Colleen Zenk in SUMMER STOCK 2010

I hate the thought of no more Barbara and Henry once As The World Turns goes off the air. This romance was one of the best of the "cougar" storyline trends this year, including Jackie and Owen of The Bold and Beautiful and Erica and Ryan of All My Children.

However, Colleen Zenk is still going strong as she will be singing in "Summer Stock NYC: A Celebration of the Broadway Musical", opening on July 16th. Check the Collaborative Arts Project 21 link for more information.

Kimberly McCullough on FAKE IT TIL YOU MAKE IT

Kimberly McCullough (Robin, GH) appears on tonight's episode of Jaleel White's Fake It Til You Make It. You can find the series on Hulu.

Television Review - The 2010 Daytime Emmy Awards

When I first heard about the star line-up announced in the press (names such as David Copperfield, the Osmonds, Cirque de Soleil, etc.), I feared that the 2010 Daytime Emmy Awards aired on CBS would be too Vegas-oriented and not enough about daytime television or the soaps. My concerns were valid, except that it was even worse than I had expected.

When David Copperfield did a cheesy magic trick revealing Regis Philbin as the host of the show…only to lead up to Regis beginning to regale the audience with the ten zillionth Susan Lucci joke ever told (Yes, she won an Emmy already, folks…so let’s move on!), I knew that this would set the tone for the rest of the evening.

Best Supporting Actress - Julie Pinson. I really thought Arianne Zuker had the best shot for the award this year; so I was surprised by the Pinson win but not really upset. I have no idea what any of the actors submitted for reels this year, but from what I saw of Julie Pinson on ATWT this year, she was always bringing in solid performances. Particularly from Brad’s death to Liberty’s battle with cancer, Julie was knocking it out of the park. So I can’t complain about her win. Her dress, on the other hand, is a different story, but that’s for another blog review at another time.

American Bandstand Tribute - Well, American Bandstand was actually a daytime show; so I have no problem with the tribute. But how cool would it have been to see talented singing actors from daytime get a chance to take part rather than all the Vegas lounge lizards? Jonathan Jackson, the Daytime Divas, Kurth and Taylor and Nadia Bjorlin are just a few people I could name from daytime that could have had a chance to showcase themselves. Particularly since the soaps are mostly too broke to pay for song rights, this would have been a special treat for soap fans nowadays.

Rachael Ray - When Ray enthused how the Daytime Emmys was one of the best shows she’d ever seen, I wondered if perhaps she should get out of the kitchen for a night or two, let a relative do the cooking for a change...and she should actually watch some good TV and see the error of her ways.

The Lion King - Did I accidentally switch onto the Tony awards and not realize it? How is this relevant to the Daytime Emmys?

Best Supporting Actor - Billy Miller. My choice was Jonathan Jackson, but Billy Miller is also terrific. This was probably the closest out of all the races this year.

Best Game Show - Cash Cab. I don‘t really watch game shows, so I‘ll just have to trust in the greater minds of the voting committee.

Best Talk Show - The Doctors. I don‘t really watch talk shows, so I‘ll just have to trust in the greater minds of the voting committee.

By this time, I was thinking that if I were a nominated actress on a soap opera; and that if I had spent hours giving a powerful performance on television, submitting a reel, spending time with my stylist, picking a dress, getting my makeup done, dealing with countless interviews, et. cet. -- only to find that most people were only going to see me on those paparazzi websites where you have to pay money just to see a close-up of a picture…I would be really ticked off.

Best Younger Actor - Drew Tyler Bell. Like everyone else, I don’t get it either. Drew Garrett was robbed.

As the World Turns tribute - Like everything else about this show, this was too rushed. A little less Las Vegas and a little more relevance about what the awards ceremony was about, please. Was this disrespectful to a classic soap opera that deserved a decent memorial? Absolutely, but probably no more offensive than what happened to Guiding Light at the Emmys last year.

Best Talk Show - Ellen DeGeneris. The first prediction I got right. Hey, she’s Ellen.

Best Younger Actress - Julie Berman. The second prediction I got right. Julie consistently gives solid performances on GH, whether she’s doing a comedy scene with Kristen Storms or a hot love scene with Dominic Zamprogna. In this case, the right one won.

At this point, the show was becoming so rushed that even Regis and Susan Lucci couldn’t keep up, failing to finish their silly little insert between commercials.

Best Directing - General Hospital. Absolutely the right show to win. I’ve only been consistently watching GH since the Carnival storyline but I find that I can’t miss a day of GH. The characters and stories grabbed me and grabbed me good, taking me from one fascinating storyline to the next. Kudos! Not so happy about the ridiculous Cirque du Soleil dance during the presentation however. A dancing crab hands an envelope to Wayne Brady...and it makes you wonder why the daytime industry is no longer respected. Go figure.

Life Achievement Award - Agnes Nixon. The one part of the evening done right.

Best Game Show Host - Ben Bailey. Again, I never watch game shows, so I can’t really comment about this.

Best Writing - Bold and the Beautiful. Maybe the episode submitted had good writing, but the show overall has not impressed me with such over this last year. My jaded opinion is it was a shout-out for CBS airing the Daytime Emmys at all.

Best Talk Show Host - Mehmet Oz. Don't watch, can't comment. You know the drill.

As Regis Philbin mispronounced Vanessa Marcel’s name...and Vanessa staggered her way to the podium, I wondered if the actors all had a little too much fun at the blackjack tables. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. I know, I know…

Best Actor - Michael Park. For me, the most predictable award. Park did a good job as Jack mourned for Brad’s death and blamed himself. Also, an ATWT sympathy award.

Best Actress - Maura West. I thought it would go to Crystal Chappell...but it was a nice little tribute to ATWT for both of the lead categories to win. Certainly a better tribute than anything the actual ceremony came up with for the canceled soap.

Best Show - Bold and the Beautiful. Why? Because of Betty White? B&B occasionally has really great moments...but the show is not consistently as good as GH.

Every year, there have been the same old concerns about how the Daytime Emmy Awards are going to be shown...or even if they will be shown at all. But I have to ask just how low does the industry have to stoop to be seen on a network? When daytime is selling its soul to Las Vegas, I wonder what’s the point. When neither the E Channel (airing a Cameron Diaz documentary) nor SoapNet (airing a GH rerun) can scrape up enough pennies just to do a little piddling red carpet pre-show, I have to wonder if the whole format should be majorly overhauled. For me and my soap buddies, our red carpet show consisted of frantically looking at all the hastily-taken pictures tweeted by websites that are actually concerned about the state of daytime. Let these folks like Roger Newcomb and Damon Jacobs of We Love Soaps or Soap Opera Source possibly band together next year and air both the pre-show and the actual ceremony on the internet itself. These people actually care that the actors are seen, know what the fans want and will treat the soaps with the respect that they deserve. I’d much rather settle with that than to see more televised Daytime Emmy shows like the one that aired last night.

Get your Pre-Daytime Emmy Fix

If you are now just waiting through the day like I am to see the Daytime Emmys, you can get your fix early.

Check out the videos of the stars on the red carpet at the Pre Party MIX at Mandalay Bay last night on YouTube, parts one and two.

Damon Jacobs at WE LOVE SOAPS has a ton of interviews up from the Daytime Entertainment Creative Arts Emmy Awards.

During the show, there's tons of live blogging parties on Twitter, Facebook and multiple websites. So pick your poison and have it. Let's just hope there are plenty of other televised Daytime Emmy shows to come in the future.

Interview with Patsy Pease

Don't miss the upcoming OutTakes interview with Patsy Pease (Kim, Days of Our Lives) on Tuesday, June 29th (7 pm PST / 10 pm EST). I'll be opening up the show to callers about 15 to 20 minutes into the show. Call (347) 989-0605 to talk with Patsy.

If you want to ask a question, make sure and press "1" when the phone message gives you the option to speak to the host and be in the queue. Otherwise, I will be assuming that you are calling in only to listen to the interview by phone.

The link to the OutTakes Blogtalkradio station is here.

OutTakes Interview with James Reynolds

Come chat with James Reynolds (Abe, Days of Our Lives) on Friday, June 25th (7:00 PM PST/10:00 PM EST) as we talk about his upcoming projects with Cape May Stage, his acting career, DAYS and more.

The "OutTakes" Blogtalkradio channel is at this site with a call-in number at (347) 989-0605. If you register with Blogtalkradio, you can also participate in the chatroom. The interview will be available for playback both on the Blogtalkradio link and on the player button here on the blog.

James Reynolds at Cape May Stage

While soap opera fans are most familiar with James Reynolds in the role of "Abe Carver" on Days of Our Lives, some may not know that he also has a prolific career on stage as both actor and director. Co-starring with Lissa Layng, James will be appearing at Cape May Stage, NJ, in Oliver Hailey's And Where She Stops Nobody Knows on Monday, July 5th.

Stay posted for James Reynolds' Blogtalkradio interview with "OutTakes". Date and time TBA.

Also, check out the Cape May Stage press release below for more details about the play and cast.

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And Where She Stops Nobody Knows
by Oliver Hailey

Cape May, NJ – Cape May Stage, as part of their ongoing commitment to quality theatre, is proud to announce a one-night limited engagement of Oliver Hailey’s unpublished gem And Where She Stops Nobody Knows. Part of Cape May Stage’s inaugural Second Stage Broadway Series, this underperformed treasure stars Cape May Stage favorites, husband and wife team James Reynolds and Lissa Layng, both of Days of Our Lives fame. This seldom-seen offering will be performed Monday, July 5th at 8:00pm at the Robert Shackleton Playhouse at the corner of Bank and Lafayette Streets in downtown Cape May.

And Where She Stops Nobody Knows received its premiere at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles in the summer of 1976, and has been seldom revived since. Billed as “a pas de deux”, Hailey’s two-actor play follows the life of “She” (Layng) from an infant who hates her mother’s milk to an elderly woman reflecting on the triviality of life. Reynolds plays “He”, cycling through a dizzying 27 different characters throughout the piece, matching the rapid fire of Hailey’s language while creating both conflict and resolution for Layng’s character. She says, “One man, one woman – that was [God’s] idea of Paradise – and also mine.”

She is a cynic, disillusioned with life from an early age by interactions with everyone from her adoptive parents to cannibals, including several misdirected dances with love along the way. “People like you are why we have Nevada,” He says, playing a police officer who has pulled her over for speeding just inside the Arizona border. Pleading to be taken to jail, She responds, “There’s so little tolerance out here, anyway.” Her love life leaves her unfulfilled, eventually coming to the determination that “All great romances are terminal.” And Where She Stops Nobody Knows is simultaneously insightful and moving, funny and poignant – the inspection of a life fraught with futility and tempered with humor.

Reynolds and Layng have taken time away from their duties as the artistic directors of the much acclaimed Fremont Centre Theatre in South Pasedena, CA, to appear together in this show. Both agree it has been one of the most rewarding and enjoyable experiences of both their personal and professional lives – a feeling that shines through and embraces the audience during performances. Says Reynolds, “It has been our good fortune to have presented a number of the great Oliver Hailey’s plays and of course those of Elizabeth Forsythe Hailey. Where She Stops Nobody Knows is a whimsical play about a woman who searched all of her life for love and adventure. Performing this with my wife Lissa is ideal because we found love and the search for adventure continues.”

Lissa Layng was last seen at the Robert Shackleton Playhouse in A Woman of Independent Means. Her role as Bess in that show has garnered universal praise, from “Pick of the Fringe” at the 2005 Vancouver Fringe Festival to “Best Production of a One-Person Show” from the Valley Theatre League. Other stage credits include Fog of War and the musical comedy Much Adieux at the Whitmore/Lindly Theatre. Layng was also chosen One of the Top Ten Actresses in LA by ReviewPlays.com and received the DramaLogue Critics Award for her performance in the Los Angeles premiere of Station WVIP. Television credits range from guest starring appearances on Family Law, Unsolved Mysteries and Days Of Our Lives. She is co-artistic director of the Fremont Centre Theatre with her husband James Reynolds, where they received the Red Carpet Award from Women in Theatre, and the Gold Crown Award from the Pasadena Arts Council.

James Reynolds was last seen at the Robert Shackleton Playhouse in his one-man show, I, Too, Am America. He is well known for his portrayal of Commissioner Abe Carver on NBC’s Days of Our Lives. As a two-time Emmy nominee, Reynolds has won admiration from fans and critics alike with his commanding presence and nuanced performances. He has guest starred on such series as Seinfeld, Highway to Heaven and Hart to Hart. In addition to his television career, Reynolds also makes time for his role as co-artistic director of the Fremont Centre Theatre, which he runs with his wife, actress Lissa Layng. Reynolds has also lent his considerable talents to directing and has helmed productions of The Tangled Snarl and Murder Me Once, which was named “Critic’s Choice” by the Los Angeles Times and Backstage West. Aside from his artistic endeavors, Reynolds remains committed to his charity work for such organizations as Ronald McDonald House and the USO and, with Ms. Layng, finds deep fulfillment in giving back to their local and national communities.

Part of Cape May Stage’s inaugural Second Stage Broadway Series, And Where She Stops Nobody Knows will run Monday, July 5th at 8:00pm at the Robert Shackleton Playhouse at the corner of Bank & Lafayette Streets in downtown Cape May. Tickets are $50, and include an after party at the Wine Bar at the Washington Inn, Cape May’s new hip, relaxing, contemporary meeting place at the corner of Washington and Jefferson Streets. There, you’ll have a chance to mingle with the stars of the show, while enjoying delicious complimentary finger foods and a well-stocked cash bar. Call (609) 884-1341 for reservations and information or visit the theatre’s website, http://www.capemaystage.com/.

Cape May Stage’s Second Stage Series is presented through the gracious support of Chris and Dave Clemans.