Boy gets girl. The phrase conjures up pictures of romantic moments and happy endings.

However, StageWest Theatre’s newest production of Rebecca Gilman’s play, “Boy Gets Girl,” is filled with creepy moments and a not-so-storybook ending.

Chris Gummert plays Tony, the boy trying to get the girl. Gummert says Tony is a seemingly nice guy-turned-stalker.

“It’s a really compelling show,” Gummert says. “The scary part to me is how much this guy is within the mainstream. If you had stopped the show after the first two dates between Tony and Theresa, you’d think it was a romantic comedy. It’s eerily like real life.”

He says the play begins with his character, Tony, and Theresa being set up on a blind date. They go on a few more dates, but Theresa decides to call it off, a decision Tony doesn’t like.

Gummert says one of the things he had to work on was not going too far over the top with his role.

“It’s really easy to take a turn toward the Hannibal Lecter side of it,” Gummert says.

“But it’s infinitely creepier if you tone it down from pure evil to almost boy-next-door,” he says.

Gummert says his interest in theater began back in high school but faded during college. He was a speech communication major at Iowa State and says he never got involved in plays because performing arts wasn’t his major.

However, during his senior year, he did audition and got a part in a three-person play — a role he says re-sparked his interest in theater.

Gummert says this is his third season working with StageWest. He says he has also done shows with the Des Moines Playhouse and helped create an improvisational troupe.

“It’s always a pleasure to work with StageWest, because they do shows that are really contemporary and touch on issues that people deal with,” Gummert says. “It’s art for art’s sake, but it also has social value to it.”

Ron Lambert, the producer and artistic director for the show, echoes this sentiment.

He says when StageWest picks shows, it looks at what is current and tries to do shows, such as “Boy Gets Girl,” that haven’t been seen in Iowa yet.

“We present new, contemporary, off-Broadway shows,” Lambert says.

“We look for the most important contemporary playwrights in American. Rebecca Gilman, from Chicago, is one of the most gifted and hottest writers right now,” he says.

Gummert says now that he has gotten back onto the stage, he would love to make it his career. He says he is planning on moving to Chicago with his girlfriend, who is also in theater, to further promote their careers.

For now, though, he says he’s busy at StageWest. He says he likes the show and his role, but there were definitely challenges preparing it.

“The hardest part was to try and make him a likable character,” Gummert says. “But you can’t let the audience like him too much or the show doesn’t work. It’s a fine line between good and evil.”

What: “Boy Gets Girl”

Where: Stoner Theater, 221 Walnut St., Des Moines

When: 7:30 p.m., Thursday – Saturday, 2 p.m., Sunday

Cost: $9 students, $18 public