Days: Casting News

[paulabru]

Last week on NBC's Days of our Lives, Judi Evans wrapped up her stint as Bonnie Lockhart in a gut-wrenching, tearful scene with her TV daughter, Farah Fath (Mimi).

While we'll really miss Bonnie, Days fans won't have to miss Judi Evans for long! The daytime veteran exclusively confirms to TVGuide.com that she will return to Salem as Adrienne Johnson Kiriakis, the character she played from 1987 to 1991.

"You got the scoop, dude!" Evans says with a laugh. "I am returning to Days as Adrienne. My first day back at work is March 30. My first airdate should be May 1."

Days' executive producer, Ken Corday, sure fired and re-hired Evans fast, huh? "Ken mentioned something at the goodbye party for me and Farah," she recalls. "He said, 'Well, you do have a brother who needs your help.'"

Just so we're all on the same page, suds fans, Corday was referring to Adrienne's brother, Steve "Patch" Johnson, who's played by Stephen Nichols.

"It's been 15 years since Adrienne's been on the canvas," Evans says. "God knows what's been going on in her life. Where did we leave off? She left Salem with Justin (Wally Kurth) and their three children. She was pregnant with their fourth. They were going to live in Dallas, Texas, where Justin was starting a company. All I know about the upcoming story is that I'm coming back to help my brother, Steve. I'm kind of going in blind!"

For those who didn't watch Evans' first stint as Adrienne, here's a quickie character sketch from the lady herself:

"Adrienne started out as a damaged person," Evans explains. "Through the help of her family and her husband, she became stronger. She was always strong, but she had been raped by her father, whom she shot and killed. Adrienne lost the memory of doing that, and Steve took the rap. Right before Steve was sentenced, she remembered what happened. Of course, Adrienne was exonerated because it was self defense.

"Later, Adrienne met Justin," she continues. "She's a very loving, good-hearted woman and family is very important to her. Adrienne takes the high road only, whereas Bonnie does what she has to at any cost!

"I'll miss Bonnie because I'm a very bawdy person and I got a kick out of her," Evans says. "But I've missed playing Adrienne, too. I miss playing those high emotional life-or-death stories.

Evans explains that her latest Days stay is open-ended. "I'm not sure if I'll be on contract or not," she says. "Whatever works for Ken. Basically, if Ken says jump, I say how high. I feel grateful to him for giving me so many golden opportunities. I'm just so glad to be going back to Days. Leaving there felt like a divorce. I felt like, 'Where's my family?' Hell, I'd clean the bathrooms just to work there again!

"I'm looking forward to what [Days' new head writer] Hogan Sheffer has in store for Adrienne," Evans enthuses. "He can go anywhere with this character. One reason I was so disappointed about leaving was that I had barely gotten a chance to work with Hogan's material. I'm really looking forward to having a chance to do that this time."

And we're looking forward to watching it! Kudos to Corday for making our Days brighter by keeping one of his show's brightest stars front and center.

http://community.tvguide.com/thread.jspa?t...ssDate=12345678

[PhoenixRising05]

Yay!!!

That sure is quick though. It sounds like it could be short-term like Matt's but the chances of her staying longer seem more possible then Matt based on the wording of this.

I am excited though. That will be a nice way to kick off May sweeps.

[Cheyenne]

I think it's a silly move. People who've never seen her as Adrienne will be very confused. But I'm happy for Judi's sake though, she truly loves it at DAYS.

[Manny]

I must agree... many people today don't know who Adrianne is... so I don't think this will help DAYS that much...

[Days4Life]

I have mixed feelings because I love Judi but that's an awful quick turnaround from Bonnie to Adrienne. Oh well, this is DAYS--I can suspend belief! Hard to believe it's been that long (15 years!) since Adrienne has been gone. It will be good to see her again, as long as they give her something to do besides cry. But then again, Judi is about the best cryer on TV.

[DrewH]

Good for Judi! I'm glad that she liked playing Bonnie. It's no surprise. That had to be a fun role and so different than Adrienne.

I never got to watch Adrienne on the show, only in past clips. I'm excited about this. It is going to be weird to have Mimi's mom become Jack and Steve's sister two months later. Oh well, you gotta love DAYS.

[mateo22]

too cool! I too, have never seen Adrienne on screen, but this should be interesting. Bonnie was a fun character to watch, and I am sure to play. I can't wait~!

[PhoenixRising05]

Alot of longtime fans hated Bonnie because they weren't big on the Lockharts. This will help days with the longtime fans and with the Steve/Kayla fans.

Recent fans may get confused but they aren't stupid. Eventually, they will understand. I am sure they will have something written for her first day where they give the history of the character and so forth so people can be familiar with her.

I also think that is why we hardly saw Bonnie the past few months. I think Corday wanted her to be back, even if it was short-term, so they opted to only use her the past few months when necessary as a transition type thing. Judi has been slowly going back to a very Adrienne-like look over the past few months so I truly think this was in the works for awhile. Judi is such a team player, as is Matt Ashford, and I think that is why we are going to see both return with open-ended statuses. Those are two actors who will take cuts if need be or will cooperate with what must be done. Some actors and actresses won't do that, which is probably why Days doesn't bring them back. SN and MBE taking big cuts is why Days was able to bring them back so people will have to take one for the team if they want in at Days right now.

Whatever the case, I am happy about this. It's a familiar face and a great character and actress. I can't wait to see how she is utilized and how the explain Justin and her children not returning with her.

[DrewH]

I doubt this will do anything ratings wise. Sure, Adrienne was a popular character in her day, but people who watched post-93 probably have no clue who she is. Old time viewers are going to get a treat though, so I'm happy for them, I guess. It's always nice to see Judi, but I'm worried that I won't like her playing a toned-down character like Adrienne. We shall see.

[DrewH]

I have a feeling we're going to see a lot of these "pop-up" visits from characters of DAYS past. I see a few others following Ashford and Evans' lead and agreeing to return on a non-contract basis.

[Actor87]

I knew this was going to happen the day they announced she was "being let go".

I agree. It will be confusing. But I'm sure they'll say lines to help the audience along, like:

"Man, I never noticed before but you sure look like Bonnie Lockhart."

or

"Steve's my brother. I need to help him."

or something...

I'm sure the audience'll catch on after a while.

Dang! Judi Evans, I always knew she was a crackpot, but GAH! She really is hilarious!

[PhoenixRising05]

It won't do anything ratings-wise, unless it's minimal, but Judi can play anything. I much prefer in a toned down role. The last few months she played Bonnie was great because they took her down a few notches. I think it will all depend on what she does and how she is used. I think that will be key to all this and I also think Days needs to make an effort to give some character history when she returns. Fans need to know Adrienne's history and background right away so they can get into the character and be able to separate her from Bonnie. This is probably why Days didn't keep FF or recast Mimi. They probably figured it was easier to bring Judi back as Adrienne with no Lockharts left on the show to confuse the audience.

[DrewH]

I can see them making fun of the situation the same way they did when Judi returned to the show, but as Bonnie. Right after Jack died, Bonnie was helping Jennifer go through his clothes when Adrienne called. Bonnie thought the named sounded familiar and wondered if she knew her. You just have to love DAYS.

[PhoenixRising05]

Definitely. That is what they wanted Joe Mascolo for too and he turned it down. I think we will see people in and out and used when story or events dictate. As I said, any former actor wanting to return will probably have to a take a major cut or do what Judi and Matt are doing. I think that is kind of nice. It gives a realistic feel to the show because people do pop in and out in real life. I am wondering if we will see someone return for Sami and Lucas's wedding although I doubt Carrie would. CC would probably agree to a short-term comeback but Carrie hates Sami so that is a moot point.

[DrewH]

Yeah, I could see Clark agreeing to come back, but there would be no reason for Carrie to return to that wedding. Carrie hates Sami, more than she ever has in the past.