Robert Newman Might Be Headed to Broadway Following His Exit From ‘The Young and the Restless’
After his exit from The Young and the Restless in July 2022, soap veteran Robert Newman sat down with Soap Opera Digest to discuss his future acting plans. While soap fans may not see Newman on their television screens for a while, they might still be able to see the actor perform. That is, if they’re willing to take a trip to Broadway.
Robert Newman makes his exit as Ashland Locke
Newman’s return to daytime television came in January 2022. The actor joined the CBS soap The Young and the Restless as the recast role of Ashland Locke. The character was previously played by Richard Burgi, who was fired by CBS in early 2022 for violating the production’s coronavirus (COVID-19) policy.
According to Fandom, Ashland Locke came to Genoa City in early 2021. At the time, he was married to a young woman named Tara. Together, Tara and Ashland had one young son, Harrison. However, after just a short time in the city, it was revealed that Tara had an affair a few years earlier with Kyle Abbott.
It was eventually revealed that Kyle was Harrison’s biological father, and Tara was sent to prison for embezzlement. Custody of Harrison was eventually awarded to Kyle and his new bride, Summer Newman.
After losing his wife and son, Ashland started a relationship with Victoria Newman. Despite the bad blood between Ashland and the Newman family, Victoria and Ashland decide to get married. After some short-lived wedded bliss, Victoria and Ashland started to fight about their company and business endeavors.
One night Victoria and Ashland got into a heated argument. When neither would back down, Ashland started to get physical with his wife. Victoria’s brother, Nick Newman, walked in on the scene, saw Ashland putting his hands on Victoria, and punched Ashland.
Upon the hit, Ashland stumbled back and hit his head on the fireplace hearth. Ashland died from the impact, and the Newmans discreetly removed Ashland’s body from the property. With Ashland’s death in July 2021, Robert Newman made his official departure from the show.
Is Robert Newman headed to Broadway?
While Newman was away from daytime television from 2009 to 2022, he was still working on his acting chops. According to Soap Opera Digest, while Newman was away from the soap world, he was working on Broadway, and he might be heading back now that his stint as Ashland Locke on Y&R is over.
Newman sat down with the Soap Opera Digest to answer a few questions about his future plans. When asked what’s next on the docket, Newman said, “I’m going to be doing Rock of Ages at the Barn Theatre in Michigan [in August 2022]. That’ll be fun.”
Newman went on to say, “Right now, I’m being considered for Wicked to play the Wizard for both Broadway and the national tour. That would certainly be a great get.”
Robert Newman has a long history with daytime television
Robert Newman has a long history with daytime television. The 64-year-old made his soap opera debut on the CBS soap Guiding Light in 1981. Newman portrayed the role of the bad boy character Josh Lewis from 1981 to 1984. He returned to Guiding Light as Josh Lewis in 1986 and stayed on the soap until 1991. In 1993, he made another return to the soap and stayed until the series finale in September 2009.
While on Guiding Light, Newman’s character Josh Lewis became one half of a popular “super couple,” with the other half being Reva Shayne, portrayed by Kim Zimmer.
Along with his work on Guiding Light, Newman also had short stints on the soap operas General Hospital and Santa Barbara. Newman portrayed the character of Prescott Harrell on GH in 1985 and the character of Kirk Cranston on Santa Barbara in 1986.
According to IMDb, Newman was nominated for four Soap Opera Digest Awards for his portrayal of Josh Lewis and two Daytime Emmy Awards in the category of Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. After staying away from Daytime Television since the ending of Guiding Light in 2009, Newman decided to return to the soap scene in 2022.
