DAYS’s Mary Beth Evans: From Pies to a Play
DAYS OF OUR LIVES Interview
By Janet Di Lauro
Original SoapOperaDigest.com article can be found HERE
Perennially busy, Mary Beth Evans (ex-Kayla, DAYS OF OUR LIVES) is at it again. Aside from her home projects, her blog on hybridmom.com, and her thriving pie business (her mini-pies sold like hotcakes over the holiday season via Williams-Sonoma), she’s also appearing in a hilarious play at The Blank’s 2nd Stage Theater in Hollywood.
Soap Opera Weekly: Last time we spoke, you were making 12,000 leaves out of dough to decorate your mini-apple and pumpkin pies for Williams-Sonoma, when your industrial kitchen informed you they couldn’t do it. How did that go?
Mary Beth Evans: [laughing] It turned out to be 34,000 leaves, because Williams-Sonoma wanted another run of pies. It was total insanity. It meant me in my house, day in and day out, cranking out those leaves. When I was finally done, it was like, “Okay. Enough of that. Moving on.” It was a nice accomplishment, and I learned a big lesson.
Weekly: How did the pies sell?
Evans: They did incredibly well over the whole winter. It was one of the top sellers in the Williams-Sonoma catalog. So that was groovy, and they loved me there. I can continue on in a different way…like never doing leaves again.
Weekly: At the moment, you’re currently starring in a play. What can you share about it?
Evans: It’s called Barbra’s Wedding, and it’s a comedy. Daniel Stern, who was one of the bad guys in Home Alone, wrote it. It started February 11 and it’s been incredibly fun and time- consuming, because it’s a two-person, one-act [play].
Weekly: What’s the premise?
Evans: The play is about this couple who lives next door to Barbra Streisand when she gets married to James Brolin, and the intrusion of all that. Barbra isn’t in it. We just talk about her. It’s also about the husband and wife’s relationship; the blowout of their marriage and, then, them coming back together. The husband — played by Wilson Green — is an unemployed actor, so this wedding is like a giant neon sign of how he’s not working and he’s not invited. I’m the wife, Molly.
Weekly: You also appeared in an episode of NIP/TUCK, didn’t you?
Evans: I did. It’s funny. If you ever want to be a plastic surgeon, it would be from that show. Not from my husband (Dr. Michael Schwartz), who is a plastic surgeon. My boys love the show, even though it’s just so bizarre. My scene was with that incredibly cute guy.
Weekly: Julian McMahon, who plays Christian?
Evans: Yes. In person, he’s so incredibly dreamy. I’m not joking. He’s so hunky-cute. And he’s nice and normal.
Weekly: NIP/TUCK is a pretty risqué show. Did you have to flash any skin?
Evans: No. My part was one small scene. Very benign. And all my clothes were on. It was fun.
Weekly: What else have you been up to?
Evans: I’ve been doing a lot around my house, repainting rooms and a lot of garden stuff. It’s funny. I was painting a room a little while ago. Then, all of a sudden, I was like, “Oh, my God! I have to go get my hair colored.” So I had to finish up the painting, clean everything up and put it away, and take off. It never ends with me. I’m always doing something. I am an obsessive project person, because it keeps me out of the stores.
Weekly: I know you’re still in touch with people over at DAYS OF OUR LIVES. What were your thoughts upon learning that Frances Reid (ex-Alice) had passed away?
Evans: I got an e-mail from Jolene Rizzo, who was my makeup person on the show. We get together and walk about once a week. When I read it, my heart skipped a beat. I felt so sad. Frances was such a cool lady, sassy and kind of irreverent. As time went on, she would come in to work with her helper and her walker. She would look up at me and go, “Mary Beth. How are the kids?” She remembered so much about me and my life, and always had something funny to say. Stephen [Nichols, ex-Steve] also shared her dressing room, when we were last on DAYS. We were always in there. The thing I’ll remember most about Frances is that she [remained] young and hip. She had class and spunk. I tip my hat to Ken [Corday, DAYS’s executive producer], because he kept bringing her back, and always considered her a big part of the family at Days. I really respect him for that.
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