Deep Soap: The Role Of ___ Will Now Be Played By…

By Sara A. Bibel
Fancast.com

Same Name, Different Face
While watching As The World Turns Thursday, I did a double take. Who was that attractive brunette with Holden? Then I remembered. She’s the new Lily, Noelle Beck. At the moment, she doesn’t seem like Lily to me. Martha Byrne joined the show as a teenager. The adopted heiress Lily’s love story with stable boy Holden was one of the greatest in soap history. Fans grew up along with Lily, joining the work force, marrying, and having children at roughly the same time that she did. Byrne forged a close connection with the audience, who admired her not only for her talent but her work for charities. Now she’s off the show for the most disappointing reason, a contract dispute. Byrne’s the latest victim of daytime’s budget crisis.

Recasts are one of the more frustrating aspects of being a soap fan. After years of getting to know every nuance of an actor’s portrayal of a character, suddenly the audience is asked to expect a new face in the role. It’s a convention that doesn’t exist in primetime.

But in soaps, a character often needs to stay on the canvas after the actor chooses to leave the show. In other cases, an actor isn’t working out in a role and the show chooses to make a change. Sometimes the new actor seamlessly steps in and is soon embraced by the audience. Such veteran, popular actors as Peter Bergman, (Jack, The Young & The Restless) and Erika Slezac (Viki One Life To Live) are recasts. Other times, the new performer never clicks with the majority of viewers. It’s impossible to predict. Certain actors are so identified with a role that it’s impossible to imagine anyone else in the part. Yet, when they’ve left they were successfully recast. Sarah Brown was a sensation as General Hospital’s Carly. When she chose to leave, I thought the show was crazy to attempt to keep the character going. But her replacement Tamara Braun was accepted. Then, when she left, her successor Jennifer Bransford tanked. But her re-re-recast Laura Wright is wildly popular.

Stepping into a role that somebody else has already defined is a tough job for an actor. Success or failure often has nothing to do with an actor’s skill, or how popular the character is. It has to do with the peculiar alchemy of daytime. An actor needs to capture the true essence of who the character is, to make an emotional connection with viewers. One of the most notorious recasts in daytime history occurred on ATWT when Susan Batten took over the role of Connor. Batten was a hit as OLTL’s New Age Luna. But her earthy style was a complete mismatch for savvy business woman Connor. The fans rebelled, writing letters of protest even allegedly sending cans urging the show to “can” her. The show acquiesced and the character was written off. It remains to be seen whether the audience will come to accept the new Lily or whether Byrne is the only one who can bring her to life.

Our National Soap Opera
This presidential season has had as much drama as a soap. Inspired by the end of the primaries and HBO’s recent film about the 2000 election, Recount, I offer my casting suggestions for the inevitable movie about 2008.

Obama: Kristoff St. John (Y&R’s Neil Winters)
The character of Neil shares many of Obama’s ideals and experiences. He’s got the top-notch education (Neil is a graduate of Stanford business school, making him the only employee of Newman Enterprises who is actually qualified for an Executive level position.) He’s an idealist, unwilling to resort to the dirty dealings of his co-workers. St. John imbues Neil with the same stiffness that Obama often has in interviews. His heartwrenching portrayal of Neil’s alcoholism convinces me he’s got the goods to pull off Obama’s inspirational speeches.

Hillary: Hillary B. Smith (OLTL’s Nora Hannan Gannon Beaucanan)
Though she’s about a decade too young for the role, Smith excels at playing tough, intelligent women. She’s mesmerizing in Nora’s courtroom scenes. She’d be fantastic at dramatizing a presidential debate. Years of playing her complicated relationship with Good Old Boys Bo and Clint Beaucanan have prepared her for tackling Hillary’s marriage to Bill.
Runner up: Julia Barr, formerly Brooke English, AMC

McCain: John Ingle (GH’s Edward Quartermaine)
The tough, often mean patriarch of the dysfunctional Quartermaine clan runs a major company. He’s outspoken, doesn’t suffer fools gladly and never backs down in an argument. He’s rebuilt his business and his relationships more times than he can count. He is convinced that the younger generations are lazy and undisciplined. In short, he has plenty in common with McCain. Ingle, a former Beverly Hills High drama instructor who taught numerous movie stars, has the range and depth to play the war hero turned politician.