USTownhall: Soaps

2010-06-21T22:48:23Z

US Townhall RealStories presents: Thore Schölermann and Jo Weil of VERBOTENE LIEBE

2010-09-13T06:59:33Z

As same-sex marriage continues to fuel debate in the United States, over in Germany one of their more popular soap operas has tackled the subject head on with a highly-publicized wedding between two of its major characters. Same-sex weddings are not exactly a novel concept even in American television, but what made this one more notable is that it took place in a church, and was performed by what seemed to be a member of the clergy.

While same-sex marriage is legal in ten countries around the world and in five states and the District of Columbia within the United States, it is actually not currently allowed in Germany. However, Germany does recognize Registered Partnerships for same-sex couples.

Earlier this month, on Friday, September 3, two popular male characters from the long-running German soap, Verbotene Liebe (Forbidden Love), were married in a church wedding. Christian Mann (played by Thore Schölermann) was wed to Oliver "Olli" Sabel (played by Jo Weil) in the culmination of a long storyline that traced their relationship from acquaintances to friends to lovers.

(l-r) Thore Schölermann as Christian and Jo Weil as Olli

In a time where American soap operas such as One Life to Live dropped its gay characters, attributing them to the decline in the show's ratings, it's interesting to see what's happening across the ocean. We spoke to the actors about their characters and storyline in late August in an audio interview translated and transcribed below. The actors recorded their answers in their native German so if you want to listen to what they sound like, even if you don't speak German, the audio clips are posted at the end of this article. Enjoy!

PALEY CENTER, 2010: Farewell to AS THE WORLD TURNS

2010-08-19T05:35:48Z

On Wednesday, August 18 at the Paley Center for Media in midtown Manhattan, cast members and fans of the long-running serial drama, As the World Turns, gathered to say goodbye to this venerable television institution. Created by legendary television pioneer, Irna Phillips, and debuting on CBS-TV on Monday, April 2, 1956, As the World Turns will have aired a staggering 13,858 episodes when it goes off the air for good on Friday, September 17, 2010.

Just as with the Guiding Light farewell event hosted by the Paley Center in 2009 (which was also covered by USTownhall.com), the evening began with a red carpet photo op at approximately 6:00pm. By 6:30, the cast of As the World Turns and their fans had made their way to the downstairs theater at the Paley Center in order to participate in a Q&A session hosted by Paley Center Curator, Ron Simon.

This was not the first As the World Turns event to be held at Paley. In 1996, ATWT's 40th anniversary was celebrated there, and in 2006, Paley commemorated the soap's 50th by staging a recreation of the first script from April 2, 1956. It was performed by Helen Wagner (Nancy Hughes) and Don Hastings (Dr. Bob Hughes), who played mother and son since Hastings took over the role in 1960. Sadly, Ms. Wagner, an original cast member who spoke the very first line of dialogue on the series premiere in 1956, died from cancer at the age of 91 on May 1, 2010, missing the series' final episode taping which took place about 7 weeks later on June 23, 2010.

What follows are our exclusive photos from the night as well as a summary of the Q&A panel.

PALEY CENTER, 2009: Farewell to GUIDING LIGHT

2009-08-20T03:52:17Z

And so, the ending begins. Tonight in New York City, at the Paley Center for Media in midtown Manhattan, was one of the first big "goodbye" events that the Guiding Light cast will be hosting for its fans. Coming up next, the cast will appear at the Daytime Emmy Awards ceremony on Sunday August 30, at which there is said to be a special tribute to the show.

The Paley Center's three-plus hour event entitled Good-bye to Guiding Light, 72 Years Young, was moderated by Paley's Curator, Ron Simon. In attendance from GL tonight were: Ellen Wheeler (Executive Producer), Jill Lorie Hurst (Head Writer), and actors Grant Aleksander, Bradley Cole, Elizabeth Keifer, Michael O'Leary, and Kim Zimmer.

However, sitting in the audience were several other Guiding Light actors including: Kurt McKinney, Maeve Kinkead, Tina Sloan, Gina Tognoni, Orlagh Cassidy, Frank Dicopoulos, and Ellen Dolan who is now Margo on As the World Turns, but was the original Maureen on GL.

Crystal Chappell part 2: Returning to DAYS OF OUR LIVES

2009-10-01T04:30:03Z

Some weeks ago, we published the first part of our exclusive three-part interview with Crystal Chappell, the Emmy award winning actress noted for her popular stints as Carly Manning/Katerina von Leuschner on Days of Our Lives (1990-1993), Maggie Carpenter on One Life to Live (1995-1997), and of course, Olivia Spencer on Guiding Light (1999-2009) where she won that Emmy. In between soap roles, Crystal had numerous guest spots in primetime and syndicated television series.

October 2009 brings Ms. Chappell back full circle to her first front burner role as Carly on Days of Our Lives. In this second part of our interview with Crystal, she talks about going back to where it all began and working once again with her husband, Michael Sabatino, and Louise Sorel, who tormented Carly as the evil Vivian Alamain.

Days of Our Lives is obviously banking on a nice ratings boost from the near-simultaneous arrival of these three longtime favorites. Based on what we've seen and heard from the fans who have responded to the first part of our interview, the level of excitement for Crystal's return has reached fever pitch so this was pretty much a safe bet on DAYS' part. See for yourself on Friday, October 2 as Crystal Chappell makes her grand reappearance on the Salem canvas.

Our thanks once again to Crystal Chappell for speaking with us and to Cathie and the gang over at ccandfriends.com, and Crystal's publicist, Leslie Penny, for making this all happen.

Agnes Nixon: The Guiding Light Exit Interview

2009-10-20T17:59:48Z

In the annals of daytime dramatic programming, perhaps no single person is more well known and representative of the genre than the woman with whom we had the greatest pleasure in interviewing last week: none other than Agnes Nixon.

Although she is recognized as the creator of two-thirds of ABC's current soap opera lineup, having originated both One Life to Live in 1968 and All My Children in 1970, her career as a writer of provocative dramatic serials extends much further back – all the way to the late 1940s – where she was mentored by none other than the creator of the soap opera herself, Irna Phillips.

When Ms. Phillips left as head writer of Guiding Light in 1958 to focus more on her new hit, As the World Turns, she left the show in the capable hands of Agnes Nixon, who began to incorporate what would become one of the hallmarks of her writing style: crafting stories that were both entertaining and educational.

Tom Pelphrey: The Guiding Light Exit Interview

2009-10-02T22:40:28Z

Since bursting onto the daytime scene in Fall 2004, actor Tom Pelphrey has quickly become a fan favorite. He's certainly one of the most popular actors to appear on Guiding Light in the last decade with his charismatic portrayal of the troubled Jonathan Randall, the abandoned son of GL heroine Reva Shayne and Prince Richard Winslow of the fictional island of San Cristobel.

Jonathan's story was as follows: During one of Reva's periodic bouts with soap opera amnesia, she ended up on the tropical island of San Cristobel, met and fell in love with the Prince, and conceived her fourth child, Jonathan. Jonathan was first seen on the show in 1999, as an 8 to 9 year old boy, after Reva married her truelove Josh Lewis for the second time. They honeymooned in San Cristobel and Reva's life there as Princess Catherine came to light. She began to remember that she had to put Jonathan in hiding in order to protect him from Prince Richard's evil brother, Edmund, who wanted the throne for himself.

Cut to five years later in 2004, and Jonathan arrives in Springfield in his early 20s (it's a soap opera thing), hell-bent on revenge because the house that Reva kept Jonathan hidden away in came furnished with an abusive adoptive father. Coming into town without revealing who he really was, Jonathan seduced and bedded his half first cousin, the virginal Tammy, then revealed to her that he was really her relative.

Tom Pelphrey & the Apothecary Theatre Company Preview

2009-09-30T03:10:27Z

Just returned from a fun interview with actor Tom Pelphrey and his friends of the Apothecary Theatre Company. US Townhall is committed to supporting the entrepreneurs and up-and-comers from all walks of life. Contact us, and tell us your RealStory^TM. We want to hear it.

For this RealStory, Tom Pelphrey, Dennis Flannagan, Kate Russell, and Shawn Renfro talk with us about their theatrical venture and all that goes into getting a production off the ground.

Also, we sit one-on-one with Tom Pelphrey, one of the more popular stars of Guiding Light in its recent years, to talk about his experiences there.

Crystal Chappell: The Guiding Light Exit Interview

2009-09-09T05:29:22Z

For the last ten years, popular actress Crystal Chappell has amassed a loyal fan following in her Emmy-winning role as the feisty anti-heroine Olivia Spencer on the daytime drama, Guiding Light. Earlier this year, her popularity shot to new heights as Olivia became one half of the same-sex soap couple that fans have referred to as "Otalia," the portmanteau name for the characters of Olivia and Natalia (played by actress Jessica Leccia).

However, earlier this year, CBS announced that it would be canceling Guiding Light due to low ratings, ending this long-running drama after 72 years on the air in both radio and television. A few months after the April 1 announcement by CBS, Ms. Chappell released word that she would be moving to the west coast to reprise her first breakout role, that of Carly Manning (aka Katerina von Leuschner) on the serial Days of Our Lives, beginning in early October.

2009 has definitely been a year of changes and transitions for Ms. Chappell: an old job ending, a new job beginning, a new home, and a new venture. In addition to returning to Days of Our Lives, Crystal has teamed up with her friends/production partners to create Venice: The Series, a new online serial drama that is currently in its formative stages, but which has already attracted mainstream notice and press ranging from The New York Times to, well, us.

Last week, we spoke with Crystal Chappell about all of the above and more. In this first chapter of our special serialized interview, we discuss her time on Guiding Light and her role as the multi-faceted Olivia Spencer. In future installments of this interview series, we'll talk about her feelings about being back on Days of Our Lives and working once again with her real-life husband, Michael Sabatino. We'll also go in-depth to bring you all the scoop on her upcoming buzzworthy project, Venice: The Series.

Our thanks to Crystal Chappell for speaking with us and to Cathie and the gang over at ccandfriends.com, and Crystal's publicist, Leslie Penny, for making this all happen.

US Townhall: As an actress, what types of roles do you find yourself attracted to? By the same token, what types of roles or stories do you NOT like to play?

CRYSTAL CHAPPELL: I try to find characters that challenge me -- that force me to go to unfamiliar places. Playing characters that are safe are not very interesting to me.

USTH: Which actors and directors in primetime or film are on your wish list to work with in the future? Put it out there in the Universe, and it may just come to pass.

CC: I love Deniro and Streep, and I would love to work with Martin Scorcese.

USTH: Describe the audition process for Olivia on Guiding Light (GL). What were you told about the role, and how long was the role supposed to last? Which actors did you read with?

CC: I auditioned for [Guiding Light Executive Producer] Paul Rauch and [Procter & Gamble Executive in Charge of Production] Mary Alice ("Mickey") Dwyer-Dobbin and never read with any actors. The role was supposed to be for 3 months and the character was supposed to be killed off. Fortunately for me, she lived.

Guiding Light: The Longest Story Ever Told Writes Its Final Chapter

2009-07-25T07:28:37Z

An important chapter of New York City broadcasting history is about to end. Daytime drama Guiding Light has been canceled by CBS and will air its last episode on Friday, September 18, 2008. As a New York based media business ourselves, we at US Townhall wanted to do one of our longform articles to cover this event and pay tribute to the longest running series in broadcast history.

Check back often as we continually update our tribute to Guiding Light's 72 years of broadcasting with more clips and remembrances. To whet your appetite, we start off with a selection of Guiding Light opening themes over the decades.