SOAPTOWN USAhttp://www.soaptownusa.com/GLUniversal.htmlQuote:
I head to the cabana bar for a refreshing
beverage and happen upon Robert Newman (Josh) and Crystal Chappell
(Olivia). I say nothing because I know my quality time with them is
forthcoming, so I "nonchalantly" sip my soda and keep one eye on the
basketball tournament. Other than offering a restaurant
recommendation to Lawrence St. Victor (Remy), I allowed the actors
to enjoy this quiet time.
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I waltz into the room where the lunch is being held and the
beautiful Alan Locher, head of PR for the show, tells me to sit
anywhere and to help myself to the delicious array of food laid out
for us. I park myself right next to Crystal Chappell and soon, we
are joined by Liz Keifer (Blake), a very pregnant Jessica Leccia
(Natalia), Frank Dicopoulos (Frank) and Jordan Clarke (Billy). Sara
Bibel of FanCast is doing a great job of asking questions while we
all hungrily munch away. Crystal and Jessica are very pleased with
the positive response to the Otalia story and Crystal doesn't think
that it's a far-fetched idea for her character. Frank jokingly
interjects that "Francine" is coming and that he will soon be
pregnant. "What do you mean, Passions already did a hermaphrodite
story? Aww darn!" Jessica says. Liz and I are exchanging cat stories
and Crystal says to me, "Do you want to get dessert?" I glance at
Jessica and suddenly all three of us jump up and make a dash for the
dessert table. I can't stand that kind of pressure! The actors are
very shocked to learn that former castmate Rick Hearst (ex-Alan
Michael) may be available soon and they hope that he can make his
way back to Springfield. Crystal is so over the moon about the Oreo
cheesecake that she makes another stop at the dessert table, but not
before sweetly asking me if she could get me some too. Crystal would
come in handy later in the weekend when it came to menu choices, by
the way. Michael O'Leary (Rick) is telling us about his and Jordan's
hellish flight, which included no less that five screaming children.
"Have some Oreo cheesecake," Crystal offers, "It will make you feel
better!"
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I later end up back at the cabana bar, where I find
Frank, Crystal and Jessica. I ask Frank if he tried the skydiving
ride and he jokes, "Enough of these (drinks) and I may not need to!
And what are you drinking?" A soda, my boring self admits. I'm a
member of the non-alcoholic club, to which Jessica and I (with her
virgin daiquiri) clink glasses together in a toast. The subject is
baby names and Jessica wants to wait until she meets her baby before
deciding on a name. Frank is telling us how he and his wife Teja
came up with the name Jayden for their son, and says both their
heads snapped to attention after hearing the name on an episode of
Star Trek: The Next Generation. Jessica's hubby shared ultrasound
photos and Crystal says that the baby-to-be is already striking
poses. I bid this fun bunch adieu and run into Liz, who shares a
photo of her and her family, aboard the Men in Black ride. "I am the
only one posing! That's an actor for you!" At dinnertime, I decide
to treat myself to some real food and go back to the cabana bar, sit
at a table and glance at the menu. Crystal tells me to try the fish
tacos and goes on to describe the succulent dish.
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Soon, Crystal, Jessica and Frank are ushered over to us
and Frank tells us that he still hasn't gotten over to that darn
skydiving ride. The official site of the Otalia contingent is called
Big Purple Dreams, and conveniently enough, Jessica is wearing a
purple dress. "You look good in purple," Crystal insists. "What if
it were called Big Green Dreams or Big Checkered Dreams?" Jessica
laughs.
"People were warm and fuzzy today and full of love," Jessica says,
"They're grateful for the story and we're grateful for them, so we
were just doing that, back and forth."
"It is a different story for daytime and it was nice to see so many
people embrace it," Crystal offers and adds, "I've always said that
this would not be working without Frank. He's been so crucial to the
story and adds so much to it."
"I think the great thing about the story is that it's appealing to
everybody, somebody can pull something from it and now it's even a
broader, broader spectrum, which makes it more colorful and more
full," Frank says, "They are hitting it from all the way around and
now everybody can pull something out of each story and that's
magical, actually. That happens very rarely and I think this is a
good time for the show." As for playing spoiler in the Otalia story,
Frank continues, "He has blinders on and he's madly in love with
Natalia, so he's going to do the best that he can and see what
happens. The unique thing is that he has actually befriended - we
actually have a little bit of a past, Olivia and I, with my
father..."
Oh, bring that up!" Crystal laughs, and Frank continues, "He's
actually uniquely trusted her recently, like hey, come clean with
me, let's talk about this, what's going on. And she's giving me
pointers on how to date her and woo her and he's actually developed
a friendship again with Olivia. It's really interesting how this all
plays out."
"It's now starting to dawn on me, I guess me personally, how
important it is, how far reaching it is and how much support there
is," Jessica says of the Otalia story, "It's kind of my first time
for that and I didn't expect it, I thought, I was used to the slower
pace, I was used to just doing the story. And now it seems that it's
bubbled into something different and I didn't expect that."
"This is a love story," Frank adds, "And the people love a good love
story... It has to come from the story and the actors that bring it
to life and it's written so meticulously and so carefully that it's
actually a beautiful love story. You can't have a love story without
a lot of different conflicts. You have to have the conflicts.
After hugs all around, it is time for me to depart Springfield by
way of Orlando. I can't thank Alan Locher enough for giving me this
wonderful opportunity. He was gracious, sweet and extremely
accommodating, and I also must extend thanks to Jeannie and Meredith
for allowing us ample time with the actors and making sure we got
everything we needed. I hope I'm invited to the next remote and in
the meantime, be sure to tune in to GL to see all these mentioned
scenes, which begin airing on April 24!
