Michael Ausiello's Childhood Soap Opera to be Given Live Reading by Tony Hale, Ana Gasteyer, Dule Hill and Others to Benefit The Trevor Project (2024)

How many of us wrote our own soap opera back when we were growing up? (Hands raised here!) Well, in a very clever concept for a charity event for a great cause, the early unproduced soap opera script written at 13 by TV Line’s founder and Spoiler Alert author, Michael Ausiello will be on full display in a live reading.

Taking part in the event to benefit The Trevor Project are: Ana Gasteyer (SNL) Tony Hale (Veep), Dule Hill (The West Wing) Gillian Jacobs (Community)Jim Rash(Community) and Sasheer Zamata (SNL, Home Economics) and more. Each will be playing the parts in the childhood soap opera named, Beverly Hills. Disney Channel’s Tristan Michael Brown will play the teenaged Ausiello.

However, there is a big element of surprise for the participating celebs. The actors will actually read the script for the first time when they take the stage on July 16 at Los Angeles’ Hayworth Theater (aka Dynasty Typewriter). Proceeds from the event, which will also be live-streamed will go to The Trevor Project. The nonprofit suicide prevention organization provides 24/7 crisis support services, research, and advocacy for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning youth.

About Beverly Hills: “Back in the ‘80s, when Ausiello was a closeted gay pubescent living in small-town New Jersey, he penned 517 episodes of a daytime soap opera, titled Beverly Hills. Miraculously, he saved every handwritten script. The event on July 16, which has a roughly 80-minute running time, will center on a concentrated, self-contained story arc that found six ofBeverly Hills’ most popular characters traveling overseas for a life-or-death adventure. Although some of Teenage Ausiello’s atrocious spelling has been cleaned up for this theatrical experience, the scenes will be performed exactly as they were written all those years ago. For better or worse.”

Taking to his official Facebook page, Ausiello shared,”These comedy geniuses are gonna help me make a childhood dream come true on July 16 in L.A. and 13-year-old me is flipping the eff out. (Adult me is kinda excited, too.) If you already have a ticket, thank you. If you DON’T have a ticket but WANT one, head to the comments for the link. (But hurry, there are only a handful left.) Also, THIS JUST IN: We’ve officially added a livestream option, mostly to accommodate all of my high school friends back in New Jersey who don’t love me enough to fly out for it.”

Ausiello and Tom DeTrinis will co-direct the production, while Ausiello and Patrick Cotnoir are the night’s producers. Tickets for the live reading can be found here.

So, what do you think about Ausiello’s soap opera written at 13 that will be given life by some of these very talented Hollywood actors next month? Will you be watching the livestream, if you aren’t in the Southern California area? Comment below.

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Michael Easton is set to exit General Hospital on-air tomorrow on the Thursday, June 27th episode of the ABC soap opera. This comes on the heels of the actor’s videotaped announcement on Wednesday via his Instagram, where he revealed that he has wrapped his run as Dr. Hamilton Finn.

Since the time of the video’s posting, several of his GH co-stars have followed suit with comments on their time working with the popular actor, who has been with the show on and off since 2012, and in three different roles; John McBain, Silas Clay, and lastly, Finn.

Michael’s exit comes as Finn has fallen off the wagon, and is losing custody of his daughter, Violet due to his drinking. Previously, Finn found his father, Gregory had passed away in the middle of the night after battling ALS. The material has given Easton a chance to shine in memorable performances as he says goodbye to his time with GH.

Here’s just a sampling of what some of Michael’s pals and GH co-stars had to say to him below:

Maura West (Ava): “MEastie, I am so grateful I had the opportunity to work with you … you are just an exceptional person… as an actor, author, poet, friend. Your ample talent surpassed only by your humor, decency, kindness and charm. Class A1 in every way. xxo your fan and friend forever, MWestie.”

Jophielle Love (Violet): “💔😢😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 There are no words…”

Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis): “The class, grace and elegance in which you just did that is why I will miss you every working day.”

Finola Hughes (Anna): “Michael, love you. You are a stellar person, a wonderful actor and I had the most fun and unique storyline with you and loved every moment.”

Jon Lindstrom (Kevin): “You’re a gift to any set you choose to work on, and an excellent artist no matter where or what you create. Proud to call you my friend Michael. Be seeing you soon.”

Emma Samms (Holly): “I’m SO sorry I didn’t get to work with you again..!”

Eden McCoy (Josslyn): “You are magic love you forever Michael”

Risa Dorken (Amy): “Amy will always have a crush on Dr. Finn… Rise will always love & appreciate Michael. Thank you for your warmth & professionalism every time.”

Brook Kerr (Portia): “This was gutting. You are a phenomenal actor and man…until next time.”

Marc Anthony Samuel (ex-Felix): “Congratulations Michael! It was a pleasure to work there when you were there.”

Jacqueline Grace Lopez (Blaze): “Your work was inspired. Congrats on an incredible character. Can’t wait to see what’s next.”

Lydia Look (Selina Wu): “Love to you Michael! Keep riding.”

Michael Fairman TV will continue to update this post with more reactions from the cast as they are posted across social media.

What do you think about the high regard Michael’s GH co-stars have him? Will you miss him on the ABC soap opera? Share your thoughts via the comment section below.

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When motion picture star, Robin Wright first came on to the scene, it was Santa Barbara’s co-creators and co-head writers, Jerome and Bridget Dobson, who cast the very ‘green’ actress when she was only 18 in the role of Kelly Capwell on the NBC soap opera.

Wright appeared as Kelly from 1994 to 1998, and became famous for her role as Princess Buttercup in The Princess Bride. Since that time, she has earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Jenny in Forest Gump, and starred as Claire Underwood in Netflix’s drama House of Cards for which she won a Golden Globe. Robin has also appeared in the films: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,Wonder Woman,Blade Runner 2049, and Justice League, to name a few.

In 2019, Robin added director credits to her impressive resume with her first feature, Land, and later directed a couple of episodes of the hit Netflix drama, Ozark.

Santa Barbara’s Jerome Dobson and Daytime Emmy-winning star, A Martinez (ex-Cruz Castillo) recently chatted live on the Michael Fairman Channel were they offered up many behind the scenes stories of the beloved the soap opera. When the question came up of what was Jerry and A’s experience working with Robin Wright, both TV legends (and now Daytime Emmy Gold Circle Inductees) had some very interesting and complimentary things to say.

Dobson began, “When we tested her to come on the show, we weren’t sure of ourselves because she was basically a model, and hadn’t done any acting, but she had an interesting, very gorgeous look, but there was more to her than that.”

With her stunning looks and raw talent, Dobson added about Wright, “We thought, this may be a gold mine. We hired an acting coach for. She would have trouble some with some of the scripts, and she would come up to my office and we’d talk over the script. It’s like she had learned from Dame Judith Anderson (ex-Minx Lockridge), ‘I need to know why I’m saying this line, and why am I flirting with this person and where am I going?’ Robin was incisive, interested and involved, and she took off.”

A, who shared numerous scenes with Robin, recalled, “One of the things that I sort of reduce it to is the two words, ‘b*s detector.’ I think that as you go through the the journey of doing this (acting), you have to have a ‘b*s detector’ operating at all times, just to check yourself. I learned early on that if you think you have just transgressed on your intentions in terms of being truthful, you need to stop yourself immediately. You don’t want to finish up something that’s already broken because you had a false moment in it.”

“You want to have a detector working, and when something doesn’t go right, you just stop, and I just thought what Robin developed in that regard was just impeccable,” Martinez explained. “You look at the run she had on Santa Barbara and the depth and the truth that she found in that character. She went from starting so raw, but I just thought her sense of honesty was impeccable. Working with Robin was a great joy. It is so great to see all that has happened for her, and for all of us that we got to know her. Once in a while, I run into her still and it’s literally like Christmas. I just love her so much.”

You can watch the full chat with A Martinez and Jerome Dobson and their walk down Santa Barbara memory lane below, and then take a look at an early clip of Wright in a scenes with Louise Sorel from the series.

Now let us know, did you know Robin would become a huge success from her work on Santa Barbara? Share your thoughts in the comment section.

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UPDATED: Early Wednesday morning, Michael Easton revealed that he has already taped his final scenes as Hamilton Finn on General Hospital.

The popular actor, who arrived at GH after his enduring run as John McBain on One Life to Live, took to his Instagram and announced his departure from the ABC daytime drama series, following weeks of rumors that he was out at the show. Reportedly, Easton’s final airdate is Thursday, June 27th and the video Easton posted was pre-taped awhile ago.

Standing outside the entrance to the set of General Hospital in what seems to be the wee hours of the morning, Easton shared the following message to his fans: “I’ve always been partial to the Irish Wish goodbye. That’s where you leave the party without actually telling anyone you’re gone. But I thought you all deserved better.”

Easton then expressed, “So, I just wanna let you know, I just filmed my final scenes here at General Hospital. I’ve loved every minute that I’ve been here. I want to thank the entire cast and crew for allowing me to share their stage this past 10 years. Most importantly, I wanna thank all of you for the kindness and love you shown me and my family. I won’t ever forget you.”

In an emotional closing, Michael ended his video message, with, “As I walk out here for the last time, and with apologies to the great Lou Gehrig, I feel like the luckiest man on the face of the earth.” Ironically, the former New York Yankees baseball star in Easton’s reference, died of ALS (also known as “Lou Gehrig disease”), which was part of the storyline Michael recently played out on-screen with Finn’s dying father, Gregory, who had the same disease.

Michael punctuated his thoughts within the Instagram post with one final goodbye, “Thank you for your kindness. My heart is filled with love and gratitude.”

Currently in story, Finn has lost his sobriety after seven years, and is in the midst of a serious downfall after his father, Gregory passed away and his daughter, Violet (Jophielle Love) has been taken out of his home and has been served a restraining order to not come near her. How will Easton depart GH? Is Finn exiting the Port Charles canvas to get the help he needs?

Clearly, this marks the end of the line for Finn and Elizabeth (Rebecca Herbst) as they just had it out over his drinking, and with yesterday’s announced return of Jonathan Jackson (Lucky) to GH this summer.

Easton’s GH journey started when he took Llanview’s McBain to Port Charles after One Life was canceled. He debuted on the long-running soap in March 13, 2012. However, due to the legal disputes with ownership of the characters from One Life to Live, between ABC and Prospect Park, he had to leave the series. Michael’s last episode as McBain was in March of 2013. Next, General Hospital brought him back as a new character, Silas Clay, in May of 2013. Two years later in 2015, Silas was killed-off. Easton made one more GH run, this time as Dr. Hamilton Finn which he had been playing since the spring of 2016.

Throughout Easton’s time on General Hospital, he has earned a Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Daytime Drama Series back in 2018. Given his recent performances, many suspect that Michael might close his time on GH with another Emmy nomination in 2025.

You can watch Easton’s emotional goodbye below.

Now let us know, what are your thoughts on Michael Easton’s exit from GH? Sad to see him go? How do you think the show will write-off Finn? Share your thoughts in the comment section.

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