Young & Restless’ OG Abby Has ‘Gone to Pot’ — Plus, Her Unfiltered Memories of Being SORAS’d Out of Her Role: ‘I Was Really Upset’

It’s always fun to catch up with former daytime stars to see what they’re up to now, and our latest Soaps.com chat certainly didn’t disappoint. Why? Because Darcy Rose Byrnes’ career has gone up in smoke. It’s not what you think though! The former Abby Newman on The Young and the Restless is hitting the boards in Hollywood right now in Reefer Madness, a satirical musical about a 1936 marijuana propaganda film — no, we aren’t in Genoa City anymore.

Byrnes gets to play the virtuous girlfriend, Mary Lane, who along with her wholesome boyfriend, Jimmy Harper, is led down the road to ruin after experimenting with the drug. The 25th-anniversary production, produced by Kristen Bell, Christian Campbell, and Alan Cumming, has been a huge success in Los Angeles with a current extension running through Aug. 18 at The Whitley. It’s been an experience Byrnes describes as “a dream” because she’s tackling the role that Bell originated in the New York City Off-Broadway production in 2001, and later the 2005 movie musical adaptation for Showtime.

“It’s just been a dream to know that the person who made it famous is so squarely in your corner. It’s quite a wonderful feeling that is hard to describe,” she says. This likely won’t be her last musical either. If you’ve caught her singing talents on Disney+’s Big Shot, you know Byrnes is a triple threat who’s ready to take her skills to Broadway where Glinda in Wicked is at the top of her list. “That Glinda role is an extremely difficult character acting-wise to make honest, true, and not a caricature — and yet also be cartoony and funny,” she explains. “I’m very much looking forward to sinking my teeth into it one day.”

We have no doubt that will happen because Byrnes cut her teeth in the acting world at the tender age of five when she landed her role on The Young and the Restless in 2003. Eric Braeden was sure to give her the full Victor Newman rundown on her very first day on set — it’s an experience she will never forget. “My first scene, he just ripped up the pages, ‘No, no, no.’ Threw them at [stage manager] Herbie [Weaver] and said, ‘Okay, Darcy Rose, you follow me,’” Byrnes recalls. Braeden showed her how to “be loose in a scene and just follow my scene partner” like the true pro that he is. She adds, “You know, he’s a wonderful scene partner and a wonderful person.. and I really learned from the best getting to work with him.”

Credit: ©Lisa Rose/jpistudios.com

Byrnes’ time in Genoa City would last for five years after her character faced the dreaded daytime storyline device, SORAS — soap opera rapid aging syndrome. She admits, “At the time I was really upset because it was the steady thing that I always went back to. I think I’m a very, very loyal person and so if that hadn’t happened, I probably would still be on the show.”

Still, she sees a silver lining Hayley Erin was brought on to rapidly age Abby to a teenager. “[The exit] gave me that opportunity to go and explore which is why I’m here now doing other things. But it’s a show that I’ve always pulled in my heart,” says Byrnes. She refuses to turn her back on daytime because of her fond memories on set with Braeden, Eileen Davidson, and Don Diamont. Byrnes reveals, “The door is never closed for me.”