Lisa Ann Walter of Abbott Elementary Explains What She Loves Most About Philadelphia
And where she goes for the best roast pork sandwiches.
Lisa Ann Walter aka Melissa Schemmenti from Abbott Elementary / Photograph by Ben Cope
No, she’s not from Philadelphia. But if you watch Lisa Ann Walter play Melissa Schemmenti on Abbott Elementary, you’d never know that. In advance of her shows at Helium Comedy Club this weekend, Walter tells us about her BFF Alicia Vitarelli, why she’s so good at pretending to be from South Philly, and whether she’s actually the world’s biggest Eagles fan.
Right before doing this interview, I was … texting with Alicia Vitarelli. I told her I was about to do an interview with Philly Mag. She said, “With Victor?!” She got very excited. You have a fan.
I visit Philly … five times a year. They usually turn into eating tours, whether it’s John’s Roast Pork or Fiorella or Angelo’s or Wawa. Alicia brought me to Wawa and they let me make a hoagie. And I’ll be in Philly this month doing my stand-up show at Helium.
One unique thing about Philly is that … people will run up and say the most outrageous things. I was on a float during the last Thanksgiving Day parade, in the pouring rain, and this woman who had clearly been pregaming since 8 a.m. ran up and said, “Lemme tell ya somethin’: You’re the fuckin’ best!” I made her repeat it so that I could take a video. Then I sent the video to Quinta, and she responded, “Welcome to my town.”
To prepare to play a South Philly woman on Abbott Elementary … I did a lot of research. So much dialect work. Watched so many videos, talked to so many people. I am really into language and etymology.
If you ask me if Sheryl Lee Ralph is a diva … I will say yes. But only the best kind of diva. Her kids call me Aunt Lisa.
Lisa Ann Walter and Sheryl Lee Ralph on Abbott Elementary (Photo courtesy ABC)
Quinta is … the best boss I’ve ever had. And the nicest person. Really.
To all those Philly guys wondering if this gal is available, I will tell you … that I am absolutely single. Bring. It. On.
When I want to relax, I … play the New York Times games on my phone. I’m frickin’ awesome at Spelling Bee. I love Connections. And you can’t beat me at Letter Boxed. But one thing I can’t do: Sudoku. I have no clue. Words are my thing.
The chances of me ever moving to Philly are … pretty high. My Insta is constantly showing me photos of beautiful old houses there. The algorithm knows. My kids are in New York, but I definitely don’t want to live there.
One of my favorite episodes during the last season … was when we filmed in Philly at the Please Touch Museum. It turned out we had just enough money to go on a field trip. Money is always the challenge. We were going to go to the aquarium, but after the Super Bowl, the fans busted in and broke all the tanks. So we wound up going to the Please Touch Museum. We kept calling it the Please Touch Me Museum, and Quinta kept yelling at us. That’s not what it’s called!
I’m the world’s biggest Eagles fan on the show, but … growing up in D.C., you gotta be a Washington fan. But the last few decades haven’t made it easy. Then we get Carson Wentz from Philly and I’m like, ooh, this is going to be good. But then he started to play and I realized that the Eagles sent us a broken player. Now I would say that the Eagles and Washington are neck and neck in my book.
When people ask me if I’m actually from Philly … sometimes I think I should lie and say yes. It happens all the time. But then they are going to ask me what parish I grew up in. I’ll have to find a parish. But listen, my mother’s family is Sicilian, from Staten Island. It’s not that far off in terms of attitude from South Philly. I grew up learning all the Sicilian slang, the curses, the ways you bust someone’s chops. And I brought those things with the character to the writers, and they decided to let Lisa do her thing.
This summer, I hope to … throw out a first pitch for the Phillies. But the fans will literally throw batteries at me, and deservedly.
One thing I miss most about the East Coast is … the green. L.A. is brown. It’s a frickin’ desert. Everyone wants to hike here. It’s brown dirt. What the hell are you looking at?
If I had to sum Philly up in one word, I would say that it is … real. L.A. is full of fake-nice. In Philly, people actually say, “She’s one of us.” And that feels fucking real. I believe it. They’re not people that lie. They are the truth.
Published as “One of Us: Lisa Ann Walter” in the July 2025 issue of Philadelphia magazine.
