On the Soapbox
The latest news of the soap opera world
Evans says her return to ‘Days’ was inevitable
by Nancy M. Reichardt
United Feature Syndicate
The 14-year break since leaving “Days of Our Lives” back in 1992 never kept Mary Beth Evans (Kayla) from thinking about a possible return to the daytime soap.
“Maybe I’m just optimistic, but I ALWAYS thought I would come back one day,” says Evans. However, Evans had never been interested in a short cameo gig.
“I had said that I didn’t want to come back just to hang ornaments on the Horton Christmas tree,” recalls Evans with a chuckle. “I always felt the characters of Steve and Kayla were important. If they came back, I wanted there to be a reason and not just some nothing thing. Stephen (Nichols, who plays Steve) and I never talked about that, but I know we were on the same page. We both valued that time in our lives and those stories and characters.”
Hence, when the opportunity came to revisit those good old “Days” last spring, Evans and Nichols jumped at the chance. “There were a few times over the years where the subject of going back to the show had come up,” recounts Evans. “I’d see (executive producer) Ken Corday at a party and we’d discuss it. But this was the right time. Right for the show. Right for Stephen. Right for me. Everything fell into place. It was easy and quick. Slipping back into Kayla’s shoes has been just as effortless.”
“I’ve always been sentimental about Kayla,” admits Evans. “She’s such a well-rounded character. She’s strong and nice. She’s loving, giving and compassionate. I understand where she comes from.”
For Evans, the opportunity to work again with Nichols, whom she has remained good friends with over the years, has been a joy. “Stephen and I have the same work ethic,” notes Evans. “We both like to rehearse. We’ll get together, run scenes and talk. We’re not threatened if one of us says, ‘What if you did this?’ We work things out together as actors. We’re excited to be doing that, again.”
Of course, this time around, “Days has added someone new to the mix: Steve and Kayla’s teen daughter Stephanie (actress Shayna Rose). Evans for one has had to adjust to that on-screen relationship. “It’s funny,” muses Evans. “There were some scenes between Kayla and Stephanie that (inferred) maybe Kayla wasn’t the most accessible parent. At first, when I read them, I thought, ‘Oh, no! This is all wrong.’ Kayla would NEVER have been like this, because I pride myself on being such a good mother and so accessible to my children. My kids know they can talk to me about anything. Then I went, ‘Okay. It’s fine. It’s a choice. It’s something different.’ I don’t really mind taking this other interesting route. Maybe Kayla put up such a wall (after Steve’s ‘death’) that she wasn’t accessible.”
Besides, Evans already depicted the perfect mother/daughter bond on “As the World Turns” playing Sierra to Peyton List’s Lucy.
no comments