There are only a handful of moments where you can feel your life change. The moment you say “I do,” the birth of a child. But performers can add another to that list: the moment you find out you’ll be making your Broadway debut. In an instant, you feel your life has change as a door you’ve always wanted to walk through finally opens.

There’s nothing more heartwarming than hearing these stories. So I brought together five actors who made through debuts this year together to share the stories of how and when they booked their first Broadway shows. Here’s our conversation...