General Hospital - NEWS ROOM

Sometimes I just don't get it. We finally get a fresh face, a back story rich with possibilities and chemistry with one of General Hospital's leading men that was catalytic enough to melt his otherwise icy heart and then they ship the character in question off to where she came from. In this case, it's Martha's Vineyard and the fresh face I'm referring to is that of Yeniffer Behrens, who played Ric's lover Marianna. "I thought my time on GH was going to be short but not this short! They made Marianna and Ric really connect in spite of how they met. She really did fall in love. It's sad. I've been really sad about it. I fell in love with her, the story, Ric and wanted to stay longer," Yeniffer told me when we spoke last week. (She had just dropped her seven year-old son off at school and we chatted during her entire commute back to her house.)

It seems to me that the writers left the field wide open for Marianna to return and revisit her relationship with Ric, and I told her so. I reminded Yeniffer that at one point Marianna briefly mentioned her troubled childhood in Venezuela and then I proceeded to fill her in on the Luis and Lorenzo Alcazar's Venezuelan background, which she was unaware of. Frankly, I thought that was clearly where the story was going - especially since they brought her onto the canvas during Diego's return. Yeniffer was happy to hear my theory. "From your lips to God's ear," she said and then quickly laughed and corrected her self, "To Bob Guza's ear!" She told me that she's been surprised to receive so much fan mail
and a lot of it keeps reaffirming the same kind of thing. The general consensus is that Marianna was a "breath of fresh air." I couldn't agree more.

As for her fellow cast mates on General Hospital,Yeniffer had plenty to say. She felt as if she was a part of the GH family right away. She mentioned that Maurice (Sonny) is really sweet, as was Sebastian (Jerry). Also on her list of great people to work with is Stephen Macht (Trevor). "He was completely mean to Marianna, yet as soon as the scene was cut we just started playing around. He's such a family guy, so sweet and so funny." When I asked her about her leading man, Yeniffer caught herself gushing about what "a dreamboat" Rick Hearst (Ric Lansing) is. She added, "He is a well-rounded person, very rich and full, and really lives his life with his heart, passionately. I admire him for that. He was very open with me on a very professional level." (To read more about Rick, go here: Rick Hearst's Charities.)

I asked Yeniffer if there was anyone she would have loved to do a scene with, but didn't get to (yet!). She didn't hesitate with her reply, "Sarah
Brown is great, I would love to have had a scene with her. Especially after she went to visit Ric. It could've been a great cat fight, like 'What are you trying to do with my man!' you know?"

The more we talked, the more excited we both became at the thought of GH resurrecting her character at some point in the not too distant future. As an actor, Yeniffer keeps pretty busy, so we'd better act soon! She's already working on Will Smith's next movie, "Seven Pounds". Her agents have their feelers out and she actively keeps herself involved in meeting casting directors, directors and attending film festivals. She has recently completed two indy films in Mexico and eagerly awaits what is next for her. I suggest get busy and let ABC know that we enjoy the softer side of Ric and that won't stick around long without his muse! You can express your opinions at General Hospital, c/o ABC-TV, 4151 Prospect Avenue, Hollywood, CA 90027.

Yeniffer not only agreed to keep in touch with Soaps.com, she's going to do a live chat on our GH Message Board on Thursday, April 10 at 2:00 EST. Be sure to show up and ask your own questions. I'm sure that you'll find her as open and friendly as I did. Thank you Yeniffer!