Book, Music and Lyrics: Dylan MarcAurele
Director: Alan Kliffer
Does a book-to-screen-to-stage overnight sensation like Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical Parody, with such a meteoric and flamboyant rise to fame (pun intended) need any more press to prove its worth? In case it does, allow me to put in my two cents: this boisterous musical by the never-ceasing-to-surprise-us Dylan MarcAurele, is one of the most accomplished and entertaining Fringe shows of 2026.
Coming off the fresh hit Pop Off, Michelangelo!, which premiered at the Fringe in 2024, MarcAurele jumped at the challenge to respond (unofficially, wink-wink) to the popular TV series pitting fictional hockey heavyweights Shane Hollander (Zheng Xi Yong) and Ilya Rozanov (Joseph Dann) against each other as culturally star-crossed lovers. All’s well that ends well, however, when their rivalry gives way to a cute an endearing romance, proving that love can conquer all in the end, in all its exhilarating and iconoclastic campiness.
The force behind the show stands in the range of musical styles its inspired composer chooses to alternate effectively; the Broadway-like range of the cast’s voices; and the fortuitous choice to use an audience member to play Scott Hunter, the other fictional hockey player who, unlike Ilya and Shane, is openly gay and, judging by the way he was played the night I saw the show, definitely loving it!
In fact, there is little not to like about the performance starting with the self-assured cockiness of the show’s narrator, Susan (May Tether) and her exhilarating buddies Susan and Susan (Andrew Berlin shines in all his capacities from cocktail waiter to Ilya’s father while Sylvie Stenson gives the show vivacity and sexiness). Truth be told, the entire cast is incredibly versatile, especially when slipping from one costume – and character – into another whenever the plot requires it. Then there is Ilya’s splendidly crafted parody of a Russian accent, as well as the inspired casting decision to use Zheng Xi Yong in Shane’s role (his voice is purely sensational), both performers seeming to have bright futures ahead of them. Finally, it needs to be said that the imaginative song lyrics capture splendidly what seems like the entirety of gay (and hockey!) culture in couplets that never once sound tired or clichéd. Indeed, I never realized there were quite so many rhymes for the human posterior until I saw Heated Rivalry. You don’t know what could rhyme with caboose? Go see the show.
With flawless direction by Alan Kliffer, who leaves no stone unturned in his precision to make sure all the metaphorical screws of the fast-moving scenes are tightly screwed (again, pun intended), it’s no wonder that Heated Rivalry is headed to the West End later this year. And so it should, because it just proves that a musical can be shamelessly camp, outrageously funny and impeccably crafted without sacrificing any of the theatrical intelligence that makes it work.
Runs until August 30 2026| Image: Contributed
