Daytime Drama on Broadway Well, Shubert Alley – This Sunday
On September 24th Soap fans will have the rare opportunity to meet close to twenty of the biggest names working in daytime television when cast members from CBS and ABC Soaps take part in the Celebrity Table and Broadway Cares / Equity Fights AIDS’ annual fall fundraiser – The Broadway Flea Market and Grand Auction. You might wonder, “what is the connection between the small screen and the Great White Way?”
Broadway and the Daytime world are constantly crossing both on and off the small screen and Great White Way. On the small screen, when “All My Children’s” Erica Kane was going through her “Showgirl” phase in Las Vegas, she interacted with Broadway favorites Seth Rudetsky, Felicia Finley and Alice Ripley as she danced through Sin City. One of the prime examples of the “Broadway/Soap Connection” is James Mitchell (AMC’s Palmer Cortlandt) who was consistently the first choice of such noted choreographers as Agnes DeMille, Jerome Robbins, and Gower Champion during a Broadway career that spanned over four decades.
Recently Tonya Pinkins and Kathy Brier starred on Broadway and Daytime at the same time. Tonya balanced “All My Children” with Caroline or Change and Kathy sang, “Good Morning Baltimore” in Hairspray eight times a week while filming “One Life to Live” when she wasn’t on stage. The most recent addition to the “Broadway Moonlighters Club” is Jacob Young who recently appeared as Lumiere in Beauty and the Beast while maintaining his on air status as Pine Valley’s favorite iconoclast / heartthrob
On Sunday September 24, you can see the worlds of Broadway and Daytime colliding once more when stars like Jacob Young (“All My Children” & Beauty and the Beast) come together with “All My Children” pals like Jeff Branson, Connie Fletcher and Terri Ivens at the Celebrity Table and Photo Booth – a popular part of the 20th Annual Broadway Flea Market and Grand Auction.
“One Life To Live” is well represented with Melissa Gallo and Ilene Kristen – also known to soap fans as the original Delia Ryan.
CBS Daytime is also well represented with “Guiding Light’s” John Driscoll, Stephanie Gatschet,Marj Dusay and “As the World Turns'” – Jesse Soffer, Trent Dawson, and Jennifer Landon.
In addition to The Celebrity Table – Daytime fans have the opportunity to win once in a lifetime experiences that are part of the Grand Auction like the “Lunch in Pine Valley with Mrs. Adam Chandler Package”. Soap stars have also been known to work “both sides” of the Auction Table. Such was the case last year when “One Life To Live’s” Robin Strasser (pictured above) added glamour to the Celebrity Table and competition to the Live Auction. Robin raised her paddle from the beginning to the end of the Live Auction increasing the excitement and the bids with her winning smile and winning bids!
Starting at 10:30 am and going until 4:00 the celebrity table will be a Soap Fan’s dream. For more information – Visit the 20th Annual Broadway Flea Market and Grand Auction page on www.broadwaycares.org
