Arts

MoCo Native Lisa Ann Walter Returns to the Area With Two Shows in Bethesda This September

Montgomery County native and “Abbott Elementary” actress and comedienne Lisa Ann Walter has lined up seven stand-up shows all over North America from Sept. 1-16 this year, including two shows at Bethesda Theater on Sunday, September 17th (6pm and 8pm) with tickets going for $49.

Lisa Ann Walter is an actress, comedian and television producer, perhaps best known for her roles as Chessy in the romantic comedy film The Parent Trap and her current role as Melissa Schemmenti on the ABC mockumentary sitcom Abbott Elementary. She’s also a native of Montgomery County.

Walter was born in Silver Spring on August 3, 1963. She grew up in the area and was a 1979 graduate of Blair High School. She later graduated with a theater degree from Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, in 1983. Below you’ll see yearbook photos of Walter, sent in by her former teacher, Carole Chansky Goodman (who is also Blake High School’s first ever principal).

After five years working as a stand-up comic, she starred in her own sitcom on Fox, called My Wildest Dreams. The next year, in 1996, she starred in the ABC sitcom, Life’s Work, where she played the role of an assistant district attorney in Baltimore. Walter has also been in several films and had her own radio talk show in Los Angeles for three years.

Since 2021, Walter has appeared in the ABC comedy Abbott Elementary as second grade teacher Melissa Schemmenti. The character is described as “sketchy” by history teacher Jacob Hill (Chris Perfetti), and is from South Philadelphia and portrayed as having “questionable connections”. A video from a recent stand-up show can be seen below, followed by pictures from high school here in Montgomery County.

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