I can say without a trace of hyperbole that Bedbugs!!!, an off-Broadway musical, is unlike anything I have ever seen in any type of entertainment. That includes plays, concerts, art exhibits, group texts, and a good GIF. “Entertainment,” in this case, is the ideal word. Bedbugs!!! is relentlessly entertaining. And strange. And very, very funny.
Here’s a brief summary of the “girl-meets-bug sci-fi-rock-musical comedy.” Carly is an exterminator whose mother died in an unfortunate bedbug incident years ago. Determined to rid New York City of infestation and avenge her mother’s death, she creates a serum that (woops!) causes the bedbugs to mutate into large, hypersexual creatures that want to take over the city. Hey, it happens. On a deeper level, the show is also about love, and what we need to overcome to have successful relationships. It’s also about bedbugs that sing.
As you might expect, the reason any of this works is that the production, the music, and the cast are all dynamite. It’s a full-on marriage to the material, as any good camp has to be. When my friend and I left the theater, it was hard to find words to discuss what we’d just seen. But fast, fun, and crazy cover it, as well as smart, well-acted, and perfectly weird.
The show runs through November 2, so hop online and grab tickets now.
Bedbugs!!!
ARCLIGHT THEATRE
152 W 71st St
New York, NY 10023
