“Life in Genoa City is DEFINITELY a lot of fun and quite interesting right now,” says the voice on the other end of the phone with a laugh that became an often heard sound throughout this interview on this beautiful spring afternoon. “It is definitely keeping me busy, but I am LOVING everything she is doing.”

And that she certainly has had her share of irons in the fire, ever since becoming a fixture of Genoa City society almost 15 years ago. “I’ve been blessed to work with a great group of people here at Y&R,” shares Sharon Case. “Sharon definitely is my all time favorite character I’ve had the opportunity to play.”

Yes you read the in daytime part correctly. For some of us, our initial exposure to Case was when she debuted on CBS The Young and the Restless, but savvy daytime viewers may recognize her from 2 other daytime roles. Case briefly played the role of Dawn Winthrop on ABC’s General Hospital and then ventured to the Big Apple, where she portrayed the role of Debbie on CBS’ As the World Turns.

“I really enjoyed my time on As The World Turns,” she shares. “The character of Debbie was a maniac depressive, which at the time was an issue not readily explored in daytime. I do feel that their were a lot more avenues that could have been explored and storylines provided for the character, storylines that might have been able to educate the viewing audience at the same time.”

But as the role of Debbie came to an end, Case bid farewell to the bright lights of the Big Apple and returned to the sun, sand and surf ready to see what the future held and into her next venture that would make her a household name among daytime viewers for almost 15 years.  

“I’ve been very blessed to be a part of Y&R and work with such a great group of people,” she shares. “I’ve watched the show delve into and explore the different areas of Sharon and what makes her tick,” says Case. She continues, “while I have not always agreed with everything the writers have written for her over the years, I have enjoyed being given the opportunity to play this role.”

However, there is one part to Sharon that Case is thoroughly enjoying at the moment. “I LOVE how the show is exploring Sharon as a mother and a business woman right now, not as someone’s wife,” she shares. “They are allowing her to find and develop her own identity.”

Off and on for nearly 10 years, Sharon (and Case) called the Newman ranch home. But then Nick’s affair with sultry red head, Phyllis Summers brought Sharon’s world crashing down around her. “I love working with Josh Morrow (Nicholas) and I enjoyed the whole Nick/Sharon pairing,” she says. “They certainly have had their share of up’s and down’s over the years.”

And through those up’s and down’s Nick and Sharon always found their way back into each other lives and to each other’s arms. With a baby on the way, will this happen once again? “Honestly, Nick and Sharon will never truly NOT be part of each other’s lives, they will always be connected to each other somehow, whether married or not through their son Noah.” Case continues, “Nick and Sharon also share quite a bit of history and have been through so much with one another and all of that simply cannot be erased.”

But over the last year or so, Sharon has begun to make history with another core character on the show, Jack Abbott. “I just LOVE working with Peter Bergman,” gushes Case. “He is a consummate professional and a lot of fun to work with.”

She continues, “I also LOVED the whole Jack/Sharon romance and marriage and the way the writers portrayed it. They made it real for the characters and real for the audience. You don’t see very many couples in daytime nowadays actually confronting and working on the problems in their marriage, and yet you saw that with Jack and Sharon, they TRIED to work on their problems and they TRIED to keep their marriage together.”

But alas, the Abbott marriage failed and viewers began to wonder what was next for the beautiful blonde. “Oh there's a lot of things still in store for Sharon,” Case says with a sly laugh. “But I’m not giving away even the slightest hint, viewers are going to have to tune in and watch to see what happens.” 

However, viewers can count on one thing when it comes to Sharon….her rivalry with Nick’s current wife, Phyllis. “I just hate HER,” Case says jokingly with a laugh.  “In Sharon’s eyes, Phyllis is the reason why her marriage to Nick ended,” shares Case. 

Hmmm but didn’t Sharon have her share of affairs while married to Nick? “Sharon is in no way innocent here,” iterates Case. “Sharon had affairs with Diego and Cameron and they are still very fresh on the minds of long time viewers and those contributed to some of the problems she and Nick faced in their marriage.”

So perhaps Sharon and Phyllis may some day make amends and work on building some sort of friendship. After all, as long as Phyllis is married to Nick, Sharon will always be on the outskirts of their life. “Unfortunately, I don’t see Sharon and Phyllis ever making amends and being friends with one another, even if Phyllis is still married to Nick 50 years from now.”

That means, Phyllis and Sharon definitely wont be sharing a pint of rocky road ice cream and commiserating over their children and Sharon’s roll in the hay with her former brother in law. Yes you read that right, Sharon had a roll in the hay with her former brother in law, Billy Abbott.

“Billy (Miller, Billy) is great isn’t he,” raves Case about new costar (former AMC star) Billy Miller. “He is a blast to work with and I’m loving what our writers have given Sharon and Billy.”  She continues, “for once Sharon is able to let her hair down and have fun…..Billy brings that out in Sharon, she has fun with him.”

So does that mean, that Billy and Sharon are the show’s next coupling especially now that Sharon is expecting once again? “I honestly don’t know what’s in store for Billy and Sharon, if anything at all.” One thing is for sure though, Billy could possibly be the papa of the child Sharon is carrying……and so could Nick. 

If Nick turns out to be the papa, then Cassie’s prophecy would be fulfilled….Nick and Sharon would have another little girl. And speaking of Cassie, did Case enjoy seeing her former onscreen daughter once again. “Ohhh it was GREAT to see Camryn again,” says Case.  “She is DEFINITELY one talented young lady, who will go far in anything she does.”

And just like viewers, Case found herself shedding a few tears when Sharon visited Cassie’s grave on the anniversary of her death. “While I hated to see Camryn go, she was ready to see what else was out there for her,” says Case. “Cassie’s death was necessary, it was necessary for the show and for the characters of Nick and Sharon to move on and move forward. Cassie’s death was the umbrella for many of the storylines we’ve seen play out over the last few years.”

Perhaps Cassie’s spiritual visit will be just exactly what is needed to reunite Nick and Sharon and move Sharon back into the Newman fold. After all, the show just isn’t the same without watching Nikki and Sharon duke it out over various and sundry things. 

“Melody Thomas Scott is my all time favorite cast member to work with, not to mention a very good friend off screen as well” says Case. “She is a true professional and we have so much fun working with one another. I definitely miss working with her and would LOVE it if our characters were given the opportunity to interact with one another again.”

But in the meantime, Case is loving life in the City and is definitely curious to see what shakes out for her character. “Make sure you tune in this summer, its going to be good,” she promises this writer and viewers. 

I’d like to thank Sharon Case for taking time out of her VERY busy schedule to do this interview and for her manager Charles Sherman for setting things up for us.