Who knew the cottage would be in Chelsea?
At this point, everyone and their mother has heard about Heated Rivalry. The hit gay hockey romance series took off like a rocket when it first premiered on Crave and HBO Max, catapulting the leading men to superstardom.
As fans eagerly wait for season two to drop next April, there's thankfully a new Off-Broadway musical inspired by the hit show that's earning rave reviews. Directed by Alan Kliffer, Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical Parody is new comedy based on the show's first season.
The musical opened back in May and has received such positive feedback that it's been extended multiple times at The Culture Club. By flipping the premise to a laugh-out-loud comedy that's told through the lens of suburban mothers who love the hit hockey series, leading men Jay Armstrong Johnson and Troy Iwata are loving every second on stage each night.
Iwata recently joined the series as Shane Hollander in August and replaced OG cast member Jimin Moon. The comedian and actor currently serves as a correspondent on The Daily Show, but he's also starred in a slew of Broadway and Off-Broadway plays such Be More Chill, Shrek the Musical, La Cage aux Folles, and Waitress.
"It has no right to actually be this good! It's so smart, heartwarming, and well done. I'm very grateful that I can balance my schedule with The Daily Show. Our show hits all of the plot points. Our set is literally cardboard, but that adds to the charm of the show. It serves the tone of the show very well," Iwata tells Out.
Johnson, who plays Ilya Rovanov, is a decorated Broadway veteran who's starred in plenty of popular productions such as Hair, Catch Me If You Can, The Phantom of the Opera, Parade, and many more. When Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical Parody first came about, Kliffer actually slid in Johnson's DM's to intitially cast him as Rozanov.
"My boyfriend wasn't mad about it either! He's dating the Off-Broadway Ilya! A lot of people who love the TV show are middle-age women finding comfort in this gay hockey romance. The gays are loving it too! We love a little soft core porn, but all the women are so supportive of their gays," Johnson tells Out.
Stepping into the ice skates of an iconic character certainly has its challenges, but Johnson admits that playing Rozanov since the beginning of the musical's run has proven to be such a gift in his career.
"I've got to kiss six different and really beautiful Asian men over the last six months. I'm having a really good time over here! The hardest part was the accent. I worked with some dialect couches to get that Russian down better. That was the biggest challenge, but the other challenge has been portraying Ilya. Finding the theatricality in a stoic figure has been a challenge, but also, really fun," Johnson says.
One guarantee for any fan who's planning to see the musical is that they will laugh during the entire 85 minute show. Since there's no intermission, audiences get to soak up all of the fun as the talented cast and crew bring a fresh take to romance series.
"I really love making people happy every night. The whole arc of Shane is that he's the last person to realize he's gay. He has such a puppy dog nature to him. The comedy lies in the fact that he's a lovable bottom, but he doesn't realize it! He's not even scared to be the bottom. He just jumps right in," Iwata says.
Tickets for Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical Parody are on sale now! Learn more by visiting the official website here.
