If you took a peek behind the set of “Mamma Mia!” at the start of the Broadway tour’s second act, you’d find Jalynn Steele doing push-ups and sit-ups to pump herself up for her rendition of “Does Your Mother Know.”

By inverting the gender of the Abba original, the musical version of the song becomes a showstopper about a woman contemplating a fling with a younger man. A few songs into the second act, the set turns around and Steele launches into her big number.

“It’s a song full of joy and full of cougar-ness,” Steele explains. “When the wall turns around, I’m ready to go.”

If you’re unfamiliar with one of the biggest musicals of all time, “Mamma Mia!” reworks Abba’s greatest hits into a lighthearted romp about love and second chances. The jukebox musical tells the story of a young woman named Sophie who has returned the Greek island she was raised on to get married.

Naturally, Sophie would like her father to attend her nuptials. The problem is that no one — including her mother Donna — is sure who her father is. Through reading her mother’s old diary, Sophie learns that three men could have possibly sired her. In the ironclad logic of musicals, Sophie decides to invite all three to her wedding to suss out which one is her father, and hijinks ensue.

For the past year, Steele has played the character Tanya in the musical’s national tour. A wealthy woman who is thrice married and divorced, Tanya is stylish, witty and loves men.

“She’s a loyal friend to Donna,” says Steele of Tanya. “She is the one who will tell you the truth, whether you want to hear it or not, but she’s also very fun.”

Steele says she doesn’t resemble her perpetually put-together character.

“I’m not a Tanya at all,” she explains. “You’ll find me in an airport in a hoodie, sweats and sneakers any day. I won’t be wearing any stilettos or pinstripe suits to the airport anytime soon.”

A native of La Marque, Texas, Steele’s journey to playing Tanya in “Mamma Mia!” began in college when she auditioned for the Broadway Theatre Project, a musical theater training program in Tampa, Florida. There, she worked alongside the likes of Gregory Hines and Ann Reinking; through the program she was cast in the latter’s musical revue “Fosse,” playing 96 cities in nine months.

One of Steele’s more intriguing credits came about through working at a Lush Cosmetics store in New York City. A customer appreciated her look and asked if she would appear on an episode of “Sesame Street.” Steele played a Triangle Lover in the 2007 episode “Triangle Lover of the Day.”

“That was a very New York moment,” she says of being cast from a cosmetics store. “I got a chance to meet the original Elmo guy and the cast of characters who were there.”

More recently, Steele performed in the second national tour and Broadway staging of “The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical.” Similar to the Harry Potter books, but centered around Greek mythology instead of wizardry, the Percy Jackson books have “almost a cult following,” Steele says; she played the title character’s mother and other roles in the show.

“It was such a big hit around the states,” Steele says.

As for traveling with the tour of “Mamma Mia!” Steele says its fun to see theatergoers in sequined jackets and feather boas dance for the show’s encore.

“It’s beautiful to see each audience get up on their feet,” Steele says. “You see people jamming out, some people coming down to the stage to party with us. It’s been a joy whenever we get a chance to see that happen.”

Asked if there are regional differences between audiences, Steele says that Toronto offers an interesting contrast to America.

“They loved it, but they’re very polite, so they’re quieter than U.S.” theatergoers, she says. “They wait to applaud at appropriate times. We’ve just gotten used to people talking back and clapping back.”

Steele says “Mamma Mia!” offers a bit of escapism for those who need it.

“If you need some joy in your life, if you need some happiness, if you need to get away from the everyday happenings of what’s going on in this world, come see the show and take a two-and-a-half-hour break,” she says. “It’s a show that’s needed in these times.”

“Mamma Mia!” plays Dec. 10-15 at the Altria Theater, 6 N. Laurel St. For more information visit broadwayinrichmond.com.