The consolation is that having the idea date-stamped on this site in August 2005 means I have proof that i didn't steal THEIR idea. Their site says they didn't come up with their idea until 2007.
From their site bedbugsmusical.com (The "Fred" in this description is not me, of course
)
"The Birth of Bedbugs!!!
We met in March 2007 (thanks to Castrato DiMatteo for introducing us) and wanted to write a small, fun show to find out how well we would work together. Paul had previously written the music for “Twist” (for which he received a Drama Desk nomination) and Fred had recently received his MFA from the NYU Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program where he studied book and lyric writing.
After bonding over our mutual love of rock music, camp films and a natural tendency toward dark humor, Fred suggested a silly idea about scabies (inspired by a horrible incident in Baltimore) and Paul suggested bedbugs, as New York City was (and is still) dealing with their comeback invasion. For those who are not aware, bedbugs were eradicated from most of the world with the use of DDT after WWII, but suddenly—as of the early 2000’s—are back with a vengeance. This is true! Thus we developed a plot around a female exterminator who, in an effort to annihilate them, accidentally makes the problem much, much worse…
We wrote the first draft in six months and in November ‘07 had a reading of what had now become a full-length show (thanks for the awesome feedback everyone, especially Josh Wellman!) After a phase of rewrites we submitted and in April ‘08 were accepted into the New York Musical Theatre Festival. With a team of highly talented and devoted people, we took the 2008 NYMF by storm, selling out the run, adding performances, getting fantastic reviews and some awards. Since then we have continued development of this crazy little show and can’t wait to see it’s next incarnation later in 2009!"
