Everyone, meet Craig Stevens. Craig is a recent college graduate from Murfreesboro, Tennessee who's just moved to New York City to pursue his dream of becoming an actor in Broadway musicals. He's brought along his girlfriend Janine. (But they're far away! He lives in "a part of Manhattan called Inwood" and she lives out near Coney Island.) In the four YouTube videos he's made so far, Craig seems like a nice boy , innocent and wide-eyed as he applies for jobs, goes on an audition, and navigates the bewildering wilds of, well, mostly just Times Square. He's charming in a rube-ish kind of way. Though, there are few details that are a little... suspicious.

First off: girlfriend Janine. She does, in fact, exist. She's shown, shrieking things, in the third video. Despite being proven "real," she still remains a bit Bonnie St. Clair-esque. Something about Craig's constant raving about Broadway starlets ("Sieerrra!!") seems a bit out of keeping with his, you know, having a Janine. Other suspicious tidbits: their favorite restaurant is TGIFriday's, he works at a store called Broadway Babies, while she toils at the merchandise counter for The Little Mermaid. Oh, and then he talks about going on an audition for The Lion King (as non equity? How often can/does that happen?) But, oops! The call was for Young Simbas. They let him sing anyway, but it was still super embarrassing. That can't possibly be true, can it? I mean, um, aren't all the Simbas black? And why would they let a 22-year-old sing at all? Doesn't this all seem a bit too convenient, too hilariously and gently tragic? I honestly can't tell! Thing is, I've known actual living, breathing people like this. And even they seemed made up. As commenter MCCreighton says on one of the posts, "If this is fake, you are a genius." Indeed. Watch the videos (two of which I've posted here) and decide for yourselves.

The First Video, March 11

The Janine Video, March 17