Original Off-Broadway Cast (Center Stage Records) (4 / 5) Written and produced at breakneck speed in order to capitalize on the immense popularity of the TV series it spoofs, Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical Parody might well have been expected to be theatrical trash. What a huge surprise that it’s actually a clever, hilarious take-off with a fine score. The show’s primary creator is Dylan MarcAurele, who wrote the book, music, lyrics…and even the orchestrations! Perhaps his smartest decision was to give the show a framing device which posits that the primary audience of the steamy nighttime soap opera about two professional hockey players in lust consists of hausfraus who sip wine and compare notes via phone as they indulge in watching, with their husbands and kids nowhere in sight. The roles of these women and other characters in the TV series are sharply but affectionately characterized in the musical by members of a small ensemble including Ryann Redmond, Cherry Torres, Ryan Duncan, Shelby Acosta, and Daniel Bracket, while the hockey-playing lovers Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander are perfectly embodied by Jay Armstrong Johnson and Jimin Moon, respectively. Anyone who has seen this show live with this cast will tell you that these two are sex on a (hockey) stick in terms of physical beauty and charm, but their expertly calibrated audio-only performances on the cast album demonstrate that both have much more to offer than pretty faces and hot bodies. Particularly appreciated are Johnson’s Russian accent, just thick enough to be funny without him sounding like he’s doing a bad Dracula impression, and Moon’s sweet and lovable if somewhat mentally dim affect throughout. The song titles alone — “Gym Song,” “Big Ass, Cold Heart,” “Slap That Stick!,” “This Fuck Was Different,” etc. — give a good idea of the show’s humor, and also serve as a warning (or advertisement?) that there are some very explicit lyrics to be heard here. The score is full of catchy hooks, the lyrics are funny even when (or especially when) dirty, and the whole thing is far more praiseworthy and enjoyable than one would ever have guessed it could be. — Michael Portantiere