Help Get BEDBUGS!!! (The Comedy Sci-Fi Musical) Off-Broadway

BEDBUGS!!! The Comedy Sci-fi Thriller Rock Musical lives up to its name in every sense of the word. It is lovably creepy, coordinatedly crawly, laugh-out-loud funny, and in some moments will make you wish you had a lighter to flip open and sway with. I liken the buggy atmosphere to an otherworldly marriage of qualities from the grimey-saucy creature kingdom of CATS and the freaky awesome gender-bending of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. In recent weeks, the cast and crew of BEDBUGS!!! managed to transform the old Chernuchin Theatre of off-off Broadway into a surprisingly sexy super-mutant bug lair in the time it took to dim the lights and start up the soundworks for each performance. Audiences are immediately thrust into the neon diva world of the sci-fi songstress Carly, played by a true musical gem, Marissa Rosen, and moved into the bug-talk and sci-fi themes with smooth, catchy tunes and punchy lines like “I am going to rid the WORLD of bedbugs!!!” Amen, right?

A full set of story-songs blasts the audience from scene to scene. Young Carly’s mama, a fumigation expert, dies a questionable death after being stunned by her own bedbug invasion. Carly’s nightmare is set to the tune of her musical idol, Dionne Salon’s newest hit. Stuck on her absurd, depressing past, Carly goes on to become a scientist possessed by her life’s work: ridding the world of bedbugs. An array of fabulous characters bolster her quest for vengeance on the ruthless species that caused her mother’s death and her own redemption, once she falls over head-long into the dark side. The dark side is nothing less than a bedbug kingdom, where Carly [SPOILER ALERT] becomes the fabulous queen those mutant buggies sing they always knew she was. The bedbug king, Cimex (played by serious hot stuff rocker Chris Hall) makes her feel like a woman…all romantic-like. In a bed. Yikes!

The song “Damn You Dionne”, directed vehemently at the blonde starlet Dionne Salon, is one of the climactic points in the is rock drama. The plot comes together with a very strong, pleasantly suprising message of feminism when headstrong Carly and her former idol, Dionne join in girl power forces to combat the infestation (all-the-while ridding their personal lives of former buggy lovers…figuratively and literally). Brian Charles Rooney plays Dionne with a gracefulness that could provoke jealousy, hilarious wit, and an all-around delicious femininity. The wacky colored lights (including strobe at one point- watch out), intense vocals, and decor-of-decay set design is sure to thrill even the most stoic audience members into a visceral reaction. It’s powerful and memorable -whether one finds the subject matter repulsive (giant blood-sucking bugs: AHH!!!)- or giggle-worthy (giant…blood-sucking bugs singing sexy songs on a stage? Um: YES).

If you enjoy rock musicals, the musings of Old New Yorkers, and socially relevant entertainment, BEDBUGS!!! is a must-see show for you. The play is currently accepting helping hands to get their show on the road and headed to a town near you. They want to settle in off-Broadway in the near future, so if you or anyone you know wants to invest in their project, contact Dale Young at bedbugsmusical@aol.com. Help support the awesome BEDBUGS!!! cast by spreading word of their goal and staying updated through their fanpage on Facebook. Enjoy those sassy singing bugs, science freaks, and NYC parody as soon as they’re back on stage!