Spoiler Alert! How is Robin Strasser celebrating her 30th year as devious Dorian on One Life to Live? By pretending to be a lesbian and marrying a woman! Here’s how it all comes down: Dorian and her archenemy Viki (Erika Slezak) are currently in a battle to become mayor of Llanview. When Dorian learns that the Llanview Gay and Lesbian Alliance is supporting Viki, she hatches a plan to win the LGLA vote by having her campaign manager-boyfriend David (Tuc Watkins) fake being gay. When David refuses to go along with the stunt, Dorian hires a new campaign manager, a calculating lesbian named Amelia (Tia Dionne Hodge). Soon after, Dorian holds a press conference and reveals she’s in love with Amelia and intends to marry her.

Their wedding won’t be a simple affair. In fact, it’ll be part of a mass marriage of 22 same-sex couples, orchestrated by the LGLA to bring worldwide attention to the gay-marriage issue. In staging the epic nuptials (airing October 30 and November 2), OLTL hired some 100 extras to play brides, grooms, cops, reporters and protesters. Nick (Nicholas Rodriguez) and Kyle (Brett Claywell) are among those who‘ll get hitched that day—that is, if Kyle’s true love Oliver (Scott Evans) doesn’t stop them. (For more on that, see my accompanying Q&A with OLTL head writer Ron Carlivati.)

But let’s get back to La Strasser. This Emmy-winning actress has a massive gay following. In fact, she will serve as honorary chairperson for the drag ball “Marching for Equality… in Heels” on October 10 in Washington D.C. , which honors the 40th anniversary of Stonewall and benefits the Matthew Shepard Foundation. (For details, go to http://www.icny.org/dcmarch_event.html.) What are Strasser’s thoughts on Dorian’s gay deceit? Does she expect to get flack from the LGBT community? I called her to find out.

This is a heck of a way to mark your big anniversary!
[Laughs] Anything’s better than pouring tea on OLTL and gracefully fading into the woodwork but who would have imagined this? When I found out what the writers had in mind for Dorian, I thought it was weird, scary, totally unexpected. I quickly went running to check: “She’s not actually going to try and experiment with being a lesbian is she?” I asked. “No,” came the answer. So this is more like Dorian’s pathology spinning out of control, where the adrenalin has so kicked in that it’s frying out her brains. It’s nothing logical or even sane. She’s gone. She jumps to the moon in an instant. The writers have often reignited the rivalry between Dorian and Viki, now they’ve thrown kerosene on it. I get alarmed when the script calls for a warm look or a kind gesture between those two. I think, “There goes my career!”

What’s with David refusing to pretend he’s gay? He’s king of the schemers. The eternal brat. This seems on a rather odd place for him to draw the line.
I know! How could he betray me like that? [Laughs] Can’t you just hear David giving the “I am a gay American” speech?

Politically-speaking, isn’t this rather dicey? We always forgive Dorian’s crazy stunts—she’s the Lucy Ricardo of soaps—but to fake being gay to win the gay vote is in a different category. Would we forgive someone who pretended to be religious in order to win the conservative vote? Both you and Dorian are big gay icons. How’s that portion of your fanbase going to react?
My identification as a person, politically, is with the right of all people to have choice and equality when it comes to life partnerships, OK? I believe in equal rights and protection under the law. I want to be respectful and supportive and non-exclusionary, so when Dorian appears to be manipulating the gay community, with whom I have great empathy and sympathy and, may I say with great pride, a following, I become alert and very careful about the choices I make when playing her. I don’t want to be fighting the [writers’] intention but I might have to sell Dorian short and have her make a bad, really obvious, tasteless, unforgivable decision. I may to take the rap for that. I may have to clearly show how messed up Dorian is, and then what will the writers do with that? I have to play it that Dorian wants to beat Viki so badly that she will do the wrong thing, for what she thinks are the right reasons, and she is not in her right mind. Now, in a sane world, what does a person do when you screw up that badly? You accept responsibility and consequences for your actions. But, again, where would my career be if Dorian did that? I’d be out of a job! She’s a serial repeat offender, psychologically.

This won’t be the first time you’ve had issue with Dorian.
I was never too happy about Dorian leaving Jessica by the side of the road, and not getting out of the car and getting her help. I can’t say I was too happy when Dorian joined whatever that religion was that David was espousing. My antenna and my GPS are heat-seeking when it comes to certain issues. I’m always concerned with what we’re sending into people’s homes. Every single time there is a situation on our show where there is violence against women or children, Robin is in big trouble being on the set! Some days I really have to meditate and pray before I go to work, and then I have to constantly be asking for [spiritual] help to get through the day. Even now just thinking about it, my heart’s starting to go faster.

So, this lesbian thing is all fakery? Dorian has no inclination that way whatsoever?
No. None. None. Nope. Don’t see it

Would it bother you if she was so inclined?
No! No! Hey, excuuuse meeee! Go on Facebook and you can see me kiss Lea Delaria [OLTL’s Delphina]. We did that 10 frickin’ years ago on the show. Oh, I was very dismissive of that claim from All My Children that they had daytime’s first girl-on-girl kiss. I could be wrong but I believe Lea and I beat them to the punch. Lea tells me that if I ever show up in Provincetown they’ll do a parade for me. That kiss was my idea, thank you very much. Lea came in as the psychic who claimed to be channeling Mel Hayes [Dorian’s late husband, played by Stephen Markle]. Dorian was so convinced the psychic was bringing Mel through that I said to the director, “Why doesn’t Dorian kiss her on the lips?” And so we did it that way. But in Dorian’s mind she was kissing Mel, not another woman.

But it does seem OLTL is blurring the lines this time. The role of Amelia is played by the same actress who played Angel Mel a while back. It’s yet another Mel substitute. And, word is, David gets very threatened by the Dorian-Amelia engagement to the point where he wants to end things with Dorian.
Now, who would have been my idea for casting, in terms of an image? It would be Rachel Maddow, who I think is fantastic. If k.d. lang 20 years ago had indeed had a deeper, smokier voice…I was so disappointed I thought she was so gorgeous looking, but then she had a soprano voice! I got puzzled. I was very confused.

You’re confused? I’ve lost total track of this conversation. What the hell are we talking about?
I thought you asked if I’d be upset if there had been a woman that they wanted me to be attracted to, so I was letting you know that Rachel Maddow’s androgynous but very attractive simplicity…well, I like that. [Laughs] Maybe that was more information than you wanted.

Hey, who doesn’t have a crush on Rachel Maddow! However questionable this new plot may be, I think it’s great that OLTL still finds new places to take Dorian after 30 years.
It’s surprising. Would you give me “surprising” instead of “questionable”? I want it clear I’m not using that word. [Long silence] Are you still there?

[Laughs] Yes, I’m still here. You are being so weird today. I’m not trying to trap you! You can call this plot whatever you like. I’m calling it “questionable.”
It’s not necessary that [the viewers] love Dorian or forgive her, but that they enjoy watching her. It’s not my job to make them forgive me.

You don’t want forgiveness when all is said and done?
Not as the actor, that’s not my job. If that were my intention I would be shortcutting the material. I would be hedging my bets. I’ve got to make very strong socially dangerous choices because that’s how my character lives. I’m not going to try to protect myself from a backlash against Dorian.

But isn’t your history with Dorian all about getting us back on her side? She’s done some pretty horrendous things over the years, and through your skill and that of the writers, she keeps coming back to a place where we like her and forgive her and can’t wait to see what ghastly thing she’ll do next. Why do you see this differently?
My intention is never to win them back. My intention is to play the story. I know I’m splitting hairs here, but one’s intention as an actor can never be to affect a result in your audience or else you’re a really bad actor. You are what the internet calls a “hair model.”

You’re so testy about this! I’m just saying it’ll be interesting to see how Dorian gets herself out of this one. You can steal someone’s man. You can leave someone stranded at the side of the road. But folks get touchy when you get into religion and politics, and Dorian’s done both. First she turned Buddhist to get what she wanted. Now this.
In the bigger context, how will the show get back after taking so evident a look inside an issue that troubles people a great deal? You can draw attention to breast cancer or any number of things, but this is one of the tricky ones. Like “Don’t ask, don’t tell.” If you’re going to open this up for discussion, where are you taking it and how does it impact the show? I just want to let you know that I don’t want to shoulder it all by myself. Do you have any suggestions?

I’m just here to ask the questions. But I do love that this is fresh and dicey and potentially alienating and something we’ve never seen before.
I always forgive Dorian, and I still love her. Unconditionally. And if you don’t, I swear the people at home can sense it—they can smell it through their TV screens! The other thing they can sense is your respect for the work. I swear that’s what’s kept me working in the job 30 years. They can pick it up right from the look in your eyes. And woe betide you, if you don’t have respect for what you’re doing and respect for the audience. They are onto you in a heartbeat and you…are…off the air! That’s the story.