Soap Hub sat down with Beth Maitland to talk about a special Traci Abbott and Ashley Abbott-themed episode set to air on The Young and the Restless this week.
Beth Maitland Talks Rock Concerts, Dina, and Traci’s Future
In the first part of our interview with Maitland, the actress reflected on the touching on-set tribute Y&R arranged for her and TV sister Eileen Davidson (Ashley) as well as Traci’s key relationships with Brad Carlton (Don Diamont, now Bill on The Bold and the Beautiful) and Lauren Fenmore Baldwin (Tracey Bregman).
Now, the Daytime Emmy-winner reflects on how the actors playing Abbott family members formed a bond, what it was like doing the Danny Romalotti (Michael Damian) rock concerts, Dina Mergeron’s (Marla Adams) return to the canvas and her subsequent passing, and what Maitland would like to see in Traci’s next chapter.
Soap Hub: How long did it take to feel that the actors playing the Abbott family meshed as a unit?
Beth Maitland: I think it happened very quickly. As is understandable, when Terry [Lester, Jack Abbott] knew the show was committing to him and expanding his family, he threw his shoulder into it. He’d have Abbott family members over to his house and we’d sit around the piano and sing. Jerry [Douglas, John Abbott] would too. It was all to develop our relationships and to trust each other. We were young. Eileen and I were in our early 20s. We had diverse backgrounds. We went from working every now and then to three to four days a week, sometimes having 40 pages a day. It was very smart on Jerry and Terry’s part to invest in us forming a family unit.
Soap Hub: In the 1980s, Y&R produced Danny Romalotti rock concerts. You, Tracey, and Patty Weaver (ex-Gina Roma) all performed. The concerts were huge!
Beth Maitland: I remember those days. It almost feels like a different life and it wasn’t me. I can’t believe we did those. I recall pre-recording songs at Capitol Records in Hollywood — the building that looks like a stack of records with a needle on it. There were musicians that played in Danny’s band that I’m still friends with today. They’re world-class tour musicians who have made huge marks in the music world and have toured with giants like Paul McCartney and Wings. It was a magical time. ‘Let’s put on a show! We can rehearse in the barn!’ I hear today it’s a big [financial] challenge to cover a song on a show. COVID or not, there aren’t budgets to have 100 extras and money for special effects like show shows and to make costumes for just one day. It was great to live in those glory days. Tracey and I talk about those days a lot.
Soap Hub: Marla Adams returned as Dina in 2017 and set the stage for the Abbott children to re-address the abandonment issues they felt when she left her kids at an impressionable age. Tragically, Dina developed Alzheimer’s and, at one point, didn’t even recognize Traci.
Beth Maitland: She’d call Traci ‘Nurse! Nurse!’ Marla and I are also very close. We stay in touch and talk regularly. I wish we had dealt with more of the end of that story, but stories are told at a different pace these days. I think there would have been a lot more circles closed. It’s such a definitive thing your relationship with your mother. I feel like there are still open wounds. Having someone say they love you is not forgiveness. I think the wounds are still there.
Soap Hub: Except for Traci and Dina, pretty much every other Abbott family character has been played by multiple actors. It must feel special to know that there’s been one Traci.
Beth Maitland: Very much so. Even more now because of this 40th episode. It’s more special than I could have imagined. It completely overwhelmed me.
Soap Hub: Traci lived off-camera for years in New York away from Genoa City. What story could be told today about that time?
Beth Maitland: The first thing that comes to many people’s minds is Traci’s maternal instincts. She miscarried twice before having Colleen [Carlton, Lyndsy Fonseca; Tammin Sursok], who died. Everyone talks about a child that Traci might have had that nobody knows about. But I see that space being able to be filled with her relationships with Abby [Chancellor, Melissa Ordway], Allie [Nguyen, Kelsey Wang], and Kyle [Abbott, Michael Mealor], and several other of the young people who are not her children.
Personally, what I hope for Traci, because of who she is for the fans, is that she has a romance. I would love to see that. It can be complicated, but where we see a beautiful romance. Where we get to see a woman in her 60s. Who is real and looks real. And has had troubles in her life. Let’s have some man find her fascinating and be desirable. It may mean more to the fans that Traci succeeds more than a maternal center to her family but also as an aging woman who is more normal than many of the other amazing and beautiful actresses who represent soap women but maybe not real people.
Soap Hub: Any final thoughts or people to mention?
Beth Maitland: Yes. This is an episode that’s an homage to the fans as much as anything. We get to see all of the things that we’ve all lived through together. We all watched these changes and growth during my time there. I can’t say enough about the fact that the fans are what keeps our world turning on its axis. The fans are the only reason we can do this. We wouldn’t be able to continue to do and bring what we bring every day — even with all the changes in the genre — we’re still able to bring really amazing television to them every day. We have such dedicated people keeping us on the air. I’m grateful on a molecular level to all our wonderful viewers!
The Young and the Restless (YR) airs weekdays on CBS. Check your local listings for airtimes. For more about what’s coming up in Genoa City, check out all the latest that’s been posted on Y&R spoilers, and for an in-depth look at the show’s history, click here.
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