BEDBUGS INFEST NEW YORK CITY'S BROADWAY

Bedbugs On Broadway

Opening to amazing audience and critical response, the NY Times Critic’s Pick, Bedbugs!!! will extend through November 2. Written by composer, Paul Leschen with book & lyricist Fred Sauter with direction and choreography of Robert Bartley with musical supervision by Deborah Hurwitz. Bedbugs!!! began performances on September 9 and opened on September 14 and was originally set to end it run on October 26, due to popular demand, will now extend its run at the UWS’s ArcLight Theatre (152 West 71 Street) through November 2, 2014. Tickets are $25 - $89 and can be purchased by visiting BedBugsMusical.com or calling Ovationtix.com at 866.811.4111. Bedbugs!!! is presented by Dale Joan Young.

Bedbugs!!! is the award winning girl-meets-bug sci-fi-rock-musical-comedy. Carly, an exterminator, is hell-bent on avenging her mother's bedbug-related death. In an effort to permanently rid the city of its infestation, she accidentally mutates the pests into an army of human-size, intelligent, carnal creatures out for blood and world domination.

Bedbugs!!! has been called “Deliriously inventive. A theatrical blast of fresh air, Bedbugs!!!is an audacious rock-’n’-roll concoction that never stops surprising. The sci-fi slapstick tradition of “Little Shop of Horrors” and “The Rocky Horror Show” is alive and well and, now, six-legged.” The New York Times; “The most fun you can have with bedbugs without having to burn the sheets. Psychotically hilarious. Leschen and Sauter deliver a deliciously nostalgic eighties pop score” Theater is Easy; “An evening of zany, scary, laugh-out-loud fun, Bedbugs!!! merits all its exclamation points.” Blogcritics; “Leschen’s score is catchy and fun, A mix of Little Shop and The Toxic Avenger. Bedbugs!!! is musical comedy genius.” Theater In the Now; “Jaw dropping and gut busting. “Bedbugs” will leave you singing and scratching for days.” Out in Jersey; “Bedbugs!!! The New Cult Phenomenon” Times Square Chronicle; “Bedbugs!!! – the kitschy, unashamedly self-aware sci-fi thriller is a great time!” Theaterscene.

Leading the cast are Chris Hall (Jessie’s Girl at Poisson Rouge, Revision Theatre's Rocky Horror Show) as Cimex, Grace McLean (Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812) as Carly, Brian Charles Rooney (Bway: The Threepenny Opera) as Dionne Salon and Nicholas Park (Mr. Irresistible, Dear Edwina) as Burt; the cast also includes Danny Bolero (Bway: In the Heights, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat), Tracey Conyer Lee (Sistas: The Musical, TV’s “SMASH”), Barry Shafrin (WikiMusical Regional: Good News), Gretchen Wylder (Til Divorce Do Us Part, Regional: Avenue Q) Courtney Bassett (POP! (Who Shot Andy Warhol?) ) and Colin Scott Cahill (Regional: Damn Yankees, Into The Woods).

The creative team includes costume design by Philip Heckman, lighting design by Kirk Fitzgerald, scenic design by Adam Demerath,sound design by Ed Chapman, wigs, hair and make-up design by Bobbie Cliffton Zlotnik, props design by Cameron Pate and Adam Roberts is the associate choreographer and Emily Cates is the production stage manager.

BEDBUGS!!!

With music by Paul Leschen, books and lyrics by Fred Sauter

With direction/choreography by Robert Bartley and musical supervision by Deborah Hurwitz.

The ArcLight Theatre is located at 152 West 71 Street.

Performance Schedule:

Tuesday – Friday at 8PM; Saturday at 3PM & 8PM; Sunday at 3PM & 7PM

Running time: 2 hours 10 minutes with intermission

Who’s Who

PAUL LESCHEN (Composer, story and concept), was nominated for his score for Bedbugs!!! by NY Innovative Theatre Awards, and for a Drama Desk for Outstanding Music for Twist. A frequent collaborator with Scissor Sisters, his co-arrangement of “Comfortably Numb” was a massive hit. Paul has worked with Hedda Lettuce, Murray Hill, and other gender-benders and has a band, Kingship, with singer/co-writer Chris Hall. Paul’s collaboration with Fred Sauter has yielded True Tales of Modern Love and Karma Kills. He is a graduate of Northwestern.

FRED SAUTER (Book and Lyrics, story and concept) with collaborator Paul Leschen, Fred is developing the musicals True Tales of Modern Love and Karma Kills. He’s written music and lyrics for Whale-Song and Asia Apollo, a Rock Opera. Fred’s work has been seen at Ars Nova, Laurie Beechman Theatre, Dixon Place, Joe’s Pub, and Baltimore Theatre Project. His band Lola and Spaceboy is currently recording their debut album. He holds an MFA from NYU’s Graduate Musical Theatre Program and a BA from Maryland Institute, College of Art.

ROBERT BARTLEY (Director/Choreographer) Off Broadway: Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle-nominated Character Man (Urban Stages), Tales of Custard (DR2 Theatre). The Cuban and the Redhead (Los Angeles Festival of New American Musicals, Village Theatre, Revision Theatre, York Theatre, National Alliance for Musical Theatre), Family Fiorelli and Color Blind (NYMF), Hair (Peculiar Works). Creator/Director/Choreographer of Broadway Backwards produced by Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS featuring hundreds of performers such as Betty Buckley, Whoopi Goldberg, Neil Patrick Harris and many more. As an actor, Broadway and National Tours: Miss Saigon, Cats, Grease. Off Broadway: Clue: the Musical, Cy Coleman’s last musical Exactly Like You. Film: The Producers, Disney’s Enchanted. Concert: Aladdin (Carnegie Hall), West Side Story with Beyonce and Meryl Steep.

DALE JOAN YOUNG (Producer) believes that at age 61, she has finally decided what she wants to do when she grows up: namely, produce original musicals. This is the first show for which she is acting as lead producer and she couldn't be more excited as you can see from her never ending posts on FB. She co-produced The Best is Yet To Come: The Music Of Cy Coleman which won a Drama Desk Award for best revue in 2011. She has funded several staged readings and produced cabaret acts at Joe's Pub and in her home. She is so proud of all the people who are working on Bedbugs!!!