A Heated Rivalry–themed musical is coming to the city
Hollanov hive, get your credit cards ready
If your July calendar isn’t already looking sweaty enough, Soulpepper is about to turn up the thermostat. The theatre company just announced that it’s bringing Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical Parody to town for a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it run from July 9 to 12.
Fresh off its buzzy off-Broadway run at New York’s Culture Club, this cheeky pop juggernaut, written by Dylan MarcAurele and directed by New York–based Canadian director and producer Alan Kliffer, is 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 plus dizzying time jumps and scene-stealing cameos from characters that every drama student dreams of playing someday, 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 brief Toronto pit stop, the production is packing up its jockstraps and heading to Montreal’s Just for Laughs Festival. The cast for the Canadian version hasn’t been announced yet, and the show will be more of a staged reading than the full razzle-dazzle of the New York production, but that isn’t stopping thirsty theatregoers from snapping up seats.
Tickets officially went on sale yesterday at soulpepper.ca. If you want to witness the exact moment the puck hits the ice, don’t wait to secure your seat. See you at the cottage.
Leah Rumack has worked as the deputy editor of Today’s Parent and the features director of Fashion and has contributed as a writer to a long list of Canadian brands including Toronto Life, the Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star, Chatelaine, Elle Canada, Zoomer, the National Post, EnRoute and Re:porter. Her work focuses on travel, food, pop culture, beauty and fashion.
