While growing up, actress Emily Koch had an uncle who would pop into her life at random times.

“He would just show up for 24 hours and pull me out of school,” she says. “We would go ice skating, horseback riding, mini golfing and shopping all in one day. He would give me a $100 bill and be like, ‘Go spend this and come back for another one.’ Just craziness.”

At the time, Koch had no idea that this experience would come in handy, helping her get into character for her latest role in “Kimberly Akimbo,” the musical adaptation of David Lindsay-Abaire’s celebrated play.

Koch plays Debra, the aunt of the title character, who shows up at a nexus point in Kimberly’s life. Kimberly suffers from a fictional disease that makes her age four times faster than normal. On the eve of her 16th birthday, but with the appearance of someone in her 60s, Kimberly is finding it difficult to fit in at a new high school.

Debra arrives in town, likely fleeing prosecution on a number of felony charges, and immediately enlists Kimberly in a scheme to wash checks to steal money.

“I feel like there’s a sort of magic that Debra brings even with her troubles,” says Koch. “Her bottom line is: Kim, we’ve got to stop this monotony; let’s go!” For a girl facing a premature death, that “seize the day” attitude has a powerful appeal.

For Koch, a veteran of multiple national tours who has played Jenna in “Waitress” and Elphaba in “Wicked,” playing Debra also has an unmistakable allure. “It’s been such a blast,” she says. “Especially taking it around the country and seeing the different kinds of reactions that I receive for this part.”

Even with Debra’s sketchy morality, Koch appreciates the chance to play a truly comic role.

“A character like Elphaba has an incredible sense of humor, but this is overtly funny,” she says. “And that is really, really fun to do.”

Koch has been on tour with “Kimberly” since last September but she has trained for the itinerant life of an actor for more than 15 years. After two years at Interlochen Arts Academy, she went on to graduate from Carnegie Mellon University’s prestigious acting school.

“That kind of background is like a pedigree,” Koch says. “But I think it can make it even harder if it doesn’t go well, if your career doesn’t go anywhere. I am aware of that constantly, that ‘Kimberly’ could be my last job.”

Life on the road is a little less grueling for Koch thanks to one of her costars: playing Debra’s brother-in-law in “Kimberly” is Koch’s real-life boyfriend, Jim Hogan. As detailed in a Washington Post profile of the pair last year, the show provides some built-in couples therapy.

“Our characters despise each other, so that’s really fun to play,” Koch laughs. The two only have one major scene together but it builds into an epic onstage confrontation. “It’s such an absurd argument,” she says. “It’s deadly serious for the characters but, under the surface, we’re just cackling.”

As for Koch’s uncle, she hasn’t seen him for years.

“He has mysteriously moved to Alaska and he’s up there doing God knows what,” she says. “It feels very much like it could be Debra’s trajectory: she escapes to go work in a CostCo in Alaska somewhere.”

“Kimberly Akimbo” will run at the Altria Theatre, 6 North Laurel St. from Nov. 4-9. Tickets and information at Broadway in Richmond’s web page.