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TV Squad Soap Report: The Carlys of my life
Posted May 1st 2008 10:04AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Daytime, Reality-Free
There's something about the name Carly, I guess. The four actresses that have caught my attention are now or have played a "Carly" on daytime TV. They are all terrific actresses. They've all brought something dynamic and exciting to their characters, even when they are no longer named Carly. The four ladies in question are Laura Wright, the current Carly Corinthos Jacks on General Hospital, Maura West, Carly Tenney Snyder on As the World Turns, Tamara Braun, Carly #2 on GH and currently Ava Vitali on Days of Our Lives, and Sarah Brown, Carly #1 on GH and presently Claudia Zacchara on GH. Each woman has made a lasting impression on daytime, and they continue to rattle the rafters still.
Sarah Brown originated the role of Carly -- Caroline Benson -- on General Hospital and played her from 1996-2001; she was nominated for four Daytime Emmys and won three of them. She was amazing in the role. Amazingly enough, she's back on the show now, only she's not Carly anymore. That's Laura Wright's role; Sarah is playing a new woman, Claudia Z, the daughter of a mob boss and a killer in her own right. Think Anjelica Huston in Prizzi's Honor -- in red, spike high heels. When I heard that Sarah was coming back to GH, but in a different part, I was skeptical. It would never work. Well, I was wrong. I am loving Claudia; she has Carly-esque qualities, but she's more venal. It's a pleasure to have Ms. Brown back in daytime.
Laura Wright faced a really tough challenge when she became Carly #3 (really #4, but the third actress in the role didn't cut the mustard). Both Tamara Braun and Sarah Brown had been superb as the troubled daughter of Bobbie who came to General Hospital as a lowly physical therapist, creeping into her mother's life and stealing her husband Tony. Carly, who had been given up for adoption, was determined to destroy Bobbie's life, to make her pay for sins Bobbie didn't even know she'd committed. That was how she started, but the character of Carly became a force of nature when she was paired with Jason and Sonny. It wasn't a three-way carnally, but it was in many other ways. When Laura assumed the role, Carly was by then a well-defined woman with tentacles in and around a half-dozen others in the cast. She had to immediately coalesce with Steve Burton (Jason) and Maurice Benard (Sonny), while creating a new alliance with Ingo Rademacher (Jax). Wright had already succeeded on Guiding Light (as Cassie) and Loving (as Ally), and she proved herself again on GH.
Maura West won the Emmy as Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her Carly on As the World Turns just last year. She's got a very good chance to be nominated again. Since starting on ATWT in 1995, she's played it all. When Carly was a conniving bitch, she gave dimension to her nastiness. When she's been desperately in love -- hello, Jack? -- she's worn her heart on her sleeve. The one thing about Maura, she's always compelling. She's not the kind of actress you can watch and not take notice.
Tamara Braun joined GH in 2001 to take over the role of Carly. She was stepping into iconic shoes. Sarah Brown had been treated like a goddess by the TV world. Who could possibly do as well as she did in the role? Somehow, Braun found her own rhythms and made Carly her own invention. She thrived on the show. Now, on Days of Our Lives, she's tearing up the screen as a wild -- possibly deranged -- woman scorned by the name of Ava. She's blown into the Salem landscape like a tornado, giving the venerable NBC soap a good kick in the butt.
It seems that a Carly by any other name is still an actress -- and character -- worth watching.
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