringing the show to Toronto is the TV series itself, especially the chance for its stars and creative team to see the production. “That’s actually one of the reasons why I wanted to bring this concert [reading] to Toronto,” he said.
“Fingers crossed. We would love to see you, Rachel Reid, Jacob Tierney, Brendan Brady, Hudson, Connor and François [Arnaud].”
