Former daytime co-stars Tyler Christopher (Nikolas, GH) and Vanessa Marcil (Gina, Beverly Hills 90210) tackle the role of newlyweds in Starfire, a comedy/drama written and produced by Sam Ingraffia. Set in Los Angeles in 1967, the play examines how an Italians family's serene, suburban life is turned upside down when their pregnant daughter and her mobster husband move in with them.
Marcil plays Theresa, a sweet girl who enjoys a nice relationship with her parents; Christopher is the bad boy, Sal. "Sal is a kid who grew up with the Mafia around him, so he went down that wrong road," Christopher explains. "He ends up getting married to Theresa and she gets pregnant. That's when he decides to get out of the whole mob life. But Sal can't get a job because he's been in prison and no one will hire him. So he and Theresa end up moving to California to live with her parents. They just pack up their car - a very big, flashy Starfire with fins - with everything they own."
Since Theresa's dad and Sal "do not get along," the fireworks begin immediately. "This play is an in-your-face comedy," Christopher says. "They are all Italians. Really loud. It's very different from what I've done on General Hospital. Sal is a very animated person, very angry. He's got a little bit of a street accent, Chicago Italian."
Sal's look is a 180-degree turn from "prince" Nikolas too. "Sal is all about image," Christopher adds. "His hair is always styled. His shoes are always shined, He's really snappy dresser. He wears gold chains."
Buy, by the play's end, Sal has a epiphany. "Sal comes to a realization that life os all about family, love, and togetherness rather than flashy cloths and a nice car. He learns all this through failure and by becoming a father, Christopher says, citing the last scene in the play as his favorite. "It's when Sal reveals his true self. Throughout the play he's always on guard. But by the last scene he just lets go of all that, which is what Theresa has been looking for him to do. That's probably the biggest payoff (for the audience).
As for the biggest payoff Starfire offered Christopher and Marcil, Christopher cites the fact that is "is such an other-end-of-the-spectrum piece from what people are used to seeing from both on us. We really wanted to do it just to show that we could," he says. "And it's a great script, se well-written, so deep. It will make you laugh, cry, get mad, hate my character, love him. It takes you around. Hopefully, when people leave the theater, they will understand life a little more."
Starfire runs through Aug. 1 at the company of angels theater in Silver Lake, Calif. Tickets $15. Call (323)655-TKTS
by Janet Di Lauro
Nothing ventured, nothing gained. It's like riding a bike. Keep your nose to the grindstone. When life gets tough, the tough get going.& nbsp; No doubt, right about now those are some of the many adages filling up Vanessa Marcil's head, as she embarks on what may well be the most daunting mission of her life. You see, this particular journey has the actress confronting one of her biggest fears - and the same way she does everything else, she's facing this demon head on. No, we're not referring to her decision to return to the stage after a four-year absence, we're talking about something far, far scarier. I'm at the mall," she says in a "Can you believe it!" tone. "Isn't that funny? I hate the mall. I never go to the mall. I'm very upset that I'm at the mall right now. I've been to the mall twice in the seven years that I've lived in Los Angeles."
But desperate times call for desperate measures. "it's my best friends birthday and I got her this watch and it doesn't fit," she explains, "so I have to get it sized." The fact that Marcil is conducting thus interview via her cell phone while threading her way through "the birthplace of the food court" is making her shopping adventure all the more memorable. "It's also throwing a monkey wretch into her plan to not draw attention to herself. In truth, despite the fact that she has her trademark tresses pulled up under a hat and her beautiful brown eyes hidden behind sunglasses, she repeatedly is approached during this conversation by shrewd shoppers extending impromptu greetings. The Play Thing
Marcil's daredevil attitude has extended into her professional life as well. On hiatus after completing her freshman year playing bad girl Gina Kincaid on Beverly Hills 90210, the actress has elected to spend the summer with her first love; he theater. Since mid-June, she's been wowing Los Angeles audience as the lead in the play Starfire. Set in 1960's LA. the drama focuses on an Italian-American couple whose home life is disrupted when they unexpectedly are reunited with their alienated pregnant daughter, Theresa (played by you know who), and her mobster-husband, Writer/producer Sam Ingraffia describes Marcil's character as "a woman from 1967 who hasn't quite got the women's movement, so she's dominated be her husband and father. "Needless to say, the role is a bit of a stretch for the very independent minded Marcil, Theresa does grow a backbone before the curtain falls - but her autonomy may come with a price. "She has always allowed other people to take care of her, and now for the first time in her life she has decided that she wants to break away from that. But that can be very dangerous. Because as she makes her own decisions, she also has to pay the consequences." Marcil's domineering better half in Starfire - the wannabe Don Corleone, Sal � is being played by her former GH co-star and good friend, Tyler Christopher (Nikolas). The actor stepped in at the last minute after the role's original portrayer - Marcil's 90210 c0-star, Brain Austin Green (David) - landed a film and had to bow out. "I'm really excited," says Marcil, "because Tyler and I always wanted to work together." Adds Christopher: "This is a great opportunity for us to both play a couple of real characters, not just the leading man and the leading lady. So it's not only a chance to take our acting abilities to a different level, but also a real chance for us to work with each other on a different level. So it's a lot offun."
Good Things Come In Small Packages
As exciting as Marcil is to be treading the boards once more, her triumphant theater comeback almost never materialized. Coming off of her well received, high profile first season at 90210, the daytime Emmy-nominated actress was on film producers' most wanted list - but she was determined to remain a fugitive. "We turned about eight movies, which was scary to do," she says. "But I wanted to take a break and have a normal life and get my house together that I moved into a year and a half ago. So I wanted to do something locally." Enter Linda Reitman, manager of both Marcil and Ingraffia, who wasn't all that familiar with the soap superstar's work. "I spoke to Linda, and she said that she had a client who she thought would be very right for the role," recalls Ingraffia. "So she sent the script to Vanessa." And as luck would have it, Marcil, who last appeared on-stage in the Peter Fonda-directed drama Southern Rapture, was anxious to again do live theater. "I loved theater ever since I was a kid," she says. "I've been looking for a play that I wanted to do for a while now, and I've been reading a bunch of scripts for different plays in LA and read this one and loved it." Next thing Ingraffia knew, Marcil was auditioning for him and director Michael Haney. �She basically came in and blew us away,� he marvels. �She was very good. And she�s absolutely perfect for it physically. So she was the first person that we cast. It�s quite a coup having her.� You don�t have to tell Marcil�s agents that. The same rep�s who tried unsuccessfully for years to get Marcil to ditch GH for the more lucrative world of film now were scratching their heads in disbelief. �My agents always give me a hard time,� she says. �They want me to just do movies. But I�ve always been more about the characters. I don�t really worry about being a movie star or a primetime star. I don�t really believe in any of those rules that people come up with. I just think that you should be happy on a daily basis and leave it at that.� Well, so far Marcil�s plans to resume a normal life is working. For one thing, she�s at the mall. �I fired my assistant. I was like, I�m doing everything myself now.� So even though I hate the mall with all my heart, it�s kind of cool to go, I�m taking my best friends watch to get sized at the mall.� I�m used to sending my assistant, and it gets so impersonal. So it�s been really amazing to be able to run errand myself or be at home in my backyard and garden. �But it�s a hard thing to do,� she adds, �because it�s scary to turn down work and to take a break because you feel like it�s all going to end or something. But then it�s also bad that I think to work yourself to the point that you�re exhausted and you�re not even happy anymore or grateful while you�re at work. So I know I�m doing the right thing, but it�s a little scary.�
Don�t Cry Over Spilled Milk
Marcil need not worry about her career-losing stream. Not only is she awaiting the release of the two independent films that she completed last Summer � This Space Between Us, with Jeremy Sisto (Clueless), and Nice Guys Sleep Alone � but in August she�ll begin work on her second season of 90210. And, she explains, her sophomore year on the hit FOX drama is bound to be better than her first. �I think this last year has probably been one of the hardest years of my life � one of then, I�ve had a few � mostly because I left my nest at GH, and I felt the character that I was and still am in mad love with,� she acknowledges. �And I left people that I loved working with, and so it was just a hard transition for me to make.� Luckily, her new co-stars boosted her spirits. �Everyone was very welcoming and just helped me out because they all knew that I was kind of going through I hard time, � she says. �The first few months on the set, I as like somebody died. They were all always trying to cheer me up.� Providing extra support was Marcil�s one time co-star, Green. �Brian and I have become best friends,� she says. �He�s the coolest, most down-to-earth, wonderful person I�ve met in a really long time,� Ironically, just as Marcil was pulling herself together off-camera, her on-screen persona was coming apart at the seams. In the span of six short months, Gina battled bulimia, stole her cousin�s boyfriend, faced betrayal from her mother, and in the season finale, jumped back into bed with Dylan, only to be caught by current beau David. And for her part, Marcil is hoping that next season Gina�s downward spiral continues. �I hope she gets more and more self destructive,� she says. �I like how you think that maybe she�s starting to get her stuff together, and then she just goes back to her self-destructive ways. �I think her hanging out with David was a really good move, and it was sincere,� she adds. �And obviously he would be the best thing in the world for Gina. But she could only hang with him a few seconds before she went back to her old familiar, self-destructive ways�.
No Pain, No Gain
Despite the roller coaster of emotions that Marcil experienced since leaving GH last September, she�s far from second-guessing her decision. �I defiantly have no regrets,� she says. �I mean, there�s not a day that doesn�t go by that I wouldn�t love to be there, but it�s good to move on. But if someday I end up on GH for the rest of my life with a beautiful house and a family, my dreams have all come true. I mean, I remember days sitting at GH working in stuff that was a dream, like the nervous breakdown storyline, and Tyler would come up and bring me a root beer with crushed ice, which is my favorite thing to drink, and I would just think, �Well, what else is there?� So, everything from here on it just icing on the cake. If greater stuff happens, then God bless. If it doesn�t, I never even imagined that this much great stuff would ever happen to me. �And it�s fun to be able to now out myself in situations that I know are going to be uncomfortable, but that I�m going to learn from,� she adds. �I just want to grow and learn so that by the time I have children, I have so much good stuff to show them, because I think that kids really copy what you do. So, I want to be sure that my actions are something that I would want my child to copy. � I think that�s another big reason why I left GH, because I got real comfortable there. And even though comfortable is nice, it�s not always the place where you�re learning the most.� Only time will tell whether Marcil�s equally uncomfortable jaunt to the mall will prove as enlightening. While schedule constraints preclude an in depth analysis (she�s headed to play rehearsal), the reluctant mall rat does manage a little quick reflection. For one thing, she did accomplish the critical task of getting her nest friend�s watch sized, so the experience wasn�t a complete disaster. �It�s been a success,� she decided, adding, �but I defiantly will stay away for another seven years. There�s no reason for me to come back.�
Don�t count you chickens���By Michael Ausuello
Showdown; Vanessa Marcil reveals her true feelings about Sonny�s new love
Vanessa Marcil is making no bones about her new reaction to Hannah, the new woman in Sonny�s life on GH. In fact, when she recently bumped into Sonny�s portrayer, Maurice Bernard, at the farewell party thrown for Jonathon Jackson (ex-Lucky), she had a message for her former on screen beau: �I told him that he better take his lips off of her! I mean she is good and all of that, but there will be none of that. I was like �Don�t make me come down to the show and kick your ass!� In a word�..meeoowww! Seriously though, Marcil, like the rest of the GH audience, is finding the combination of Bernard and newcomer Lisa Vultaggio (Hannah) electrifying. �they have amazing chemistry,� she says. �Sometimes I have the show on when I�m working, and I�ll stop what I am doing when things are out of control between them. Like when Maurice and Lisa were making out, �I was like, Hold on a second! I�ve got to watch this!� And what about Vultaggio�s uncanny resemblance to�. �Well, it�s obvious that her looks are a combination between me and Lilly Melgar (who played Sonny�s wife, Lily). I personally think that she looks more like Lilly, but you never think that anybody looks like you. (Vultaggio) is such a beauty queen to me. I�m like, �She�s way to pretty to look like me��. And according to Marcil, Vultaggio has the talent to back up the looks. �I think she�s a pretty great find,� she says. �I�m always just astounded at how well they find these people.� (Thanks to Patty for typing these articles out! *w*)
By JANA J. MONJI, Special to The LA Times
In "Starfire," Sam Ingraffia's new comedy set in 1967, an Italian American family deals with past and present mob connections and what an Oldsmobile Starfire means to one ambitious young man, Sal (Tyler Christopher). The Company of Angels Theatre ensemble's heartfelt performances almost overcome the weaknesses of Ingraffia's script.
A year after eloping, Sal and Theresa (Vanessa Marcil) are forced to return to her parents' Los Angeles house for the final months of her pregnancy. Her father, Mario (Art LaFleur), is gruffly unforgiving while the physically fragile mother, Lena (Cathrine Grace), plays peacemaker.
Sal's prison record haunts him as he looks for a job. When Sal finally goes to work at Mario's barbershop, Mario squelches Sal's smallest show of enthusiasm. Sal's friend, Leo (Scott Waugh), entices him into shady business deals and the freedom of bachelorhood.
Yet it's really an L.A. love triangle--a boy, his car and his girl. Ingraffia's script attempts to show Sal's inner turmoil in awkward soliloquies, and some of the drama is contrived. Yet under the direction of Michael Clark Haney, the cast shines with earnestness.
Christopher manages to remain likable, even at his most sullen. LaFleur moves believably from anger to a protective paternal glow while Grace provides the calming center. Marcil's Theresa is a woman shedding girlish sweetness as she gathers strength, though the script fails to go anywhere with her growing awareness.
Despite the faulty structure, these actors build an attractive foundation of a family, reforming and rediscovering love.
BE THERE
"Starfire," Company of Angels Theatre, 2106 Hyperion Ave., Silver Lake. Fridays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 7 p.m. Ends Aug. 1. $15. (323) 655-8587. Running time: 2 hours, 30 minutes. (Article from Patty)
by Lisa Klugman (Fit Magazine)
Lisa Klugman: You're talking to me from the Beverly Hills 90210 set. How's that going?
Vanessa Marcil: It's awesome! Most of my scenes are with Luke Perry,and he's been the joy of my life since I started. He's so talented, and we had instant chemistry from day one, so we're having a good time!
LK: Your schedule is a little less crazy since you left General Hospital. What do you like to do when you're not working?
VM: I'm a tomboy. I love sports. I snowboard, surf, ski, skate and run with my dogs. And I love watching sports - I'm a Yankees fan, a 49ers fan and a Bulls fan - but basically I'm just a sports fan period. It's funny, 'cause my character on this show is an ice skater, and that's about the only sport I don't do, so I have to learn.
LK: Do you dress like a tomboy too?
VM: Defiantly, I usually wear oversized khakis from the Gap, tank tops and high-top sneakers.
LK: I noticed in some of the photos from our cover shoot that you havea fairly large tattoo on your lower back.
VM: Yes, I was 20 years old and drunk in Hollywood with one of my best friends, Melissa, and we just got 'em. we thought we were so cool. I actually thought I was cool for quite a long time because of that. And I don't regret it now, because it represents a certain time in my life.My tattoo is a tribal symbol for peace and love in the universe. At least I didn't get a skull or something! And Melissa got a Calvin, from Calvin and Hobbes.
LK: Where did you grow up?
VM: Palm Desert, which is a small town next to Palm Springs. It's a place where people retire and play golf - it's not so great for young people. My dad's a contractor and my mom's a nutritionist, so I was bringing sprout sandwiches and carrots to school. Now I love junk food, but I also eat lots of vegetables. I just eat whatever I want but stop before I am full. I never deney myself anything, but I don't overeat.If I don't allow myself something, I get resentful!
LK: How do you stick to a regular exercise routine?
VM: I've never belonged to a gym. I hate structured exercise. I just like to get outdoors and do something fun. My three best friends - Melissa, Shanna, and Alana - and I go snowboarding every weekend. I have this great snowboarding outfit - its baby blue and yellow - its really bright and loud! (laughing) I love it! For me, the secret to sticking with exercise is doing variety of things so its always interesting and fun. When I'm exercising regularly I have double the energy, and everything is just so much better.
LK: Well, I think that I have enough here.....
[there is a knock on the door and a voice: "Vanessa? Are you ready for rehearsal?"]
VM: Rehearsal? Wow- that's perfect timing huh? So we're done? Okay, thanks! Bye!(Thanks to Patty for the article)
Digest: Have you talked to Vanessa Marcil [ex Brenda, GH] since she joined Beverly Hills, 90210 as Gina?
Sofer: Yes. I love Vanessa. I said to her, "Why can't we have a crossover, just you and me, and be on one of our shows together?" I'd love to work with her again.
Digest: Does 90210 tape near MELROSE?
Sofer: Not even close. But she tapes right near my house, so I'm always like "Come over and visit me if you've got time to kill." She is going to blow that show out of the water. Mark my words.
Digest: I agree.
Sofer: I am Vanessa's biggest fan. I think she is going to be a huge, huge diva, Sharon Stone movie star. And I can't wait for that to happen to her.
Digest: Have you and Vanessa dished Spelling prime-time shows?
Sofer: Yes. We talk about the fact that when we are going to work, I'll look at Wally and she'll look at Tyler [Christopher, who plays Nikolas on GH and is engaged to Marcil] and we'll say "How many lines you got today?" And they'll say "20, 30 pages. How many lines you have?" We're like "One-and-a-half pages [laughs]." We laugh that soap operas get such a bad rap, and they are such hard work. We got to go so much deeper on GH. A lot of our conversations are about that.
Digest: What else?
Sofer: And about the fact that we have it so much easier now! We make so much more money, and we get so much more exposure and we don't have to work as hard.It's unbelievable. (SOD 98)
Vanessa Marcil (ex-Brenda): "There was something about working with Vanessa that was intangible - you could just feel it in every scene. There was a kind of energy there. She's a real fireball and I miss her, but (perhaps she'll return and) we can go at each other again."
Vanessa Marcil, who quits General Hospital this month to join Beverly Hills, 90210 for the fall season , won't comment on reports that she came very close to joining Ally McBeal instead (word is, Ally offered her a juicy running role shortly after she'd verbally committed to 90210). Nor will she talk about her offer to costar in "I Still Know What You Did Last Summer," which we hear was rescinded when producers decided her beauty would overpower that of another actress. But Marcil, engaged to GH star Tyler Christopher, will 'fess up to one thing: The movie she just wrapped, "Nice Guys Sleep Alone" (from the author of Real Men Don't Eat Quiche), hits very close to home. "I got scared when I read the script," says Marcil, "because my character -- this very manipulative Southern belle -- plays games I used to play before I met Tyler." Like? "Oh, sending yourself flowers to make a guy jealous. Seeing how long he'll sit on the other line while you take call-waiting. That sort of thing."
Presenting our annual picks for the most fetching females on daytime .. but don't let their looks decieve you! Each one of these stunners has a beauty that is certainly more than skin deep.( Even better -they dish about how they really feel about high heels and makeup! )
Vanessa Marcil - Brenda, General Hospital
Do you like being fussed over by GH's hair and makeup people?"
I hate it. They laugh at me that I could give a s - what my hair or makeup looks like. If I start caring about that,I'm going to be destroyed on those days when everything's going wrong.This is my plan:If I stay focused on what's going on in the inside, I won't freak out when i get older.Most of my beauty regimen is more inside stuff."
What famous person is beautiful to you?
"Oprah ( Winfrey) is so beautiful. She has this angel light shining out of her. When you speak to her, he looks right into your eyeballs and really listens to what your saying. Every time I've been in her presence, I've left thinking,'she is the most beautiful woman I've ever spoken to.'"
When do you feel most beautiful?
"When my hairs back in a bun, I have no makeup on and I'm laughing."
Compare your looks to five years ago... what's the biggest difference?
"The way I eat and take care of myself isn't much different than five years ago, but I used to have this very round face,and my whole body was so much more round. I guess when you grow up, you thin out.
"How do you feel about getting dressed up?
"I hate getting dressed up. I love when my characters in pajamas.....sitting (laughs).I have found in my late 20's that i like sitting scenes in pajamas.
Awards shows?
The worst. If you've ever noticed, as soon as an awards show is over, I'm changed. I cannot wait to get out. Heels, I can't deal with. They're the hardest thing to walk in. And dresses - tight dresses - they're the worst. I thought about going to Emmy's in Levi's but I thought people would find that insulting."
