MOVE
OVER, ROSIE, JACK DROPS HIS OWN bombshell this week on Days of
Our Lives when he admits to the world that he is not
gay.
"Jack is beyond busted," declares Matthew Ashford (Jack).
"Everybody has a reason to hate him, and they all move in on
him. It's like something out of Night of the Living Dead.
After dodging mobster Chico and Big Chauncey, who want to kill him
because he accidentally picked up their brief case filled with money,
Jack ends up backstage in a hotel ballroom in Las Vegas where Harold's
dad, Oliver Wentworth, is hosting a big show.
When Wentworth invites Jennifer and Brandon to stay for the festivities,
they agree, setting the stage for what promises to be a fiasco.
Meanwhile, Chico and Chauncey block all exists from the ballroom.
Realizing there's no way out, Harold gets an idea: He, Jack and
Greta will dress up as showgirls.
 But
they fall flat on their faces -- literally. Wentworth is furious
when the three stumble into the orchestra pit, while Jennifer and
Brandon are stunned at the sight of Jack in drag. As Chico and Chauncey
train their guns on Jack, "Brandon, of all people, knocks over
Chico and his bullet goes astray," previews Ashford. "The
Jennifer gets into the act and saves Jack's life."
"Jennifer drops a sandbag on Chauncey's head," chuckles
Melissa Reeves (Jennifer). "She
knocks him out. Boom, boom, boom! It's over. In the face of trauma,
Jack and Jennifer always rise to the occasion for each other."
The two thugs are promptly arrested, but Jack's troubles are just
beginning. Jennifer laces into Jack, telling him she knows his secret.
Finally, Jack blurts out the truth, but unfortunately, his big revelation
is blasted over the ballroom's loudspeaker.
"Everybody's there, and they all hear it," sighs Ashford.
"Brandon, Harold, Wentworth.... Jennifer is disgusted. Greta
is a mess. They all take potshoots at Jack."
The most crushing blows come from the two women in his life. "Jack
and Jennifer get in a pretty heated argument, but it's out of hurt
and pain," explains Reeves. "Jennifer realizes Jack is
never going to change and that things may never work out between
them. She can't believe he pretended to be something he's not, that
he lied to and hurt so many people. Usually, Jack's lies just hurt
Jennifer, Jennifer never wants to see him again."
 Ditto
Greta, who slaps Jack across the face. "Greta is shattered,"
relates Julianne Morris (Greta). "Her
heart is broken. She spent months believing in Jack, trusting him,
wanting him to be happy and doing everything she could to make him
happy."
"Things are bad," groans Ashford. "Everybody's yelling
at Jack, then they leave. He doesn't even have anybody to spin a
story to. Jack's back to negative square one. This would be where
Jack would sing his solo, if it were a musical. Maybe, Don't
Cry for Me Argentina. Something sad and torchy.
Things get more dismal for poor Jack when he returns to Salem, where
life is, fittingly, a drag.
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SHOW GIRL
FOR DAY(S)
OF ALL
THE CAREER ASPIRATIONS Matthew
Ashford has had, he never quite pictured himself
as a Vegas showgirl -- until his Days of Our Lives
alter ego, Jack, went undercover to escape thugs (airing
this week).
 "It
was kind of scary," cracks Ashford. "I was in
full drag, full-on regalia." You can say that again:
a bra top covered with clam shells, a sarong, fishnet stockings
and a purple boa.
"The hard part for Ashford was donning his fishnet
hosiery. "They felt very strange. Someone had to actually
put them on for me," he admits. "But, hey, I guess
it would have been more embarrassing if I had been really
good at it."
Ashford, however, already knew how to walk in heels -- "you've
got to be on your toes, literally" -- from his last
dress-up stint on Days. "Vern and Jack were
in drag years ago. They were on the lam hiding out in New
York City trying to save Jennifer from Lawrence Alamain.
I was more of a matron then," he muses. "At least
this time, I'm a showgirl." |
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