Hot competition Everywhere, including off-Broadway.
A parody of the hit Canadian show will premiere off-Broadway next May, following eight sold-out musical performances in March. The show, written by Dylan Marcorelli, follows the main plot points of the show, which is now set to songs like “Big Ass, Cold Heart” and “Shane Hollander Slap That Stick,” with the added character of Susan, who is the “lovable mother of wine,” an avid fan and somewhat unreliable storyteller.
Mark Orrell, a musical theater composer who has previously written a musical parody of M3gan Movie and episodes Real Housewivesas it aired, he knew he wanted to turn the TV series into a musical after only about 20 minutes of watching it.
“It was the bike scene. I absolutely loved those bikes. I was like, ‘This is iconic. It’s displayable. I loved the way their fingers touched the water bottle,'” Mark Orrell said.
As per his usual process, he ended up watching the series just once and taking notes. If he watches more than that, “my compass loses its calibration of what is going to be funny or emotionally resonant.” He said. And from this came, Hot Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical Parody Which includes a bicycle music scene as well as a big opening number with the chorus, “Gay hockey players with big butts.”
The character of Susan, played by Ryan Redmond, came from his desire to talk about the way the show was becoming increasingly popular with women, as well as the practical need for a narrator with only four cast members. Audience members are also referred to as “Susan.”
“I think that’s a fun central idea, the idea of a lovable wine mother who can take us through the story, and she’s got her Yeti glass of Sauvignon Blanc, and she’s probably in a marriage that’s not very happy, but that’s why she has this amazing emotional refuge in the show. Hot competition“We’re all Susans,” said Mark Orrell.
Due to scheduling demands and a desire to capitalize on the show’s momentum, MarcAurele only had three weeks to write the musical before the concert performances in March. The actors only had a few days of rehearsals. Broadway actor Jay Armstrong Johnson was asked to play Connor Story’s character Ilya Rozanov, whom friends said looked similar to him (“I’m a white guy with high cheekbones and curly hair, so definitely, yeah,” he joked.) And like Story, he had the added challenge of overcoming a Russian accent, but on a faster timeline.
“I went into the rehearsal process thinking, ‘Well, if my Russian accent is a little bad, maybe that will help parody the whole thing,’” Armstrong said. “and [director] now [Kliffer] Dylan didn’t believe in that, so I ended up hiring a dialect coach to work on the Russian accent. The bulk of my training was trying to get rid of this very difficult Russian accent, which is a lot harder than I thought it would be.
With the concert performances over, the musical is now set to run for a full eight weeks, which will include choreography, starting May 12 in the Sixth Floor Theater. Armstrong will reprise his role as Elijah, alongside new cast member Jimin Moon, and returning cast members Redmond, Cherie Torres, and Ryan Duncan. They all have Broadway experience.
As the parody moves into a larger setting, it’s unclear how aware the creators of the TV series are of the musical. A press representative for Crave, the original streaming site for the series, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
While his show is a parody, MarcAurele’s musical also pays homage to some of the emotional resonance he said he found in the series.
“It’s embarrassing to say it, but I really sympathize with Shane Hollander. He’s this guy who’s trying so hard to be the best hockey player ever, the best son he can be, and you see his journey as a gay person. There’s a lot that resonated with me,” he said.
