OUT: Y&R's Josh Griffith

1 Nelson Branco has updated the latest TV Guide Canada "Suds Report" with the news of Ed Scott's dismissal from DAYS OF OUR LIVES and Josh Griffith being let go from THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS. Check out the scoop here.

Anaïs Nin Goes to Hell

1 I just got in from seeing "Anaïs Nin Goes to Hell," a David Stallings play that is part of the 11th Annual New York International Fringe Festival. The press release for the play gave the following preview: "Imagine an island in hell where Cleopatra, Joan of Arc, and Queen Victoria...wait for their men. What happens when women's lib icon Anaïs Nin arrives to turn their afterlife upside down? David Stallings' new comedy, 'Anaïs Nin Goes to Hell' explores the question of whether Sartre was right and hell really is other people, or whether we carry around our potential for damnation or salvation within ourselves." This was a pretty accurate description, but it failed to capture how wonderfully funny and intelligent the play turned out to be. Marnie Schulenburg, Alison Stewart on AS THE WORLD TURNS, stars as Andromeda, and she is fabulous. On the heels of Alison's hilarious screams at the sight of Dr. Rick Decker on ATWT, it was especially funny to hear her do a similar scream in the play. Also, like on ATWT recently, Marnie gets to sing in this production, and she belts out The Carpenters' "Superstar" like she means it (some of the cast join in later and it's absolutely hysterical). Aside from the singing and comedy, you even get to see Marnie's Andromeda kissing Kristina Kohl's Heloise. If you're in the New York area, I highly recommend checking out one of the last two shows (Thursday and next Sunday). As a side treat this evening, I got to see several of Marnie's AS THE WORLD TURNS castmates at the show including Jake Silberman, Dylan Bruce, Billy Magnussen, Justine Cotsonas, Jon Prescott and Agim Kaba. The hunks of ATWT in a small NYC theater. What more could a guy ask for? Here's a preview of the play which features commentary and a bit of the cast singing.

One Year Ago Today - The Kiss

1 One year ago today, AS THE WORLD TURNS' Luke and Noah shared their first kiss, an event that made soap history and brought international attention and new fans to the 51 year old soap. Over the past year since that historic day, the writing for Luke and Noah has been spotty at best. First, Noah's psycho murdering father, Colonel Mayer, shot Luke which lead to him being paralyzed. Noah later moved to the Snyder farm and he and Luke declared their love for each other. In late February, Ameera Ali Aziz, the daughter of the Colonel's Iraqi lover, came to town and Noah ended up marrying her to help her stay in the country. The story was a complete disaster without any payoff. ATWT did produce an outstanding gay pride episode on July 4th featuring Cyndi Lauper, but even that ended in a way that left fans scratching their heads (Noah told Luke he was joining the Army, which continued for only one more episode and was dropped). The past few weeks, Noah has barely been seen while Luke has been used in scenes supporting his parents, legacy couple Lily and Holden. Soap Opera Weekly even printed a blurb saying Jake Silbermann was not leaving the show after fans wrote in asking what happened to Noah. Silbermann (Noah) and two-time Emmy nominee Van Hansis (Luke) have been what makes this couple work. Their onscreen chemistry has been able to transcened even the most unbelievable plotlines and dialogue. Fans have had plenty to say over the past year about the ups and downs of Luke and Noah. By Christmas, it was obvious that a kissing ban had been imposed (the American Family Assoction even issue an "Action Alert" protesting the couple) which lead to fans organizing and starting a Hershey Kiss campaign, an online petition and eventually a worldwide media blitz covered by TIME magazine, USA Today, Entertainment Weekly, Boston Globe, CNN, NPR, the Associate Press and many, many more newspapers, magazines, TV and radio shows. No soap story has captured the imagination of soaps fans and the mainstream press like this in decades. The buzz has died down of late as fans wait for Luke and Noah to finally have sex. The reasons for these guys to not sleep together have become more convoluted over time. Fans keep asking themselves if it will ever happen. And if so, when, and how much will ATWT show? Despite all the flaws, the kissing ban and lack of physical affection, Luke and Noah have been the most romantic couple on AS THE WORLD TURNS over the past year. Their declarations of love, whether it be Luke pouring his heart out to Noah or Noah telling Luke he is his "happy ending," have beeen sweet and sentimental and continue to leave fans wanting more. As far as soap couple go in 2008, Luke and Noah make the most of their minimal screen time, and no one is more romantic. One of the biggest impacts of this storyline is what it has meant to the lives of fans. On The Nuke Fancast every week (a podcast dedicated to the couple) there is a segment call "How Nuke Changed My Life" which features stories of amazing changes that have occurred just because this couple exists. A grandmother has looked at gay people in a new way, young men and women have learned to accept themselves, people have volunteered for GLAAD and gay pride events and friendships and romances have been formed. It's incredible to hear these stories and see the impact soaps can make and should make with writing that people can relate to and watching characters fans can root for on a daily basis. As I said in a post after the gay pride episode, AS THE WORLD TURNS should be applauded for telling this story. Every time I get frustrated with the lack of airtime, the unrealistic plot twists or the latest excuse why they can't have sex, I remind myself that no other soap has been willing to tell the story of two gay men falling in love and being committed to each other. ATWT has made history and Luke and Noah will forever be part of that. All future gay couples on soaps, and I hope there will be more soon, will be compared to "Nuke" and ATWT. The YouTube clip of their kiss has over 1.5 million views and counting. How many other soap clips can make that claim? It's been a bumpy ride over the past year, but it was well worth it.

FLASHBACK: Much Ado About Nothing 1973

1 In 1973, twenty million people saw the broadcast of this CBS-TV production of "Much Ado About Nothing," Shakespeare’s classic tale of romance, mistaken identity, and the battle of the sexes. Though this turn-of-the-century version has Roosevelt’s Rough-Riders and bicycle riding suffragettes, the story is the same: Beatrice and Benedick fight their merry war of words; the evil Don Juan conspires to disrupt the wedding of Hero and Claudio; and it’s up to Dogbery to save the day. Critically acclaimed and loved by audiences, this rollicking comedy is brassy, bouncy and all-together entertaining. First presented at the New York Shakespeare Festival, this production later became the first truly successful Shakespeare play in Broadway history that did not boast a major star. It features Sam Waterston, Kathleen Widdoes, Douglass Watson and Barnard Hughes. Soap fans will recognize Widdoes as the long-running Emma Snyder on AS THE WORLD TURNS. Before joining ATWT, she played Una on RYAN'S HOPE. She began her soap career as ANOTHER WORLD's Rose Perrini, the mother of Ray Liotta's character, Joey. On AW, Widdoes worked with the late, great Douglass Watson. Yes, despite only one "s" on the DVD cover (he used both spellings throughout his career), this is the same actor who played the beloved Mac Cory on ANOTHER WORLD for many years. Watson appeared in a number of soaps before his AW run. He was Lloyd on LOVE OF LIFE, Walter on SEARCH FOR TOMORROW and played the lead character, Robert, on CBC's MOMENT OF TRUTH. If you want to watch two soap legends in actions, go check out this wonderful DVD.