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[0:00] Jeff Malone: Welcome to Half Hour with Jeff & Richie, the podcast where we explore the latest shows we see, sharing our insights and opinions on the performances, storylines, and everything in between. In today's episode, we're discussing the off-Broadway production of Heated Rivalry, the unauthorized musical parody playing at The Club in New York City. Whether you cannot catch the show in person or you want to expand your thoughts after seeing it, this episode is for you. And as always, we want to inform you that this episode will contain spoilers, so if you're ready to dive into this production, stick around with us. I'm Jeff.

[0:29] Richie Grasso: And I'm Richie, and we're thrilled to be your hosts for this episode. But before we start the conversation about Heated Rivalry, the unauthorized musical parody, here are a few words from our advertisers.

[0:38] Jeff Malone: Welcome, everyone, to a new episode of Half Hour with Jeff & Richie. Today, we're discussing Heated Rivalry, the unauthorized musical parody. Inspired by the hit show about hockey, Heated Rivalry, the unauthorized musical parody, follows starry-eyed golden boy Shane Hollander. Relive all the moments from the show with an incredible cast of Broadway actors who thought they were auditioning to be in season two. Sporting a bop-infused score, scene-stealing cameos, and time jumps absolutely no one can keep track of. Audiences will find themselves hot and bothered and probably saying, "girl." Because with love, sometimes it comes when you least expect it. So grab a can of the dry and join us for this fun romp.

[1:21] Richie Grasso: Okay, wow. So, Heated Rivalry, the unauthorized musical parody, Jeff, we are talking about the Heated Rivalry TV show that came out just a few short months ago. So this was a really big, groundbreaking TV show talking about gay, homosexual themes in the hockey industry. And the show was really, really popular amongst many, many demographics of people. And to see an unauthorized musical parody come this fast, I think it's pretty impressive that a team can get put together and write a script and a score and get a venue and get producers and get a cast and put this up in just a few short months. Very impressive. So I would first start by saying, I would suggest people should probably see the TV show Heated Rivalry before seeing this.

I think you need to see it. Or they may not understand a lot of the references. So starting by that, if a lot of you are listening and don't really know what the source material is, maybe go check that out first as a good launching point before seeing this, because I think that helps in a show like this.

[2:19] Jeff Malone: I agree with that. And we're talking about a parody here that has great source material already. When most of us started watching the TV show, we probably didn't realize that there was a whole romance novel book series for the Heated Rivalry books. And as we've kind of gone along now, I started reading some of the books. I've read the first two, the first and now we've also watched the television show. So I feel like when it comes to the book and concept here of this parody, they really did a great job with kind of looking about what was surrounding this. So there's a huge female base for this series in general. Also male following as well. But I love what they do here with kind of creating the Susans as who's telling the story about how obsessed they are with Heated Rivalry and that they're so obsessed with it that they are creating this parody musical where we can now continue on until we finally get season two.

And I think they already knew probably that a lot of gay men were going to follow this no matter what. So to get another demographic of people who are watching it and not just being narrated by gay men or having it from the gay male perspective, but instead having these like Susans, which are played by men and women too, which is so funny in wigs and they're the narrators that are taking on this journey of like these Midwest, like moms that all loved the show. Cause there is a whole demographic of people that like that, that watched it. That was a smart move to make this the narration.

[3:55] Richie Grasso: I think overall with, with on, if you're talking about an unauthorized musical parody, you already have the opportunity to say, we can have fun with this and make the references, but also kind of make it our own. And I think that's what a lot of parodies do well, especially this one. I really thought that that was a good kind of way of bringing the whole story together.

[4:10] Jeff Malone: Yeah. So kind of when we talk about parody here, where do you feel like this show falls on the spectrum in the whole world of parody musicals?

[4:15] Richie Grasso: Definitely high up there. I think, I think, I think it's, you know, it's not the most extremely original thing because it's based on something, right? So when you have something that is already based on something that has serious moments, I think there was an opportunity to say, okay, this is serious, but it's also groundbreaking and everyone loves it. Let's kind of poke some fun at it a little bit. I don't think it was necessarily making fun of these characters' journeys of coming out and living their truth. I think it was just being playful with it. When people are referencing how overtly sexual the TV show was, or some of the girl line that the girl always said, like these moments here and there, like how did they were like, oh, the smoothie shop owner that has eight pack abs, how not this with the smoothie shop worker, I mean, right.

So like all these things, as we were commenting throughout the piece, the TV show, they kind of referenced that in here. And then could it have just been a play parody? Sure. But then they added this musical element, which kind of also heightened some of those emotions and brings different level of dramatics and then comedy and, and silly moments. It really worked really well in that way.

[5:17] Jeff Malone: Right. And we have book music and lyrics and orchestrations all by the same person. It's by Dylan Marcurel. And I found that like, when I'm really looking at this, a parody aside, I really think like this was studied well. And we had songs that were created in here that really helped also drive the plot along from both perspectives, from the perspective of like the Susans, which is like, I mean, what we would call, it's kind of like a Greek chorus in a way that they're coming in, they're helping tell the story, but it wasn't like fully narrated in the point that like, I get annoyed. It was narrated in this like, funny, like, oh my God, that makes so much sense kind of way, because this is how we all felt in these moments. But the music was actually written really well.

[6:00] Richie Grasso: Yeah. And it was very bop heavy. I mean, we have a song in the very beginning called What We Want, and it kind of felt going through almost like that motif that we're always looking for in, in the musical scores, where it's like gay hockey players, you know, like with big butts. And I think it's so funny in that way. And I think it leaves you wanting more. Like I left there saying like, oh, I wish there was more instruments in the orchestration. I wanted more, I wanted more elevation of music. I wanted more elevation of scenery and more because they're starting with this. Right. And where I saw Titanic in this very, very similar way, the underground theater, the small, lower budget, you know, and I was like, wow, I wonder what this would be like if we elevated the orchestra, we elevated the scene.

Now look, it's on Broadway and this extremely elevated high budget production. Right. So I, when I love seeing, and we saw Omeri start off Broadway and then Omeri went to Broadway and got bigger. And I think I love seeing things at the ground level of works that are starting and like, how are they making inventive staging and inventive storytelling happen in these smaller spaces? That is where I think the real grit and work happens for artists. And I love that we see that here. This could have been brushed aside as a quick little thing. And no, like there was time spent, I think on the way we were going to tell it. And I've seen parodies before. I'm like, okay, I think we're getting a little tired. Like what's going on here? But this, I didn't feel the whole time I was engaged. I was laughing. I was like, I didn't feel exhausted by it. I was like, this is great.

[7:32] Richie Grasso: No, because I think it does have good momentum behind it right now. And like the story is saying, like we want Heated Rivalry to continue while we're still waiting for season two. And I think like this is the great kind of work to put out there by like the, just the retelling of the story, sometimes a little bit about how absurd some of it was. And it's like, they even make fun of things like, oh, like he never even has to like get ready before they hook up with each other. And it's like, that's the kind of questions that everyone kind of asked when they were watching the show. And it was brought in to the parody as well, which I thought was smart and funny and great. And to kind of see this have the kind of bones already, like what you're talking about, where if we expanded on it even more, it will only get better.

But I think that this starts out from the concept of this as a parody musical really well. And I think it happens quick. Like, I think parody used to happen a lot quicker when things were like buzzy. I remember like when I was in high school and I saw, I went to the Fringe Festival in Scotland and they had a parody musical already about Facebook and this was 2008. So Facebook was just starting. So when like you're quick and you're on the coattail of something that's like really buzzy and hot right now, then I think that this works really well.

[8:53] Jeff Malone: All right. Well, I think this is a great time to take a quick break. When we get back, we'll get into this whole production here with the direction and the cast as well. So we'll be right back.

[9:03] Richie Grasso: Okay. And we're back. So let's talk about this production here a little bit because we are seeing an off-Broadway production here that's happening in the McKittrick Hotel. In the Sleep No More venue that was there for so long. So when we take the elevator upstairs, you already feel like you're going into immersive experience, but then when you go, you're kind of just walking into like a proscenium setup where there's folding chairs and they're trying to make it happen in this big room. So because of that, I was like, oh, I think this could be working at another proscenium stage off-Broadway. Maybe this was a venue that just worked best for them now, but I feel like the next step could be for them to go to a new world stages or something that has more of like a theater feel to it. Cause it's not immersive. Like the things that have been here have been immersive in that way.

[9:50] Jeff Malone: Well, I think it's fun because I think it's kind of interesting to see what they're doing with this space. You know, they're taking you inside. You kind of entered the club where they used to hold you before you would start your Sleep No More journey. And then the actual show is taking place in what they are calling now the club where you would end Sleep No More. And then you would be able to go into this like speakeasy area. So a lot of the bones of Sleep No More are still there in that, in that space and seeing this and how they have it set up there, you know, they already have the bar, they have like the train car that they've turned into like a photo op moment. And then when you go in, you're sitting in these chairs and they have this really small stage in the front, but I think it works because it's intimate in this setting. I think they need the right.

[10:38] Heated Rivalry: Welcome to the show! Today, we're diving into "Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical Parody," which is currently playing Off-Broadway at The Club in New York City.

[11:08] Heated Rivalry: This show is inspired by the hockey romance series and its TV adaptation, and it employs a fast-moving parody format that really keeps the energy up.

[11:38] Heated Rivalry: With a small cast and a sharp comic structure, it tells a story that resonates best with audiences who are already familiar with the source material.

[11:44] Heated Rivalry: We’ll be discussing the plot, the characters known as the “Susans,” the performances, and the venue itself.

[11:50] Heated Rivalry: Plus, we’ll share our thoughts on that unforgettable audience participation moment that pulled Jeff onstage!

[11:56] Heated Rivalry: The production design is also something we need to touch on, as well as the pacing of the show.

[12:02] Heated Rivalry: And of course, we’ll speculate on where the show might go next as it continues to build buzz.

[12:12] Heated Rivalry: So, let’s get started with the plot.

[12:22] Heated Rivalry: The storyline is a hilarious take on the rivalry between two hockey players, and it’s filled with comedic twists that keep you engaged.

[12:32] Heated Rivalry: The characters are exaggerated versions of the original ones, which adds to the humor and charm of the show.

[12:42] Heated Rivalry: The “Susans” play a pivotal role in the narrative, providing both comic relief and emotional depth.

[12:52] Heated Rivalry: The performances were top-notch, with each actor bringing their unique flair to their roles.

[13:02] Heated Rivalry: The chemistry between the cast members really shines through, making the comedic moments even more enjoyable.

[13:12] Heated Rivalry: And let’s not forget about the venue! The Club is an intimate space that enhances the audience's experience.

[13:22] Heated Rivalry: Being so close to the action makes the audience feel like they’re part of the show, which is a huge plus.

[13:32] Heated Rivalry: Now, about that audience participation moment—Jeff, you were pulled up on stage!

[13:42] Heated Rivalry: How did that feel?

[13:52] Heated Rivalry: It was both thrilling and a bit nerve-wracking, but the cast made it a fun experience.

[14:02] Heated Rivalry: The way they engage the audience is really clever and adds a layer of excitement to the performance.

[14:12] Heated Rivalry: Moving on to the production design, it’s minimalist yet effective, allowing the humor and performances to take center stage.

[14:22] Heated Rivalry: The pacing of the show is brisk, which keeps the energy high and the audience laughing throughout.

[14:32] Heated Rivalry: As for where the show might go next, it’s already generating quite a buzz, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it extend its run or even tour.

[14:42] Heated Rivalry: It’s definitely a production that deserves to be seen by a wider audience.

[14:52] Heated Rivalry: Overall, "Heated Rivalry" is a delightful parody that offers a fresh take on familiar characters and stories.

[15:02] Heated Rivalry: If you’re a fan of the source material, you’ll definitely appreciate the humor and clever writing.

[15:12] Heated Rivalry: And if you’re not familiar, it’s still an entertaining show that showcases the talent of its cast.

[15:22] Heated Rivalry: So, if you’re in New York City, make sure to check it out!

[15:32] Heated Rivalry: We’d love to hear your thoughts on this production, so feel free to share in the Spotify comments.

[15:42] Heated Rivalry: And let us know what you’d like us to cover next!

[15:52] Heated Rivalry: If you enjoy these post-show discussions, don’t forget to follow Half Hour and leave a rating and review.

[16:02] Heated Rivalry: It really helps more theater lovers find the podcast.

[16:12] Heated Rivalry: Thanks for tuning in, and we’ll see you next time!

[21:16] Richie Grasso: To go to a more off-Broadway space where it can be more of a theater setting, because the show is just in the theater setting, the equivalency I'm bringing it to is when Titanic moved to the Daryl Roth, and now we're in the Daryl Roth, we're in Union Square, and there's a lobby, and there's a bar, and then you go into the theater, and you're in a raked seating, and you're in a proscenium house. It just feels like that's what this wants. I think that that wants to go there. I don't think the show's giving enough immersion where you're up on your feet or you're drinking. There's not even an intermission, so I don't know. I think this just seemed to be like, oh, this was the venue that worked best for this at this time, and I don't know if I personally could see this being their forever home like that, in that way.

It could be. Maybe. Who knows, right? I think overall, when you look at it, I think it's fine where it is, but I also think, yeah, if they want to take it to the next level and get even more people to see it, sure, they might need to move. It could even, I don't know if it would ever close, and then when the next season comes, they bring it back. Titanic had kind of taken a few months of a pause after it closed off, before it announced Broadway. Again, that's a very different show, and I'm not trying to keep comparing it to that. Well, we're talking about something that moves along from small space to next to bigger space to now they're in the biggest space you could be in on Broadway, where even being in the St. James is one of the biggest places you could be on Broadway, so I think, I don't know.

I think it's probably more about where they want to take this to. I know they've already announced a Canada production and also a UK production. So that's cool. I think it's going to be in the fringe. Cool. So I think it's in the right places. It's parody. I don't think we need to overthink how big a show like this needs to get.

[22:56] Jeff Malone: Exactly. Exactly. I think build the momentum, have fun with it, and keep it going while everyone wants more of the Heat of Rivalry series.

[23:05] Richie Grasso: Right, right, right. So I think it's fine in that way. Right. So this, interestingly enough, as much as this wasn't really part of the Tony season, it was off-Broadway, it was new, and we're kind of spending these last few minutes talking about how we wrapped up this Tony season. We're at the late June, early July moment. There's no, there's a couple new off-Broadway things we're going to try to get to, and we'll see in the coming weeks and months. There's no new Broadway show coming until end of August with the Paranormal Activity. So right now, usually there's at least one or two Broadway shows that are already starting the new season. We're kind of in this like, oh, like next chapter moment of Broadway and even off-Broadway with some new things coming.

So we're kind of sitting here saying rest of July is a little bit of a hiatus for us as we're getting ready to move on to the next Tony season with some new Broadway and off-Broadway. However, we're also here to tell you that we are going to London this month in July. We're not going to tell you right now exactly what shows we're seeing, but we are seeing a few. When we get back, we're going to be putting a little London segment out of some of the shows we saw, and we'll put some episodes out about that because I'm sure a lot of you will be wondering, especially to our UK listeners out there, what we're coming to see in London, which is really exciting. You and I have not been to London together before, and especially with the podcast, we have not. So what are you looking forward to most about just the London theatre scene and what we're going to come back and talk about on our podcast?

[24:30] Jeff Malone: Right now, what I'm looking forward to with London and the West End here is definitely just seeing what the theatre community is like. The last time I was there, I was in high school. I saw a production of Dirty Dancing that was very interesting, but now I'm going back and I keep seeing the same thing people are saying. The West End, the West End, the West End. It's where new things are starting. It's where people are taking the most risk with new shows, and we're seeing it. We're seeing that those shows are then coming to Broadway after. It's not anything new, but it just seems like people are investing more into that experience in creating new works and taking the leap of faith there. So I'm just really excited to see what the theatre experience is like there.

And when we get back, we'll have some new episodes coming out in August. We'll do a little preview of what's to come with the new Tony season, which, like I said, these shows are going to be starting in the fall. We have a lot of announced things already, some things rumored but not officially announced. For the things that are officially announced, Jeff, what are you most looking forward to in the Tony season for Broadway or Off-Broadway, for play or musical, for new work or revival? What are you most looking forward to?

[25:35] Richie Grasso: I feel like if I was to go right now big on new musicals I'm most excited for and revivals I'm most excited for, there's two new musicals I'm very excited for. I'm really excited to see Paddington when it comes and to see how that does. It's part of the conversation we've always been having of like there really is no new family shows that are coming to Broadway, so I feel like this might hit it out of the park when it comes next season. I've heard nothing but good things. Maybe we might be seeing it in the West End. You're gonna find out soon enough what we're seeing here. But I feel that I'm most excited for that. And I'm also really excited to see the production of Wanted coming here. We did see that when it was at Paper Mill Playhouse.

The name has changed and now we're getting to see, I feel like this was almost two years ago now, we may have. Yeah and we enjoyed it at Paper Mill and I remember saying with a few minor fixes and edits and some tightening up of the show a little bit, I think this could do a Broadway run and now look it's got about to do a Broadway run, which is really, really exciting. Of those two announced shows there, there are a couple other announced new works coming, but I feel like those two are what I'm most excited for right now. And then in terms of revival, I'm really excited to see Jamie Lloyd's production of Evita. I've heard nothing but great things as well. We're very big fans of Jamie Lloyd, so you know we're definitely on that bandwagon.

But I'm also, and I haven't seen a production of Evita on, like a professional production of Evita, so I'm very excited to see that. I'm also excited to see The Sound of Music. I know, like, it's The Sound of Music. It's a classic. We're getting it at Lincoln Center. Please give us a set. We need scenery, please. Please give us a set. I feel like that show could really use some scenery. We would love some scenery. But I mean, like, we have Jasmine Amy Rogers starring in that, so I'm so sorry. That's going to be amazing.

[27:31] Jeff Malone: So most of those were the same that I was going to say. Wanted, for sure. Sound of Music, for sure. I was also going to throw in Damn Yankees. I really love that show and I think that a lot of people say, oh, it's old, it's dated, it's old, it's dated, but this is a really refreshed new revival coming and I'm really excited to see what they do with that. Evita as well. Also, I am very, very excited for Cat on the Hutton Roof. I'm a huge Tennessee Williams fan. I'm a big fan of that play. I've seen it on Broadway, the last time it was on Broadway. It's great. And after seeing a classic like Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, to see now a Tennessee Williams coming back, it's just nice to see that in this season and to just get really good theater.

I can't wait to see who's announced for that. Some good stuff. And one other, they did just announce Warriors, Lin-Manuel's new musical is also coming here. So that's going to be at the Lomfontein and that also could scoop in. I just feel like there's a different energy coming in this 26-27 Broadway season that was missing from the 25-26 season. And we didn't do a final episode on the 25-26 Broadway season, but to wrap that up there, I enjoyed the Tony Awards. I thought Pink was a great host. I'm very happy that Schmigadoon won. I am fine with Ragtime winning as well. And everyone needs to still go see Cats, the Jellicle Ball, because that is an amazing revival. But it just feels like we're having a new energy with this next season.

I also feel like last season, I kept saying this the last couple of seasons, but I do feel like this last season was also like the tail end of the COVID backlog. I still feel like we were in COVID backlog for some reason, even though there were so many things that were developed since COVID. But I feel like now we're entering this new season of like all the backlog of stuff and the five years of, it was about five or so years of COVID because they said, oh, it's going to take probably about five years to come back. And now that we're like out of that five-year mark, I think now we're just looking at the Broadway industry as like, okay, new things coming.

[29:06] Richie Grasso: Yeah. I don't even necessarily know if this past year was a full COVID backlog. I don't know. Definitely not full. I think like the year before that was definitely the end of the COVID backlog. But I feel like this last season, like the 25, 26 season really was just like, we didn't know what to do. So we just brought productions here. And now I feel like we're getting ready to move into like the new creation works again. And I'm excited about that. And I also, yeah, exactly. We're really looking forward to that. So what we'll do is we're going to be on a little bit of a hiatus for the rest of July. Please follow our Instagram because we're going to post things of the shows we're seeing in London in July.

When we get back from August, we'll put out our London episodes. We'll get ready to do a preview of what's to come for the fall. And then we're going to be diving in to the off-Broadway and the Broadway stuff in late August, early September with the new stuff coming. So give us a few weeks, make sure you follow our Insta stories. We'll post as much as we can while we're in London there seeing a few shows. Like we said, we're going to find out very soon what we're seeing. That's going to be the best way to keep up with us until we are back in August.

[30:24] Jeff Malone: All righty. Well, so. Oh my gosh, just out of time. Final thoughts on Heated Rivalry, the end of the season, London, what's to come. Final thoughts.

[30:33] Richie Grasso: I feel great about Heated Rivalry. I think everyone should go see this. I think it's a great parody musical to go check out during this summer season. It's a lot of fun. And overall, I think it feels good to kind of be putting a line in the sand after this 25, 26 Broadway season. It was a great season and I'm excited for what's coming up next.

[30:55] Jeff Malone: Totally agree with all that. Definitely try to check out the Heated Rivalry unauthorized musical parody if you can, as well as the many things that won. There were so many good shows. A lot of things are closing in the next few weeks and months. So check out the close. I always talk to family and friends. They say, wait, I didn't know that closed. We're like, when is that closing? Like check those dates because some things might be. And yes, as I said about the Tony season earlier, it was a great season. I'm happy Schmigadoon won. I want to go back and see it. I love that show so much. So all good things. So, you know, we'll be back before you know it. That does wrap up our discussion of this episode.

We hope you enjoyed our deep dive into Heated Rivalry, the unauthorized musical parody. And remember, we want to hear from you. Continue the conversation with us on Instagram and TikTok at half hour podcast and drop us a comment on Spotify and let us know your thoughts on Heated Rivalry, the unauthorized musical parody. Please also leave us a review. Your reviews mean so much to us. And remember to subscribe to our channel for all past and future episodes. Until next time, I'm Jeff and I'm Richie saying tata for now. Bye. Happy summer. Have a good summer, y'all.