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Wednesday, January 07, 2026
HEATED RIVALRY The Musical? 'I Hope So,' Says Series Author
www.broadwayworld.com: Will Crave's hit, new, queer hockey series be skating to Broadway? Maybe! In a recent interview with Variety, Heated Rivalry book series author Rachel Reid revealed that she hopes the series could land on stage.
I find it interesting what types of media seize the public opinion. Earlier in 2025 all of the hype was on K-Pop Demon Hunters. Seeing the public so animated on a topic such as a piece of media is invigorating. It shows how much media and entertainment can bring people together and provide them with an easy common interest to discuss. To play devils advocate I would like to put forth the fact that bringing a loved story into a different form of media is always hit or miss. It can go well like when the beloved harry potter books were made into a movie or it can totally disappoint hardcore fans like the percy jackson movies did. I hope that if a stage adaptation is made for Heated Rivalry it will be made with the writer of the book as part of the creative process. Keeping the author engaged with their media can help not just in staying true to source material but also in expanding the story in a way that is cohesive to the original book.
Wow, what a headline! Before diving into my thoughts on this article I must clarify that I have not watched the “Heated Rivarly” show, but am somewhat aware of its subject matter and the commentary online surrounding it. As powerful as this piece of media has been for the queer community online and offline, I’m honestly tired of seeing film to musical adaptations based on trends. To be fair to Heated Rivarly, because I haven’t seen the show, who knows? It might make a great musical! But there are so many other original pieces of work in theatre that go unacknowledged or don’t hit broadway mainstream because investors are scared to invest in unknown work. I find it unfortunate that this phenomenon occurs, and a “Heated Rivarly” musical gaining immense popularity regardless of quality simply because of the association would only reinforce that. It would be interesting to see on stage though in terms of how someone would adapt it, whether or not they chose to go for a cheesy romance or “Spring Awakening” adjacent show.
Wow, I didn’t ever think that I would be writing about a musical adaptation of a heated rivalry for an assignment, but here we are. I have not read the book; however, the show has become incredibly popular recently, and so I decided to check it out and found that it is actually really well done. To adapt it to a stage show, and especially a musical I think could be interesting, but also has the possibility for utter disaster. One of the things the show does really well is the pacing, it’s a little bit odd, very different from a lot of other things I’ve seen, but it works really well, which I can see being incredibly difficult to adapt into a stage show. I also wonder how they would go about tackling the part where they play hockey, which could definitely result in some incredible choreography, especially if done by someone who has experience in both hockey and dance. The whole thing is quite silly and would probably not be taken very seriously by a lot of the theater community, but I think that a stage adaptation of this increasingly popular show has the potential to be super camp and fun.
I’m not sure if I could see Heated Rivalry becoming a stage production. I love the show. I would love to see more of it. I’m excited for season two and everything, but I just can’t picture it as a musical. I guess you see romance musicals pretty often so that would not be too uncommon, but I just it doesn’t feel right. I am definitely curious what it would look like if it was because I just wonder what music they would use and who would be singing. I just can’t imagine a bunch of hockey players singing in a musical, that just doesn’t click to me. I think it’s cool that it’s a possibility and that the author has the stage rights to it so she can decide what she wants to do with it. I just feel like the whole thing would be a hilarious premise for a musical compared to a TV show.
When I heard this statement at first I thought that it MUST be a joke I can’t lie. I loved the show but would need some serious convincing to think that it would lend itself to a musical adaptation. (One of the reasons being the sporadic timeline and the second being the plot-relevant ice hockey. My favorite thing about the show was its pacing–there were almost no scenes where I thought “this is unnecessary.” Every single scene was used to its potential to further characters and the plot. I think it would be hard to adapt into something under 3 hours and STILL leave room for songs. After reading this article, I still think that it… would not make for a good adaptation. I think there are too many book and movie → musical adaptations these days. This isn’t to say I have a problem with all adaptations, but I don’t think Heated Rivalry specifically would be a good choice for adaptation at all. Rachel Reid is also very known for her less-than-gentle handling of her OWN characters, so an adaptation of her own books by her would seem weird to me. Additionally, the themes of Heated Rivalry don’t lend themselves well to music like so many other recent (or nonrecent) adaptations. It’s not incredibly dramatic and serious, but it’s also not exactly a comedy.
I have watched all of Heated Rivalry and I can not imagine a musical about Heated Rivalry. To go from a book series, to a tv show, to a musical is fairly common and it always varies on if it is done well. I think this has the possibility to be done very well but there are so many ways to make this musical TERRIBLE. I also don’t know how they would translate hockey to a musical in a way that works. I also don't know how well this will go over since the show is fairly new and the internet is completely obsessed with it right now, so for it to be done badly would hurt the show terribly and it would be picked apart. Overall, even if I do love this show, I think it would not make a good musical, and if attempted it would be very hard to design technically, especially the hockey aspect.
This is an insane headline, by the way. After watching this show... three times... It's not necessary. I love the show! I love that popular media is becoming queer-centered. I think that this is a step in the right direction for queer voices becoming mainstream in Movies, Television, and Novels. I think that there is a line between things that are good to go on screen versus good to go on the live stage. Game Changers by Rachel Reid is NOT the place for those voices on stage. How would they do the hockey? An important question, but not to the point of what I'm saying. A major plot point of the show is the romantic/sexual themes, and the explicit nature of these scenes doesn't translate to a general audience very well. Plus, it feels weird to make actors simulate those types of actions on stage, things that are integral to the plot.
7 comments:
I find it interesting what types of media seize the public opinion. Earlier in 2025 all of the hype was on K-Pop Demon Hunters. Seeing the public so animated on a topic such as a piece of media is invigorating. It shows how much media and entertainment can bring people together and provide them with an easy common interest to discuss. To play devils advocate I would like to put forth the fact that bringing a loved story into a different form of media is always hit or miss. It can go well like when the beloved harry potter books were made into a movie or it can totally disappoint hardcore fans like the percy jackson movies did. I hope that if a stage adaptation is made for Heated Rivalry it will be made with the writer of the book as part of the creative process. Keeping the author engaged with their media can help not just in staying true to source material but also in expanding the story in a way that is cohesive to the original book.
Wow, what a headline! Before diving into my thoughts on this article I must clarify that I have not watched the “Heated Rivarly” show, but am somewhat aware of its subject matter and the commentary online surrounding it. As powerful as this piece of media has been for the queer community online and offline, I’m honestly tired of seeing film to musical adaptations based on trends. To be fair to Heated Rivarly, because I haven’t seen the show, who knows? It might make a great musical! But there are so many other original pieces of work in theatre that go unacknowledged or don’t hit broadway mainstream because investors are scared to invest in unknown work. I find it unfortunate that this phenomenon occurs, and a “Heated Rivarly” musical gaining immense popularity regardless of quality simply because of the association would only reinforce that. It would be interesting to see on stage though in terms of how someone would adapt it, whether or not they chose to go for a cheesy romance or “Spring Awakening” adjacent show.
Wow, I didn’t ever think that I would be writing about a musical adaptation of a heated rivalry for an assignment, but here we are. I have not read the book; however, the show has become incredibly popular recently, and so I decided to check it out and found that it is actually really well done. To adapt it to a stage show, and especially a musical I think could be interesting, but also has the possibility for utter disaster. One of the things the show does really well is the pacing, it’s a little bit odd, very different from a lot of other things I’ve seen, but it works really well, which I can see being incredibly difficult to adapt into a stage show. I also wonder how they would go about tackling the part where they play hockey, which could definitely result in some incredible choreography, especially if done by someone who has experience in both hockey and dance. The whole thing is quite silly and would probably not be taken very seriously by a lot of the theater community, but I think that a stage adaptation of this increasingly popular show has the potential to be super camp and fun.
I’m not sure if I could see Heated Rivalry becoming a stage production. I love the show. I would love to see more of it. I’m excited for season two and everything, but I just can’t picture it as a musical. I guess you see romance musicals pretty often so that would not be too uncommon, but I just it doesn’t feel right. I am definitely curious what it would look like if it was because I just wonder what music they would use and who would be singing. I just can’t imagine a bunch of hockey players singing in a musical, that just doesn’t click to me. I think it’s cool that it’s a possibility and that the author has the stage rights to it so she can decide what she wants to do with it. I just feel like the whole thing would be a hilarious premise for a musical compared to a TV show.
When I heard this statement at first I thought that it MUST be a joke I can’t lie. I loved the show but would need some serious convincing to think that it would lend itself to a musical adaptation. (One of the reasons being the sporadic timeline and the second being the plot-relevant ice hockey. My favorite thing about the show was its pacing–there were almost no scenes where I thought “this is unnecessary.” Every single scene was used to its potential to further characters and the plot. I think it would be hard to adapt into something under 3 hours and STILL leave room for songs. After reading this article, I still think that it… would not make for a good adaptation. I think there are too many book and movie → musical adaptations these days. This isn’t to say I have a problem with all adaptations, but I don’t think Heated Rivalry specifically would be a good choice for adaptation at all. Rachel Reid is also very known for her less-than-gentle handling of her OWN characters, so an adaptation of her own books by her would seem weird to me. Additionally, the themes of Heated Rivalry don’t lend themselves well to music like so many other recent (or nonrecent) adaptations. It’s not incredibly dramatic and serious, but it’s also not exactly a comedy.
I have watched all of Heated Rivalry and I can not imagine a musical about Heated Rivalry. To go from a book series, to a tv show, to a musical is fairly common and it always varies on if it is done well. I think this has the possibility to be done very well but there are so many ways to make this musical TERRIBLE. I also don’t know how they would translate hockey to a musical in a way that works. I also don't know how well this will go over since the show is fairly new and the internet is completely obsessed with it right now, so for it to be done badly would hurt the show terribly and it would be picked apart. Overall, even if I do love this show, I think it would not make a good musical, and if attempted it would be very hard to design technically, especially the hockey aspect.
This is an insane headline, by the way. After watching this show... three times... It's not necessary. I love the show! I love that popular media is becoming queer-centered. I think that this is a step in the right direction for queer voices becoming mainstream in Movies, Television, and Novels. I think that there is a line between things that are good to go on screen versus good to go on the live stage. Game Changers by Rachel Reid is NOT the place for those voices on stage. How would they do the hockey? An important question, but not to the point of what I'm saying. A major plot point of the show is the romantic/sexual themes, and the explicit nature of these scenes doesn't translate to a general audience very well. Plus, it feels weird to make actors simulate those types of actions on stage, things that are integral to the plot.
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