Heated Rivalry musical comes to Soulpepper for 3 nights in July
The unauthorized queer parody about hockey and desire plays July 9–12 after an off-Broadway buzz run at New York's Culture Club.
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Soulpepper is bringing Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical Parody to Toronto for a brief but buzzy run this summer.
The theatre company announced the show will play July 9 to 12, fresh off its acclaimed off-Broadway stint at New York's Culture Club. Written by Dylan MarcAurele and directed by New York-based Canadian Alan Kliffer, it's a glittery love letter to queer fandom.
The plot follows golden boy Shane Hollander's athletic trajectory "from power centre to power bottom," complete with a bop-heavy score of 14 original songs, dizzying time jumps, and scene-stealing cameos from characters every drama student dreams of playing — like "Ilya's Ass."
"This show reminds us how much fun theatre can be," says Soulpepper artistic director Paolo Santalucia, "and how great it feels when we get to celebrate Canadian artistry that travels far beyond our borders."
After its Toronto pit stop, the production heads to Montreal's Just for Laughs Festival. The cast for the Canadian version hasn't been announced, and the show will be more of a staged reading than the full razzle-dazzle of the New York production — but that hasn't stopped theatregoers from snapping up seats.
Tickets went on sale at soulpepper.ca. Given the limited run, seats are moving fast.