I realize that is a bold statement to make and an even bolder headline to lead off with but when it’s the most accurate way to describe one of the finest actresses in television today I say go big or go home. But maybe that’s just me.
If you’ve been following the current Guiding Light storyline with Crystal Chappell (Olivia Spencer) and Jessica Leccia (Natalia Rivera) as Otalia, then you are well aware that yesterday’s episode and what transpired. It was the beginning of the heartbreaking admission of love, from Olivia actually TO Natalia; we have all been waiting so patiently for. Natalia and Frank have hastily moved the wedding up because Rafe was released early for good behavior but only for a week before he heads to a halfway house to finish out his time. So Olivia steps in and within a few hours throws together a wedding and begins to move out of the farmhouse (aka the Farmhouse of Love).
It’s not until towards the end of the episode that things begin to really heat up and where my bold yet accurate headline comes into play. We cut to Olivia (Chappell) at the cemetery near the church placing long stem red roses at the base of Gus’s headstone. She’s trying to tell him about how his gift of a heart was actually a gift of life, a family and a great love…Natalia’s love. She blames him for giving her this great love because now she doesn’t know what to do with it. She’s going to stand next to Natalia and watch her marry someone else, losing her forever. Olivia comes to the realization that she has learned to truly love someone unselfishly. While confessing her feelings to Gus, Natalia shows up to make peace with Gus so she can move on and start a new life. She see’s Olivia and after a few minutes of the two of them discussing how it is the right thing to move on and how each of them are about to embark on a new life, Olivia begins to break down. She can no longer contain her overwhelming emotions. Her love for Natalia over comes her and she begins to passionately cry devastating tears. Natalia pushes Olivia to tell her why she is so upset and though Olivia tries desperately to move past her feelings, her raw emotions finally over take her and she screams out in frustration “I’m in love with you!”
As most of you already know, last Wednesday Guiding Light, the longest-running scripted program in broadcasting history, was canceled. Fans of the show and quit frankly, the cast and crew were shocked and devastated by the news. The rest of last week was a difficult one that had everyone involved scrambling to make sense of the situation and wondering if there was anything that could be done to in fact save this beloved show. It is after all an American institution, an icon if you will.
Now that we’ve had a few days to snap out of our grief and start thinking clearly, we as fans can stand up and take this fight to the streets. We are determined not to go down without a fight. A show that has been part of the very fabric of our lives for 72 years isn’t going to brushed aside and put out on the curb like yesterdays trash. We’re standing up and yelling at the top of our lungs KEEP THE LIGHT ON!
Guiding Light has many passionate, loyal, loving fans ready to stand by its side and do whatever it takes to make this a successful campaign. One such fan has taken her voice and laid out her feelings in an open letter to all those in the industry who might actually have the foresight to pick up this rare jewel, brush it off and help it to shine bright once again. I hope you will read her letter and follow her lead! The only way to save Guiding Light is to be vocal.Write, call, email and let your voice be heard!
If you’re a fan of daytime television and have been following Guiding Light’s break through storyline over the past year between Olivia Spencer (Crystal Chappell) and Natalia Rivera (Jessica Leccia) affectionately know as Otalia, then you most definitely know about the fan forum Big Purple Dreams. BPD was created by a group of soap fans wanting a place of their own to gush over the burgeoning epic love story they were witnessing over at Guiding Light. First came the Otaliafan channel on YouTube then the forum and after a few months, this little engine that could is nearly two thousand members strong and growing!
Recently I had the distinct pleasure of chatting with the three podcast mavens, Mel aka the cheerleader, Christi aka flowchart and Destini aka the sexy voice that lead this band of loyal, enthusiastic, and intensely passionate soap fans. The following is what took place or at least what I was allow to print…they’re a saucy bunch and I loved every minute of it!
Recently I had the pleasure to sit down with Guiding Light’s Jessica Leccia to discuss her character Natalia Rivera and the burgeoning same-sex love story energizing daytime TV. The stunning Leccia alongside sexy soap siren Crystal Chappell (Olivia Spencer) are throwing caution to the wind and raising some eyebrows on Guiding Light with their latest angst filled plot twist gradually revealing the unlikely love story between the two friends while trying to raise Olivia’s eight year old daughter Emma (Jacqueline Tsirkin) in a loving, stable home. You wont find any mention of labels or jumping on the bandwagon of what’s hot and controversial. There’s no fanfare or press conference bragging to the audience or mainstream America, “Hey look at us, we’re ground breaking!”
What you will find is the portrayal of a beautiful, loving family who, like most families, make school lunches in the morning and build class projects together at the kitchen table. More importantly there’s a true-to-life story that has been carefully crafted over the course of a year. Yes, I said a year! It’s not contrived or salacious, though the on-screen chemistry between Leccia and Chappell will melt your TV. It’s playful, intense, passionate, sexy and funny and has everybody glued to the edge of their seats, begging for more!
But at its heart, there is a love story in the truest possible sense. Brilliant writing from Ellen Wheeler (executive producer) and Jill Lorie Hurst (co-head writer) paired with two talented actresses, Jessica Leccia and Crystal Chappell, have not only struck a cord with daytime fans but are also paving the way for a positive change.
A very pregnant and incredibly busy Jessica Leccia graciously took some time out of her day to chat with me. Here’s what she had to say:
Color me pleasantly surprised when I found myself home sick one day from work and turned on the TV to find an old friend, Guiding Light, smack dab in the middle of what looks very much like a lesbian relationship. Now I haven’t watch soaps in well over a decade so I was clueless to the storylines but thought hey, I’m at home sick, why not visit my old pals in Springfield. Guiding Light was the show I’d watch growing up when I was at home sick from school. My grandma was cool like that!
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