Entertainment

Staged Q&A session is a Gray area

In the early ’80s, the late mono loguist Spalding Gray created a show called “Interviewing the Audience” in which he did just that. He brought random theatergoers onstage and got them to open up.

Writer-director Zach Helm (“Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium”) saw the piece, and it made such an impression that he’s revived it, with himself as the host.

But circumstances have changed. Hearing total strangers speak about themselves was radical 30 years ago. But now, between the Internet and reality TV, public confession is commonplace. Which makes you wonder whether bringing back “Interviewing the Audience” was really necessary.

The set is standard late-night gabfest: a couple of comfy armchairs, a coffee table, a pitcher of water and glasses, an earth-toned rug. Helm, a tall, thin fellow with elegantly graying temples, goes down an aisle and chooses the first of three people from the audience.

The one question that never changes is the first: “How did you come to be at the theater tonight?” Helm asks. After that, the unscripted conversation can go in any number of directions.

Like all good interviewers, Helm looks genuinely interested in what people have to tell him. But he also has a certain off-putting slickness. At times, he lets out an overly enthusiastic laugh with all the spontaneity of a talk-show pro.

On a recent evening, he didn’t prod all that deeply, and the exchanges were neither particularly insightful nor revealing. There’s a thin line between sensitive and bland.

At best, we get to know a little bit about people we’d never have met otherwise, each with their own idiosyncrasies. At worst, the chat meanders and — unlike in the street or at a party — there’s no escape.

It’s also hard not to think that here, not only does the audience pay for entertainment — it’s expected to supply it, as well.

elisabeth.vincentelli@nypost.com