''Bedbugs!!!'' is an American

musical comedy Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...

about a mad-scientist exterminator named Carly who accidentally mutates New York City's

bed bug Bed bugs are insects from the genus ''Cimex'' that feed on blood, usually at night. Their bites can result in a number of health impacts including skin rashes, psychological effects, and allergic symptoms. Bed bug bites may lead to skin changes ...

population with her super-insecticide, which she created out of revenge for her mother's bedbug-related death. The

rock musical A rock musical is a musical theatre work with rock music. The genre of rock musical may overlap somewhat with album musicals, concept albums and song cycles, as they sometimes tell a story through the rock music, and some album musicals and conc ...

, written by Paul Leschen (Music) and Fred Sauter (Book and Lyrics), pays homage to 80s rock music, 80s films such as

Gremlins ''Gremlins'' is a 1984 American black comedy horror film directed by Joe Dante, written by Chris Columbus, and starring Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Hoyt Axton, Polly Holliday, and Frances Lee McCain, with Howie Mandel providing the voice ...

and

Ghostbusters ''Ghostbusters'' is a 1984 American supernatural comedy film directed and produced by Ivan Reitman, and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. It stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis as Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and Egon Spengler, thr ...

, and features a side-plot about a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

pop singer called Dionne Salon (based on

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...

). It opened off-Broadway at the Arclight Theatre on September 14, 2014 and closed on November 2, 2014. It has been compared to ''

The Rocky Horror Show ''The Rocky Horror Show'' is a Musical theatre, musical with music, lyrics and book by Richard O'Brien. A humorous tribute to the Science fiction film, science fiction and Horror film, horror B movies of the 1930s through to the early 1960s, the ...

'' and '' Little Shop of Horrors''.

Themes

The show deals with environmental themes, including a song called "

Silent Spring ''Silent Spring'' is an environmental science book by Rachel Carson. Published on September 27, 1962, the book documented the environmental harm caused by the indiscriminate use of pesticides. Carson accused the chemical industry of spreading d ...

", relating to the famous 1962 book by scientist/activist

Rachel Carson Rachel Louise Carson (May 27, 1907 – April 14, 1964) was an American marine biologist, writer, and conservationist whose influential book '' Silent Spring'' (1962) and other writings are credited with advancing the global environmental ...

. The main character Carly's war on the bedbug population was initially inspired by

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

war on terror The war on terror, officially the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), is an ongoing international counterterrorism military campaign initiated by the United States following the September 11 attacks. The main targets of the campaign are militant ...

History

''Bedbugs!!!'' first played in the New York Musical Theater Festival (NYMF) in 2008, starring

Lena Hall Celina Consuela Gabriella Carvajal (born January 30, 1980), known professionally as Lena Hall, is an American actress and singer. She originated the role of Nicola in the Broadway musical '' Kinky Boots'' and won the Tony Award for her performan ...

as Carly,

Brian Charles Rooney Brian Charles Rooney is an American actor and singer. Technically a sopranist (sopranista or male soprano), he has also sung high tenor roles in theatrical productions in the United States, Canada, and Europe. He made his Broadway debut in The ...

as Dionne Salon and Chris Hall as Cimex. The production was directed by Samuel Buggeln. A workshop of ''Bedbugs!!!'' ran during

Hurricane Sandy Hurricane Sandy (unofficially referred to as ''Superstorm Sandy'') was an extremely destructive and strong Atlantic hurricane, as well as the largest Atlantic hurricane on record as measured by diameter, with tropical-storm-force winds spann ...

in October 2012 at the ATA Chernuchin Theater, also with Mr. Hall and Mr. Rooney. Off-Broadway, ''Bedbugs!!!'' ran from September 14 to November 2, 2014. The production (as well as the 2012 workshop) was directed and choreographed by Robert Bartley and produced by Dale Joan Young. It starred Grace McLean, Chris Hall,

and Danny Bolero. The costumes were by Philip Heckman. Like in the 2012 workshop, the set, props and costumes were created largely from used materials, bedding and garbage, inspired by the fact that actual bed bugs can be easily spread when accidentally brought into apartments via used furniture and used beds.

Critical reception

''Bedbugs!!!'' was critically praised in its 2014 Off-Broadway run and was both a ''New York Times'' and ''Time Out New York'' Critic's Pick. Neil Genzlinger of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' called it "A theatrical blast of fresh air" and wrote, "Bedbugs!!! is an audacious rock-'n'-roll concoction that never stops surprising... The sci-fi slapstick tradition of '' Little Shop of Horrors'' and ''

'' is alive and well and now, six-legged." Adam Feldman of ''

Time Out New York ''Time Out'' is a global magazine published by Time Out Group. ''Time Out'' started as a London-only publication in 1968 and has expanded its editorial recommendations to 328 cities in 58 countries worldwide. In 2012, the London edition becam ...

'' wrote, "If you like musicals that earn their exclamation points, this may be what you’ve been itching for."

References

{{reflist American rock musicals Off-Broadway musicals 2014 musicals