FAIRVIEW – Fairview Theatre Works charmed with their production of "The Seven Torments of Craig and Amy," an unorthodox romantic comedy about a teenage couple who just can't seem to stay together. Thursday night’s play started with an introduction from Craig (played by Jesse Smith), which served to give the audience an idea of the plot and bring in some humor right away. The seven "torments" the couple goes through are different break-ups, and Craig wasted no time letting the audience know that the seventh one is final.
The performance moved through five out of the seven mentioned break-ups, starting with the third, in which Craig and Amy (played by Cayla Allen) break up in the woods on a snowy evening. From there it jumps to the fifth, where Amy gives Craig a long letter explaining everything, then back in time to the fourth, where she admits to having a boyfriend. The sixth break-up happens at a party when he sees her with another guy, and the seventh happens just after they've graduated. Craig spent most of the performance professing his love to Amy, but when she says she loves him back, he's the one to initiate the last "torment."
The stories of the break-ups are interspersed with narration, bits of commentary and extra scenes to help introduce characters and build relationships between the characters. Craig is often seen playing Dungeons and Dragons with his friends, who mostly disapprove of his continued relationship with Amy. Elizabeth (Katie Tucker) and Barrett (Aaron Moylan) are insistent on having him not go back to her, while Groash (Devin Burks) offers a more humorous and laid-back approach. Craig also gives insight into his family relationships, showing a hilariously realistic example of how families act together. Amy, on the other hand, provides a more sober perspective on family by admitting that her parents are actually fostering her and that she's afraid of becoming like her birth mother, who made some bad choices and was left in a bad place.
Despite a melancholy ending, the performance never failed to get the audience laughing, whether it be through actual jokes, ridiculous reality or an occurrence that was just plain silly, e.g. the snowy evening of break-up number three featuring "snow" that was just cotton balls being thrown onto the actors or Craig's increasingly desperate attempts to get out of hunting with his dad. The drunken ramblings of some random guy from the party at break-up number six pulled some of the biggest laughs out of the audience. One running joke that had sides splitting was the fact that Craig and Amy frequently used hand puppets as an alternative to showing some of their amorous activities in person.
Although a few actors have been named, the full list is as follows:
- Craig (Jesse Smith) – 17 year-old narrator who fell in love with Amy
- Amy (Cayla Allen) – 18 year-old girl who broke up with Craig six times before admitting she loves him
- Groash (Devin Burks) – Craig's nerdy friend who mostly acts as comic relief
- Barrett (Aaron Moylan) – Dungeon Master for the group's D&D nights who vehemently opposes Amy joining them
- Elizabeth (Katie Tucker) – Only girl in the D&D group before Amy joins
- Caitlyn (Trish Welsh) – Craig's sister who believes he cursed all her pets to die
- Craig's Mom (Ally Grund)
- Craig's Dad (Devan Humes)
- Amanda (Bridgette Duke) – Inappropriate counselor assigned to supervise Craig and Amy's Youth in Government group
- Old Woman (Carlee Pope) – Craig's first experience with death, she died sitting next to him on a plane when he was 6
- Lyle, Buck and Uncle Jim (Devin Burks, Richard Stewart and Abbie Compton) – Craig's dad's hunting friends
- Barney (Devan Humes) – Drunk guy at the party who keeps hugging Craig
- Amy's Mom (Abbie Compton)
Of course, no production could work smoothly without a good stage crew. Richard Stewart, Caleb Cornett, Gatlin Byrums, Emily Campbell, Jay McAbee, Logan Schnittker and Noah Boeckler all worked tirelessly behind the scenes (and sometimes in them) along with sound editor Kayley Hall to make the production a success.
Director Mark Dobbs and Assistant Director Leah Rodriguez anticipate happy audiences at their next few productions. On April 25, the group will host the middle school production of “The Wizard of Oz,” and the high school production of “Jerry Finnegan's Sister.” Fairview Theatre Works' final act will be a senior class spectacular on May 15. Each play will take place at 6 p.m. on the designated days.
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