| Outstanding Performer of the Week of October 27th Guiding Light has come up with some pretty outrageous storylines for Kim Zimmer (Amish country, time travel, cloning, Psychic Reva), so the show should know by now that it doesn’t have to try so hard for this three-time Emmy winner to work her magic. The quiet, underplayed scenes with Sandy – when Reva (and viewers) finally learned that he is Jonathan, the son she gave up in San Cristobel -- were devastating and powerful. There was no crazy premise, just the good, old-fashioned story of a mother finding her son after many years. “You told me to stop playing fairy godmother,” cried Reva as it all became clear. “When I met my son as a little boy it was in San Cristobel at the palace. He asked me if I was queen of the castle. I told him I wasn’t, but I told him I’d be his fairy godmother if he wanted me to be.” Then Reva reached out and stroked Sandy’s face. Zimmer played the moment as if Reva was touching him to see if he was real. Zimmer’s seasoned performance nicely complemented Scott Bailey’s (Sandy) greenness – though, to Bailey’s credit, he held his own and fed the instant rapport between mother and newfound son. As Zimmer recounted how she gave up Jonathan, Zimmer did much more than read a monologue; she played the history as if each image of the past (from driving off the bridge to Jonathan at the lake) was flashing before her eyes. The dialogue was almost poetic, but it also seemed bare-bones thanks to Zimmer, who knew exactly which lines needed embellishment – and which didn’t. “I didn’t come here to have milk and cookies with my mom,” railed Sandy, who blamed Reva for leaving him behind. Zimmer didn’t cower; in fact, Reva never seemed more empowered as she stood up for herself and her family. “If you want to leave, if you can never forgive me, then I won’t stop you,” she told him through tears. “I’m grateful. I’m grateful to you for this, for this time that we had together, even if it was short, so that I had a chance to see the kind of man you have become.” After that speech, Sandy didn’t want to leave. He wanted to give his mother a hug. And we just wanted to give Zimmer a hug, to thank her for once again making a story touching and believable. |