BWW Reviews: BEDBUGS!!! Delivers Mindless Sci-Fi Rocker Fun

With its hard-thumping rock score, tongue-in-cheek sensibility and crazy sci-fi subject matter, Bedbugs!!! is exactly the kind of show that suits a small church basement theatre on a dark side street conveniently located near several dive bars and pizza joints.

Fred Sauter (book/lyrics) and Paul Leschen's (music) very funny spoof has been kicking around town for several years now, but the cozy Arclight Theatre provides a perfect home for director/choreographer Robert Bartley's whirlwind production (including choreographed scratching and insecticide spraying), highlighted by excellent performances and Philip Heckman's wildly inventive costumes.

The maniacally comic Grace McLean shows off killer pipes and is a riot leading the wacky antics as Carly, an obsessive scientist who blames bedbug infestation for the death of her mother and comes up with a toxic solution to rid the city of the blood-suckers for good. But her plan backfires and spawns a collection of mutant, human-size heavy metal bedbugs, led by the dim-witted pretty bug, Cimex (terrifically charismatic Chris Hall).

Carly is transformed into a sexy bedbug queen, but before she's sucked in any further, she discovers their plot to take over the earth.

As the Celine Dion type singer who, through the machinations of the plot, is needed to save the world from total infestation, the versatile-voiced Brian Charles Rooney puts on a jaw-dropping display of femininity, completely believable as woman both physically and vocally, as he sings cleverly crafted satirical songs ("I Love To Love To Love You") with a hilariously-accented and ornamented pop belt.

Nicholas Park, as Carly's environmentally-conscious brother who develops a natural bedbug killer (See, there's even a message.) and Danny Bolero, who doubles as the pop singer's domineering husband and as one of the ensemble of city-dwellers losing sleep over their nighttime visitors, also give enjoyable turns.

Mindlessly fun and entertaining, Bedbugs!!! has no further aspirations than to let viewers kick back while the talented company kicks ass.

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