General Hospital‘s Emma (Braedyn Bruner) has every bit of her mother Robin’s (Kimberly McCullough) stubbornness and compassion, as well as her dad Patrick (Jason Thompson)’s drive. Meanwhile, violin virtuoso Gio (Giovanni Mazza) has the level-headedness of his bio dad Dante (Dominic Zamprogna) and the inner warmth of his birth mom Brook Lynn (Amanda Setton).

Together, these two characters are forming a modern-day legacy on GH, and Swooon got in the game with their new series Rising Supercouples, and they chatted with Bruner and Mazza about playing a young love story on the soap. That includes Gio and Emma’s recent jaunt to New York City.

Bruner recalled:

When we were in New York, actually, we got stopped seven times within an hour in Bryant Park alone.

At first, when the two were told they’d be doing an “Aladdin crossover,” they weren’t sure what that entailed. Bruner said:

I don’t think we knew what that meant initially. I didn’t understand that it was actually going to be a part of the show itself; I thought we would just be going to New York and doing… I don’t even know, promo of some sort? But then I found out that Emma and Gio are going to New York as part of the storyline. That was really, really exciting, ’cause we just don’t go on location a lot at all. I know GH used to go a lot, but it’s just a rare, rare thing, so that felt really special.

What did the two get up to in the Big Apple? They were filming and staying in Times Square; on their first day, which they had off, the two went to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and then saw the show Aladdin in person. Plus, they saw childhood pals.

Then Mazza revealed a rather controversial NYC bagel order. The first time they went to NYC, Mazza said:

I got Nutella cream cheese with regular cream cheese, and they said they wouldn’t do it, and then I got lettuce, onion, egg, bacon, turkey, ham, pickles, with the Nutella cream cheese.

Now, he goes a bit more classic with his order: bacon, egg, and turkey.

How was working with Michael James Scott, star of Aladdin on Broadway? Bruner said:

Michael James Scott is such a lovely person but has so much energy, which is so, so great. and obviously, he played the Genie for twelve-plus years on Broadway; he’s amazing, just so, so, so great. And I feel like he fit in so perfectly, like it didn’t feel like he didn’t work at General Hospital.

How did it feel to be selected to be in crossover episodes featuring a Broadway star? Mazza said:

It was an honor. I don’t take it lightly.  I appreciate the offer to have gone and do this awesome opportunity and be a part of this memorable moment in the show.

Watch the full interview here.

This story was originally published by Daytime Confidential on Apr 27, 2026, where it first appeared in the General Hospital section. Add Daytime Confidential as a Preferred Source by clicking here.