The Young and the Restless viewers know that Phyllis Summers will do whatever it takes to ensure her children have happy lives — even if they want her to back off. For her performance, Soap Hub Performer of the Week honors for Y&R is presented to Phyllis’s portrayer, Michelle Stafford.
Michelle Stafford: Y&R Performer of the Week
Things aren’t going that well for Phyllis these days, and she’s mad about it. Sure, perhaps she brought most (or all) of it on herself, but that doesn’t change that she felt she had good intentions about most things (not about Diane, though).
This week Phyllis had several scenes where Stafford really shined. First off, she looked supremely uncomfortable when Jeremy Stark (James Hyde) approached her at The Grand Phoenix and Tucker McCall (Trevor St. John) showed up. The actress didn’t even have to say a word to reveal how Phyllis felt to the audience. Instead, she used stiff and uncomfortable body language and very expressive facial reactions to show that she was not feeling Jeremy at all.
However, perhaps Phyllis’s shining moment came when she gave a speech to Summer (Allison Lanier) about motherhood and how it was “hell.” This time, it was Stafford’s forceful delivery of the lines through her tone of voice, combined with the way she used her hands to reveal some of Phyllis’s frustration, that really sold the scene.
Her moments with Jack (Peter Bergman) at the bar where she finally thought Jack might finally be on to Diane (Susan Jenkins), and then realized it was Kyle (Michael Mealor) who earned his ire. Her willingness to commiserate with him over their ungrateful children showed just how much Phyllis needed somebody to understand her. Stafford again used excellent timing and facial expressions to give us perfect insight into Phyllis’s mindset.
Of course, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention the excellent way Stafford handled Phyllis’s super awkward reunion with Lucy (Lily Brooks O’Briant), Heather (Vail Bloom), and Daniel (Michael Graziadei). Her perfectly timed delivery when she let Heather know that Lucy should call her “Phyllis” and not “grandma” really drove home her meaning. Plus, the way Stafford showcased how Phyllis could carry on the awkward conversation despite not receiving much feedback from all the uncomfortable people at the table helped relay how uncomfortable it all was.
Bravo, Michelle Stafford, on an excellent performance this week. We hope to see lots more, and we can’t wait to see how Phyllis pulls out of this downward spiral.
The Young and the Restless airs weekdays on CBS. For an in-depth look at the show’s history, click here.
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