While same-sex marriage is legal in ten countries around the world and in five states and the District of Columbia within the United States, it is actually not currently allowed in Germany.  However, Germany does recognize Registered Partnerships for same-sex couples.

Earlier this month, on Friday, September 3, two popular male characters from the long-running German soap, Verbotene Liebe (Forbidden Love), were married in a church wedding.  Christian Mann (played by Thore Schölermann) was wed to Oliver "Olli" Sabel (played by Jo Weil) in the culmination of a long storyline that traced their relationship from acquaintances to friends to lovers.

(l-r) Thore Schölermann as Christian and Jo Weil as Olli

In a time where American soap operas such as One Life to Live dropped its gay characters, attributing them to the decline in the show's ratings, it's interesting to see what's happening across the ocean.  We spoke to the actors about their characters and storyline in late August in an audio interview translated and transcribed below.  The actors recorded their answers in their native German so if you want to listen to what they sound like, even if you don't speak German, the audio clips are posted at the end of this article.  Enjoy!

Just as with the Guiding Light farewell event hosted by the Paley Center in 2009 (which was also covered by USTownhall.com), the evening began with a red carpet photo op at approximately 6:00pm.  By 6:30, the cast of As the World Turns and their fans had made their way to the downstairs theater at the Paley Center in order to participate in a Q&A session hosted by Paley Center Curator, Ron Simon.

This was not the first As the World Turns event to be held at Paley.  In 1996, ATWT's 40th anniversary was celebrated there, and in 2006, Paley commemorated the soap's 50th by staging a recreation of the first script from April 2, 1956.  It was performed by Helen Wagner (Nancy Hughes) and Don Hastings (Dr. Bob Hughes), who played mother and son since Hastings took over the role in 1960.  Sadly, Ms. Wagner, an original cast member who spoke the very first line of dialogue on the series premiere in 1956, died from cancer at the age of 91 on May 1, 2010, missing the series' final episode taping which took place about 7 weeks later on June 23, 2010.

What follows are our exclusive photos from the night as well as a summary of the Q&A panel.

The Paley Center's three-plus hour event entitled Good-bye to Guiding Light, 72 Years Young, was moderated by Paley's Curator, Ron Simon.  In attendance from GL tonight were: Ellen Wheeler (Executive Producer), Jill Lorie Hurst (Head Writer), and actors Grant Aleksander, Bradley Cole, Elizabeth Keifer, Michael O'Leary, and Kim Zimmer.

However, sitting in the audience were several other Guiding Light actors including: Kurt McKinney, Maeve Kinkead, Tina Sloan, Gina Tognoni, Orlagh Cassidy, Frank Dicopoulos, and Ellen Dolan who is now Margo on As the World Turns, but was the original Maureen on GL.

October 2009 brings Ms. Chappell back full circle to her first front burner role as Carly on Days of Our Lives.  In this second part of our interview with Crystal, she talks about going back to where it all began and working once again with her husband, Michael Sabatino, and Louise Sorel, who tormented Carly as the evil Vivian Alamain.

Days of Our Lives is obviously banking on a nice ratings boost from the near-simultaneous arrival of these three longtime favorites.  Based on what we've seen and heard from the fans who have responded to the first part of our interview, the level of excitement for Crystal's return has reached fever pitch so this was pretty much a safe bet on DAYS' part.  See for yourself on Friday, October 2 as Crystal Chappell makes her grand reappearance on the Salem canvas.

Our thanks once again to Crystal Chappell for speaking with us and to Cathie and the gang over at ccandfriends.com, and Crystal's publicist, Leslie Penny, for making this all happen.

Although she is recognized as the creator of two-thirds of ABC's current soap opera lineup, having originated both One Life to Live in 1968 and All My Children in 1970, her career as a writer of provocative dramatic serials extends much further back – all the way to the late 1940s – where she was mentored by none other than the creator of the soap opera herself, Irna Phillips.

When Ms. Phillips left as head writer of Guiding Light in 1958 to focus more on her new hit, As the World Turns, she left the show in the capable hands of Agnes Nixon, who began to incorporate what would become one of the hallmarks of her writing style: crafting stories that were both entertaining and educational. 

Jonathan's story was as follows: During one of Reva's periodic bouts with soap opera amnesia, she ended up on the tropical island of San Cristobel, met and fell in love with the Prince, and conceived her fourth child, Jonathan.  Jonathan was first seen on the show in 1999, as an 8 to 9 year old boy, after Reva married her truelove Josh Lewis for the second time.  They honeymooned in San Cristobel and Reva's life there as Princess Catherine came to light.  She began to remember that she had to put Jonathan in hiding in order to protect him from Prince Richard's evil brother, Edmund, who wanted the throne for himself.

Cut to five years later in 2004, and Jonathan arrives in Springfield in his early 20s (it's a soap opera thing), hell-bent on revenge because the house that Reva kept Jonathan hidden away in came furnished with an abusive adoptive father.  Coming into town without revealing who he really was, Jonathan seduced and bedded his half first cousin, the virginal Tammy, then revealed to her that he was really her relative.

For this RealStory, Tom Pelphrey, Dennis Flannagan, Kate Russell, and Shawn Renfro talk with us about their theatrical venture and all that goes into getting a production off the ground.

Also, we sit one-on-one with Tom Pelphrey, one of the more popular stars of Guiding Light in its recent years, to talk about his experiences there.

However, earlier this year, CBS announced that it would be canceling Guiding Light due to low ratings, ending this long-running drama after 72 years on the air in both radio and television.  A few months after the April 1 announcement by CBS, Ms. Chappell released word that she would be moving to the west coast to reprise her first breakout role, that of Carly Manning (aka Katerina von Leuschner) on the serial Days of Our Lives, beginning in early October.

2009 has definitely been a year of changes and transitions for Ms. Chappell: an old job ending, a new job beginning, a new home, and a new venture.  In addition to returning to Days of Our Lives, Crystal has teamed up with her friends/production partners to create Venice: The Series, a new online serial drama  that is currently in its formative stages, but which has already attracted mainstream notice and press ranging from The New York Times to, well, us.

Last week, we spoke with Crystal Chappell about all of the above and more.  In this first chapter of our special serialized interview, we discuss her time on Guiding Light and her role as the multi-faceted Olivia Spencer.  In future installments of this interview series, we'll talk about her feelings about being back on Days of Our Lives and working once again with her real-life husband, Michael Sabatino.  We'll also go in-depth to bring you all the scoop on her upcoming buzzworthy project, Venice: The Series.

Our thanks to Crystal Chappell for speaking with us and to Cathie and the gang over at ccandfriends.com, and Crystal's publicist, Leslie Penny, for making this all happen.

US Townhall:  As an actress, what types of roles do you find yourself attracted to?  By the same token, what types of roles or stories do you NOT like to play?

CRYSTAL CHAPPELL:  I try to find characters that challenge me -- that force me to go to unfamiliar places.  Playing characters that are safe are not very interesting to me.

USTH:  Which actors and directors in primetime or film are on your wish list to work with in the future?  Put it out there in the Universe, and it may just come to pass.

CC:  I love Deniro and Streep, and I would love to work with Martin Scorcese.

USTH:  Describe the audition process for Olivia on Guiding Light (GL).  What were you told about the role, and how long was the role supposed to last?  Which actors did you read with?

CC:  I auditioned for [Guiding Light Executive Producer] Paul Rauch and [Procter & Gamble Executive in Charge of Production] Mary Alice ("Mickey") Dwyer-Dobbin and never read with any actors. The role was supposed to be for 3 months and the character was supposed to be killed off.  Fortunately for me, she lived.

Check back often as we continually update our tribute to Guiding Light's 72 years of broadcasting with more clips and remembrances.  To whet your appetite, we start off with a selection of Guiding Light opening themes over the decades.