Every night, the Off-Broadway Heated Rivalry musical parody pulls someone out of the audience to play Scott Hunter, the hockey captain François Arnaud plays on the show. On Saturday night, the man they got was Neil Patrick Harris.
Yes, Doogie Howser himself. Barney from How I Met Your Mother, and a Tony winner for Hedwig and the Angry Inch. He walked onto a small stage in Chelsea and played Scott’s first visit to Kip’s smoothie shop. His husband, David Burtka, was there too.
Luckily for the rest of us, someone was filming. The video went up on Instagram the next day, and you can watch it further down.
He’s also nothing like the volunteer the script asks for. On paper, the ideal Scott is a cheerful but awkward straight man of 55. Neil is 53, gay, and has hosted the Tony Awards four times.
And the timing was good. That same weekend, a report said the real Scott and Kip are getting a movie of their own.
A Parody That Was Supposed To Run Eight Weeks
Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical Parody is writer-composer Dylan MarcAurele‘s spoof of the Crave and HBO Max hit about secret lovers and hockey rivals Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie).
It opened in May in a 174-seat room on the sixth floor of the Culture Club, the building that used to house Sleep No More. The plan was eight weeks. It paid back its half-million-dollar budget in 13, according to TheaterMania, and after three extensions it now runs through January 17.
Jay Armstrong Johnson plays Ilya and Troy Iwata plays Shane. Three more actors cover nearly everyone else, starting with a trio of superfans all named Susan. They’re the show’s nod to the straight women who made the series a hit.
Why Scott Hunter Is Played By A Stranger
On TV, Scott is the New York captain who falls for Kip (Robbie G.K.), a barista at a smoothie shop, then kisses him on the ice in front of a packed arena after winning the Cup. That scene made our list of the best gay kisses on TV.
The musical had nobody left to play him. MarcAurele told Time Out he was running out of actors and didn’t want Shane or Ilya to double up. His friend, dramaturg Rose Oser, had the answer: “You gotta get some hunky, older gay guy in the audience to play Scott Hunter.”
Critic Tim Teeman got picked one night in May and wrote about it for The New York Times. Halfway through the show, the house lights come up and a cast member announces that tonight, Scott will be played by one of you. The volunteer gets taken backstage and handed a script, which turns out to run seven pages. Then he goes back out to win over Kip, played by Ryan Duncan.
The lines are about as subtle as you’d hope. One of them: “How’s that banana coming along? Daddy’s hungry.”
At the time, the team also told Teeman that celebrity cameos were planned. Duncan’s dream pick was Tom Hanks.
Neil Patrick Harris Takes Over The Smoothie Shop
Six months later, they got Neil. Entertainment Weekly posted the clip with the caption “Daddy’s hungry!”, which suggests the banana line made it into the celebrity version.
In the video, Neil stands on stage in a black leather jacket and a backwards cap, microphone in hand, while Duncan’s Kip waits behind the counter in a purple apron and visor. EW called it “a legendary appearance as the walk-on Scott Hunter.”
Was he picked from his seat, or booked in advance? Neither the show nor Neil has said. Either way, he’s pretty much what Rose Oser asked for.
David Burtka Came Along For The Night
After the show, Neil and David stayed to take photos with the cast. The musical’s Instagram account shared them with a caption Heated Rivalry fans will get right away: “Extra heated evening at the cottage last night!”
The couple have been together since 2004 and married in 2014. Their twins, Gideon and Harper, turned 16 last month.
The hockey cameo also works as a warm-up for Neil’s next job. Next spring he’s back on Broadway as Applegate, the devil, in a revival of the baseball musical Damn Yankees, with previews starting March 24 at the Marquis Theatre, BroadwayWorld reports.
The Real Scott And Kip Are Reportedly Getting A Christmas Movie
The cameo landed in a big week for Scott Hunter. On Saturday, Deadline reported that Heated Rivalry is filming two six-episode seasons back-to-back, due to wrap at the end of November or early December.
After that, according to Deadline’s sources, a standalone film shoots in December. It’s described as a Christmas special or holiday episode, it’s planned for theaters next December, and it reportedly centers on Scott and Kip. Shane and Ilya aren’t expected to be in it.
Book fans have a head start. Heated Rivalry author Rachel Reid once wrote a short story called Merry Christmas, Scott and Kip!, about the couple’s first Christmas together.
None of it is official. A Crave spokesperson told Deadline that “there are no projects to confirm.” Season 2 is confirmed for next spring, though, and fans keep paying for more of this show. Over the weekend they spent $1.4 million just to rewatch the first season in movie theaters.
Until any movie happens, François Arnaud has Scott on screen, and the musical keeps lending him out to strangers through January 17. Whoever gets called up next has to follow Doogie Howser.