Onstage in the Paragon Theatre Company production of Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, Emily Paton Davies and Tom Borrillo play lovers coming off their first one-night stand. The two actors already know each other well enough, having been romantic partners since meeting on the 2001 play Snakebit, but Rocky theater critic Lisa Bornstein put them to the test with five matching questions - and neither knowing the other's answers.

1 When did you first know you were interested in each other?

Emily: "The first time I met him, I thought he was a jerk. I thought he was kind of pushy and loud, and I believe he thought that I was a snob. I think Tom's really talented, so that was really a very attractive thing about him. Once we got started in rehearsals, he blew me away.

"As we worked together, I think we both got a better understanding of, 'I'm not a snob and he's not a big lecher.' It was during rehearsals that we got interested in each other, but we were both pretty opposed to getting involved with another actor, (because) actors, they're more trouble than they're worth."

Tom: "When we first met, I did not like her at all. I was auditioning, and I thought, 'Who in the (heck) does this chick think she is?' She had come late for the callback, and I was just like, 'Oh, who is this privileged person?'

"We went out after work for a drink one night at the old Racine's. I don't know, there was a big attraction. I like put-together women. She's not your traditional beauty. She's the Ellen Barkin type, when you put it all together, it works.

"I immediately told her, 'I don't date actresses.' She immediately told me, 'I don't date players.' We had a kiss one night when we were backstage, and she had this beautiful red dress."

2 We see Emily fully naked several times in the play, but we only see Tom from the back. Why do we see girls fully naked but not boys?

Emily: "Tom is very touchy about this question, it's so funny, because everyone who saw it this weekend commented on the fact that they didn't get to see his package. I had friends who thought it was pretty lopsided and unfair that we only saw the female in the play. This was written by Terrence McNally, a gay male, so I don't think he had any kind of ulterior motive to see the female form."

Tom: "I don't even want to know her answer. She's going to say I planned it this way. I've been doing this for 20 years and I've always had a no-nudity rule. I've seen two plays in my life where I didn't think it was gratuitous, and that would be Beirut and Bent. I just naturally turned upstage and I didn't even know that people weren't seeing it all. It doesn't matter how comfortable you are with the person, it's still a first date (in the play), and I don't think you walk around naked all night.

"The only time it is a big deal is when there are elderly people in the audience who I guess are not aware there's nudity or are offended in some way. We've had some people say, 'Oh, there she goes again.' "

3 In the play, Frankie makes Johnny a meatloaf sandwich with butter. Is it just me, or is that disgusting?

Emily: "I love cold meatloaf sandwiches, and I love that part of the play, because I'm usually starving. I don't like to eat onstage normally, but I adore meatloaf sandwiches, and (artistic director) Warren Sherrill makes a custom little loaf for us every weekend, and he makes a delicious little meatloaf."

Tom: "I hate meatloaf. I never liked meatloaf as a kid, but Warren Sherrill makes the meatloaf and it's really, really good."

4 How have this play and Misery, which you also did together, affected the relationship?

Emily: "I think it's definitely strengthened our relationship. In Misery, I was really nervous about it, and I think there were probably times during that play where we were like, 'I don't know if this is going to work.' I don't know that I could do this show with somebody else, and it is just a total joy to work with him, and that joyful feeling kind of spills over into the rest of your life."

Tom: "I think it's made us closer. There were a few times in Misery, we had a lumpy time coming into that, and we thought, this is gonna make or break us, this show. We had one rule: When we're acting, we're acting. We're being professionals. One night, the typewriter jammed up and I was like, 'Dammit.' And she said, "Honey, don't." That was the only time it actually happened. It could have turned into some petty crap if we let it."

5 At the beginning of Frankie and Johnny, you're both making sex sounds in the dark. Are you just knitting in the dark while you make the noises?

Emily: "That is so hard for me not to laugh at that part, because obviously we're not really having sex, but we are just sort of making the bed shake, and all the stereotypical movie scenes you've ever seen, but it's really hard for me not to laugh when Tom is being so vocal and silly about it. It also is a great release when you're nervous, we kind of get that out of the way."

Tom: "Actually, it's really fun. We're colliding. We're not doing it, but . . . And it's really actually a great nerve thing, because you get nervous before the show every night."

Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune

• When and where: 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday at the Phoenix Theatre, 1124 Santa Fe Drive

• Cost: $15 to $19

• Information: 303-777-3292

All the Frankies and all the Johnnys

Since the play premiered Off Broadway in 1987, a number of actors have tackled playwright Terrence McNally's lovable losers:

• Kathy Bates and Kenneth Welsh: 1987, Manhattan Theatre Club

• Michelle Pfeiffer and Al Pacino: 1991 movie, Frankie and Johnny

• Edie Falco and Stanley Tucci: 2002, Broadway

• Rosie Perez and Joe Pantoliano: 2003, Broadway replacements

• Michael Pressman and Lisa Chess: Pressman made a 2004 documentary film about a difficult production that ended up starring him and his wife.

Lisa Bornstein is the theater critic. bornsteinl@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5101

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