TV Insider’s Daytime Performer of the Week: Lynn Herring Shines as Lucy Coe Is the Heartbeat of the ‘General Hospital’ Nurses Ball

The Doctor Is In

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The Nurses Ball on General Hospital has gone through many changes over the decades. However, there are a few parts of the HIV/AIDS fundraiser/talent show (within the show) that have remained constant. We’re talking about the humanity and energy that Lucy Coe, played by Lynn Herring, brings to the gala.

TV Insider is bestowing Daytime Performer of the Week honors on Herring for her role as Lucy, the heart and soul of the Nurses Ball.

It’d be easy to have Lucy make a few cursory opening remarks before the singing and dancing begin. But both GH and Herring’s Lucy make sure that the reason for the Nurses Ball isn’t glossed over despite the medical advances that have been made over the decades.

“I just want to share with you that I started the Nurses Ball 31 years ago, and it was to raise awareness and to raise funds in the fight against HIV and AIDS,” began Lucy, referring to the first Nurses Ball in 1994. “And it was just a teeny little idea I had and I thought it would be a one-time event, but it grew into this storied Port Charles institution, and I’m very, very proud, proud of that,” an emotional Lucy continued. “This is what we do, you know, we all get together as a community and we do it for the greater good.

“And I know some of you are probably thinking,” Herring’s character added, “We don’t have to do so much with AIDS and HIV, but we really do need to continue to fight the good fight, and so that’s what we’re doing right now.”

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Lucy’s speech was filled with genuine empathy. Herring has never forgotten the impact the ball made on her character. The Nurses Ball helped Port Charles citizens see that there was more to Lucy than her being a flighty social climber, who wed General Hospital doctors Tony Jones (Brad Maule) and Alan Quartermaine (Stuard Damon).

Lucy was forever changed by becoming emotionally involved in HIV/AIDS awareness. Herring, who has been invited to reprise Lucy in order to host this gala (and for other stories) since it was relaunched in 2013, never fails to remind viewers that HIV/AIDS is still a very important issue.

Herring brings emotional gravitas to Lucy’s passion for the gala while also making sure her character is a lively and inviting host. This year, the talented Herring took part in one of the show’s musical numbers, as Lucy danced to “These Boots Are Made for Walking” along with Felicia (Kristina Wagner), Anna (Finola Hughes), and Spinelli (Bradford Anderson).

Whether she’s rustling up Port Charles citizens to make sure they don’t forget where they are in the talent show’s lineup to keeping the show moving or making a lightning-fast costume change, Herring’s Lucy remains the glue and heartbeat of the Nurses Ball.

Disney / Christine Bartolucci

The gala wouldn’t be the same if there wasn’t a big emotional reveal. This year, it was a devasted Gio (Giovanni Mazza) announcing to attendees that his birth parents were Brook Lynn Quartermaine (Amanda Setton) and Dante Falconeri (Dominic Zamprogna).

“Okay, didn’t I tell you guys anything can happen at the Nurses Ball and it just did but never fear the show will go on,” said a surprised Lucy, as she figuratively tap danced in order to keep the party moving.

Herring’s Lucy worked with nearly the entire cast of characters who attended the Nurses Ball throughout the week. That roster included a llama named Sebastian (GH worked in a plug for Llama rescue organizations during the gala) and five adorable youngsters – Donna (Scarlett Spears), Wiley (Viron Weaver), Georgie (Lily Fisher), Scout (Cosette Abinante) and James (Gary James Fuller) – who closed out the talent show.

While there’s an old adage about actors never performing with animals or youngsters, not even the charming Sebastian or GH‘s next generation could remove focus from Herring’s dynamic and sentimental performance as lovable Lucy Coe.

The talent at the Nurses Ball has never wavered (as evidenced by Mazza’s show-stopping violin playing). But the reality is, in these economically challenging times, all TV is facing production budget cutbacks. There aren’t as many acts, attendees, or tables but, the heart and soul of the Nurses Ball – Herring’s Lucy – remains the same.

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