Performer of the Week
from Soap Opera Digest

April 23, 2002

It was really meant to be one of those "Ta da!" soap moments -- when Alexis admitted out loud for the first time that she was in love with Sonny. But there was no joy in Mudville… no emotional reaction from Alexis or Kristina, with whom she had unwillingly shared her secret. "You just admitted you loved Sonny," observed a stunned Kristina. As a single tear rolled out of the eye of her clenched, pitch-perfect portrayer, Nancy Lee Grahn, Alexis quietly fumed, "Happy?"

But while Grahn held us fast with that striking moment, it was the preceding conversation that really laid bare the acting prowess that's made her infallible go-to on GH. Pushed to the limit by Kris's constant urging to come clean about her feelings for Sonny, Alexis raged, "I never said I was okay with my feelings, Kristina… I said I didn't want to share them with you or Ned or Jax or anyone else. Shouldn't that be my choice? Shouldn't that be my prerogative? Is that so hard for all of you to understand? I don't think you care at all about my relationship with Sonny. In fact, I don't think you give a damn about my feelings at all. I think you're all so damn mad at me because I'm in love with a man you can't stand!"

The words hung in the air, unmistakably irretrievable -- and so on target. In that one monologue, Grahn reminded us of Alexis' depth and power. And in doing so, she also reminded us of the transcendent talent that underlies her effortless everyday performances. Ta da.