The Magic of Theater Q&A’s

There are many great reasons to go to the theater. For starters, it’s that moment you get to sit in a crowd experiencing a moment that will never exist again. We are listening to stories that resonate the world over, and we’re captivated by seeing these actors sing their hearts out. As we file into the lobby afterward, the uproar in discourse makes you feel like you’re part of a club. If you see it early enough, you can go out and drag your friend to the next show, telling them to keep an eye on the background actors during Act II. There are these small moments that you can only get in experiencing theater live. Whereas you can stop any other moment of your life, you can’t bring this moment back. Theater is special because it requires you to put in more effort than simply buying a cast recording or a janky bootleg on YouTube. 

You have to be there.

If you go enough, you’ll notice that certain places bring with them trends. If you see touring productions, there’s a decent chance you’ll find a display of costumes in the lobby. There are also areas reserved for people to take photos in front of artwork from the show, and it’s pretty much customary that every show has a merchandise booth where you can buy clothes or, in the case of Waitress, a cookbook with actual recipes related to the show. I even saw a production of Titanic the Musical where we got “passports” with biographies of people who were actually on the ship. Before the show even starts, there are reasons to immerse yourself in the magic of theater. I for one love to take pictures of the playbill overlooking the stage as my way of tagging this experience.

But there is one thing I recommend doing if you get the chance. If you go to night shows especially, there is a strong chance that this moment will happen to you…

Miss Saigon

Late in 2019, I saw a touring production of Miss Saigon. It was one of the best shows I saw that year, as I was enraptured by the elaborate production. It filled the stage to the brim with spectacle and a giant, melodramatic story about the Vietnam War infused with elements of Madame Butterfly. Considering how much I’m in the bag for Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil’s Les Misérables (how can you not be?), it was easy for me to love the sung-through structure, taking in everything at a breakneck speed. By the time that the helicopter showed up (which is a decent enough reason to see the show anyway), I was so in the moment that I wanted to go out and buy a ticket again.

I am now aware that Miss Saigon is a bit of a divisive show among the Vietnamese community, but going in I knew next to nothing. As much as I love listening to soundtracks on repeat before the show even hits our shores, I do love having a sense of discovery. Even from the balcony, I could get on board. 

Though there is one thing that you’ll be lucky to come across. Think of it like Willy Wonka the Chocolate Factory (1971). Remember how the whole story is motivated by “golden tickets” that get you personal access into the chocolate factory? Well, the theater has its own version. I haven’t had it that many times, one of them was Miss Saigon.

The lucky ticket said that everyone in attendance (even those in the very back) could come to the front and participate in a Q&A with cast members. They usually don’t say who, but don’t expect the big names. There’s usually minor actors or understudies who come out and talk to an audience about the ins and outs of a touring production. If you get the right mix of experienced performers, you’ll even get stories about how they tried out for the roles and what they do to kill time in between shows (this particular production loved to read scripts and was working their way through Stephen Sondheim’s Company). Basically, it’s a very valuable way to kill time until the parking lot clears out. 

But there was one moment that has stayed with me from this particular Q&A. It was the idea of “Bonus Tam.”

Tam is usually a young actor, listed in the description as being three-years-old, who is the son of protagonist Kim. Without saying much, this is a dark show full of violent subject matter (it even had an advisory on my ticket). It’s something you’d take for granted if judging the show on a grander scale, but Tam is there for some moments you’d call traumatic. He listens as gunshots go off and the songs dive into a twisted love affair. Considering the child’s age and cognitive abilities, this sounds like a terrible place for a three-year-old to be. 

But here’s where you get to appreciate the craft of theater. These are actors who are very familiar with the choreography and, in some cases, play multiple roles. Considering the towering achievement of Miss Saigon, it’s important to keep everything straight. So to hear the actors talk about how they take care of “Tam” is very amusing. They’re practically coddling the kid at points with earplugs drowning out sound and turning him away from the more gruesome moments. There’s a precision to it that makes you admire the craft all the more.

But the best part remains something that I still bring up with those who know. One of the performers mentioned that they have a “Bonus Tam.” That’s how they referred to the understudy. There’s not a lot that’s necessarily different, though hearing how they have to keep him amused backstage in case of emergencies is a lot of fun. 

To me, this is the biggest golden ticket for all things you can do in theater. While you would desire to talk to the lead, watching the various supporting roles emerge from backstage brings with it dozens of stories waiting to be told. There are a lot of cases where you’re stuck listening to mundane questions, but the best can spin it into an anecdote that sticks with you, a personal secret between you and the touring production. 

The Book of Mormon

Another prime example came when I saw The Book of Mormon at the Segerstrom in Costa Mesa, CA. It was my first significant encounter with the Q&A and, considering that it is one of my personal favorite shows, I felt like something that we needed to do. Once the event ended, we rushed to the front section, eagerly thinking that we’d see Elder Price and Elder Cunningham standing there, presenting tips on how they got into character. Sure, we would hear stories about how the audience in Salt Lake City, UT loved the show, but once again it wasn’t from any prominent actors. It was Jesus and a bunch of understudies.

That isn’t to say that I didn’t love hearing Jesus go on about how amused he was at watching the Mormons dance during “Two by Two,” or how the props were barely legally different enough to avoid copyright. 

The detail that sticks with me comes from a rather “novel” question: What is in the Book of Arnold? For those who know the show, it’s a book inspired by the teachings of Elder Cunningham that the cast holds up at the end of the show. I hadn’t thought much of it, but hearing the understudies discuss it made me fascinated with it. What started as an anecdote about how most of the cast hadn’t ever read the Book of Mormon despite flipping through it evolved into a story about how The Book of Arnold’s pages is made up predominantly of inserts for car ads. 

These are things that aren’t necessarily canon of a Broadway show but are essential in making the day-to-day seamless. It’s things that probably don’t interest those who want a show to just be good, but for those like me who are excited to learn every small detail, these moments are essential. It’s doubtful that you’re going to get these actors turning to their Instagram pages to give away every detail. These feel like secrets you save for those who paid to watch you break a sweat for three hours a night. 

In some ways they’re inconsequential, but knowing about things like Bonus Tam and The Book of Arnold make these shows more accessible. While there’s a larger level of effort that goes into the show, it’s encouraging to know that there are practical ways of solving these obstacles. While it looks flawless, it’s fun to know what moments boil down to “slap some tape on it” metaphors that we take for granted. In a lot of ways, the show you just watched is a miracle, and these Q&A’s prove it.

Most of all, it gives you a personal sense of how these performers relate to characters. I once saw a smaller production of A Chorus Line, and there was this deeper understanding of the pressures of theater. It was their moment to follow their passion even though some of the performers related to the characters’ internal struggles, seeing theater as a side gig. While they don’t have road stories, the best have tales of production mishaps, or how the cast bonded during rehearsal. If you’re like me, you may even know a few actors and get to talk to them personally after the show. 

I understand that this isn’t a thing specific to live theater gigs. If you ever go to Comic-Con, you’ll know that actors of all professions are often bombarded with questions. Though even then it feels like you’re approaching similar territory with a different perspective. For one, most theatergoers are commenting on their experience with the material, going off of base emotions. We all have questions after we see something, and thankfully I’ve had good luck with audiences. Just being there feels special. 

I’m not saying that you’ll get this at every show. By my experience, most forgo the Q&A entirely. That’s in part because one has to wonder what local productions have to say. They’re doing existing shows on a shoestring budget. I’m not saying it’s less interesting, but there’s not enough material to stretch out for even a 15 minute distraction. Sure I’d love to meet them all to get a more empathetic reading of their experience, but I understand why I’ve yet to do this at someplace like The Long Beach Playhouse. With that said, they’re more likely to have the actors in the lobby (as was the case when I saw My Fair Lady at The Carpenter Center in 2015) helping collect donations for the arts. Just thank them then.

To put it simply, I recommend that you don’t take that golden ticket for granted. It isn’t going to be a terrible waste of time, maybe going 15 or 20 minutes while the theater clears out. I understand if you need to rush home to meet curfew, but for those who have the time, it’s a chance to understand a craft that isn’t as widely discussed as the music. We all love the music, but few of us get to see them in motion. By having some deeper perspective, we can enhance our view of a show and come out admiring it even more.

For those who have been to these Q&A’s, I’d love to hear personal stories. What moments have you heard about that have helped to make these productions stand out more? There are endless stories to tell because, as we all know, the show must go on. We have to entertain. Theater is a weird beast, but one that finds practical answers that the audience won’t notice. I’m sure there’s a lot of deceit in every show I’ve ever seen, but I don’t care. As an artist, I understand why we do it. Without it, we’d probably much worse off.