PORT CHARLES FAN DINNER 2003

Fond farewell, bittersweet goodbye or rousing wake?
Maybe a combination of all three.

This year the annual PORT CHARLES Fan Club dinner held August 22^nd at the Sportsman’s Lodge in California certainly had a whole different vibe going on.  News of the show’s cancellation seemed to bring out more fans than ever before, the ballroom was packed, not an empty seat at any table.  It would certainly be accurate to say the mood was somber and subdued, after all their favorite show had just bitten the dust a month or so earlier, yet there was still excitement and anticipation rippling throughout that room.  No one could wait to honor the actors they had followed and been entertained by for so many years. The applause was deafening all night long, never have I heard louder yells or calls of support or more clapping in one 4 hour period.  

There will no doubt be endless accounts of the evening at message boards all over the internet, attendees seemed more eager than normal to talk about this show and what it and the actors meant to them. I won’t bore you with a minute by minute account of the evening, I doubt if I could remember everything anyways, tape and all. It all seemed to pass in a reluctant blur of emotion…sentimental sap that I am.

All evening long, from the green room to the autograph lines, I heard bittersweet comments, saw many a tear shed and witnessed the kinds of expressions you only get when no one is exactly sure of what’s down the road, actors included.  While Brian Gaskill, Michael Easton and Kelly Monaco have already signed on with other shows the rest of the cast is still in various stages of career decisions, nothing is certain, no future is set. Erin Hershey Presley is weighing exciting options as a finalist for a spot on The View and a possible role on All My Children.  Marie Wilson signed on to do a film in Florida called “Catharsis”.  Eddie Matos, Joy Bisco and Rebecca Staub are actively auditioning.  Kiko Ellsworth, fresh from success in Bad Boys II is pursuing other movie roles. Thorsten Kaye is considering a return to school and Detroit.  Jay Pickett is in production right now.   

The mood in the green room as the actors gathered before the dinner seemed to pretty much echo the mood of the night. This was only the second time the cast was (basically) all together since they were told of the cancellation.  They were happy to see each other, eager to see their fans but you couldn’t help picking up that same sort of indescribable vibe, that a bittersweet farewell was imminent and that it really and truly was over.

The Port Charles cast has a relationship with each other and their fans perhaps as unique as the show itself.  The night was never going to be easy, not for the actors or the fans.  Not with emotions running high as each actor made their remarks about what the show meant to them and certainly not when the standing ovation from the capacity crowd brought the actors to their feet as well, everyone letting the tears flow, for what seemed like the longest ovation I’ve ever heard. 

Forgoing the question and answer period this year, the actors were asked to each address the audience with a personal comment.  What struck me the most was the genuine love the cast had for the show and for their fans.

From Brian Gaskill: “I’ve been working now for a week on another show and the one thing I can say about working on this one is that no matter what happened backstage behind the scenes there was a real simple beauty and innocence to everything we did. We were like a bunch of kids putting on a show and we really believed in what we were doing and we really tried to make it work…thank you so much.”

From Kiko Ellsworth:  “I’ve grown with this show and I’ve grown with fans and I’ve never experienced more love from people than anywhere before. I’ve never gotten one piece of fan mail that wasn’t out of love and I really, really appreciated it. I appreciated all the love and support and positive energy, so thank you.”

From Rebecca Staub:  “It was absolutely my honor to work with everybody here and to feel the enthusiasm from all of the fans for a show that people could have just skipped over.  I thank you so much, especially from people in markets where it’s not on at convenient times and you’re taping.  Thank you so much for the heart felt letters and the strong commitment and support.”

From Erin Hershey Presley: “I don’t know if we can express to you how much it means to us that you supported this show through the years.  We appreciated you showing up to all the events and coming out.  I don’t know if we can tell you how much because it will bring us all to tears, but we appreciate it and we love you to death.  Its fun for us to gather as a show.”

From Brian Presley: “It’s been awesome, words don’t even describe it.  You know we often talk about the Port Charles family, the cast has a really unique bond that is really hard to find on television shows.  There’s no ego.  We have an unbelievable crew.  But most of all, you guys are part of that family that held on. There will always be Port Charles in our hearts.”

From Michael Easton: “I will miss everyone here and I will miss all of you. You’re in our hearts.”

From Kelly Monaco: “I’ve been asked all night what was my favorite part of Port Charles. And it’s these people right here. I will miss everyone here a lot. And you fans as well. I thank you and appreciate all of your support.

Fan awards were given out, surprising the actors and delighting the fans, who in fact were the voting panel. Kiko Ellsworth said he really learned how to act on this show as he accepted his award for Scene Stealer.  Brian Gaskill and Erin Hershey Presley accepted their awards for Favorite Couple together, giving the audience one last look at Rafe and Alison. Brian took the opportunity to thank Thorsten Kaye and Michael Easton for making the set a better place to be by keeping him laughing, which drew a huge round of applause from the audience. Kelly Monaco accepted her award for Favorite Villainess and Michael Easton for Favorite Villain to yet more loud applause.  Michael said “it drew me in, best job I ever had”. 

The Favorite Actress and Actor awards given to Erin Hershey Presley and Brian Gaskill had both the actors and the fans dissolve into tears. Both actors, exhibiting their inheritant humility felt they shouldn’t have been singled out, that everyone deserved to be named.  Erin said lots of women deserve this on the show and that everyone worked equally as hard.  Her voice breaking she said that they would all miss the show very much.  Brian Gaskill was equally emotional, agreeing with Erin, saying the award didn’t really belong to him. Going on to say that he didn’t really get why they were doing this tonight, they all love each other and should party on, his remarks were perhaps taken in the wrong way. He was really commenting on the awards. Though grateful for the love of the fans, it seemed to him that since they were all saying goodbye it wasn’t completely appropriate to single out individuals. Surprised by the emotions that bubbled forth, compounded by his sadness over his sick dog, he really felt the awards belonged to everyone and that the night was about everyone, not just individuals.

As usual, autograph sessions followed with each actor sitting behind a table. No one stayed there long. Actors and fans bonded, hugging and chatting and giggling.  Lines were longer than ever this year as the cast really seemed to take more time with everyone, no one wanting to let go of this magical, fantastical, fantasy we all called Port Charles.  Brian Gaskill and Michael Easton closed the room at around midnight, quite a while after everyone else had finished, making sure not one fan was left standing without a picture, autograph and a hug. Whichever publicist decided Michael Easton’s persona should be one of shyness and reserve sure didn’t see him in action that night. Shy and reserved was as far from the truth as I could see.  Like everyone else, he fell into the spirit with ease and made that connection as strong and tight as anyone else. 

Like a rip roaring wake, this farewell to Port Charles was irreverent, fun and full of bittersweet sentiments but from where I was standing, it was still tinged with a tiny edge of unmistakable regret and resentment at its shabby treatment by a corporate giant. Emotional to be sure, but a celebration of the entertaining, unique, amazingly creative little show that all of us took to our hearts and got so hooked on.

Aided by perhaps a beer or two, or perhaps just figuring honesty is the best policy (what could possibly happen at this point anyways) I say Thorsten Kaye had the line of the night when talking about how he felt about the cancellation, “I feel horrible, I think it’s shitty,” he said.  You know what, can’t top that, pretty much sums it all up.

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Actors in attendance: