INTERVIEW: Elisa Donovan & David Lascher Dish on MELISSA & JOEY Guest Appearance

Last week I had the pleasure of attending a digital press call with tonight’s Melissa & Joey guest stars Elisa Donovan and David Lascher, who co-starred with Melissa Joan Hart on “Sabrina, the Teenage Witch”. It was a happy, on-screen reunion though they all had kept in touch over the years. Elisa and David discuss the episode and working with Melissa as adults, plus compare the dynamics of their characters as opposed to their ‘Sabrina’ characters.

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Moderator: How did you feel when you were approached about being a part of the show, and coming back to work with Melissa Joan Hart?

Elisa: I was just thrilled at the whole plan.  At first I didn’t know that David was going to be on the show, and then when I got the script, I just thought, this is just fantastic.  Because there’s obviously such a history between all of us, and to come back and all work together as adults was just fantastic.

We used to talk about very different things, and now we talk about our kids and what schools they’re going to go to. It’s just been a whole different experience, and it was wonderful.  David and I have worked together a ton.  The first show I ever did, the first sitcom I ever did was “Blossom”, and I don’t think we crossed paths on that, but David was clearly on it.  He was on it for far longer than I was.  But, we have a lot of crossover, David and I.

David: And then “Clueless” we did together. Melissa and I have kept in touch and our families are close, and Elisa and I always keep in touch through text.  When I got called to do the show, I was thrilled to be working with Melissa again, like old friends coming together.  And then I saw that the role was to play Joey’s bitter divorced friend, who has nothing nice to say about married life, and how great his single life is again, and he wants to go out partying and looking for girls.

When Elisa showed up it was just a great reunion.  It was so nice to work together again as grown-ups with a different perspective.

Moderator: Have you ever been approached to work on any other projects in the past together, as well?

Elisa: We haven’t, have we?  I don’t think so.

David: No, not since ‘Sabrina’, no.

Elisa: Right—I get everything sort of crossed in my mind, because I forget that Sabrina and Clueless were—I sort of forget which one came first.  I think Sabrina was the last time.

David: Yes.  They were both at Paramount, too, which makes it confusing.

Elisa: Right, exactly.  The stages were almost opposite each other, so it all does kind of mesh together.

David: It was one long decade.

Moderator: What are some of your fond memories of working with Melissa on Melissa and Joey and Sabrina?

Elisa: Melissa is just a very rare breed of person that has been in the business since she was so young, and yet she’s been able to maintain such a sense of normality and kindness and genuineness about her, and a great spirit.  But yet she’s a total pro.

I just enjoy working with her, and when we did Sabrina I felt more like her big sister, in a sense.  I kind of felt like I was looking out for her—I mean, which is absurd, because I’m not that much older than her.  But I felt sort of maternal towards her, and now we’re far more equals in terms of our families, and it just has been a really nice experience all around.

I’m not sure specifically what I would say, but that’s my general experience.  So, it’s always fun, and she really is—she’s funny and easy and a pro, you really can’t ask for much more than that.

David: I remember when we were on Sabrina, it was like a big family.  Melissa’s mom Paula was like—because my family’s back East—was like a mother to us.  And literally, her front door to her house was always open to me and my whole group of friends. I had friends that would go over there for game night when I wasn’t even there.

Everyone would just be coming and going, and Melissa was always having people over, and so were me and my wife, and it was like a big family.

Elisa: Yes, they always had Christmas parties.  It was very much like a big family, that’s really true.  Very inclusive, and Melissa always had these Christmas parties for the girls which, sadly, David was not invited to. The manicures and the massages and the music and wine.  It was just super fun, and you showed up in your pajamas.  It was really fun.

David: And now we go to CPK with the kids.

Moderator: Can you give a brief description of your upcoming roles on Melissa and Joey?

Elisa: I play a woman who David’s character and Joey meet in a bar. Joey is being the wing man for David’s character. Then I wind up being the museum curator at an event that Melissa has to attend and speak to me at, and she discovers that the two of us have been in contact, and then you’ll see what happens after that.

David: I play Charlie, who is Joey’s recently divorced friend, happily divorced friend, which was so much fun to play, because Joey’s in a committed relationship, and I am constantly talking about how great it is to be single again and find other women attractive again.

Moderator: Were there any funny behind-the-scenes moments while filming this episode of Melissa and Joey?

David: I had my 11-year-old daughter there who was running around backstage, eating the craft service and hanging out. That was kind of special for me.  And then just being with Joey and Melissa—you know, Joey and I did Blossom for so long, and Melissa from Sabrina, it was almost like having two friends from two different parts of your life in one situation.  It was just surreal, but really in a great way.

Elisa: Also, especially having Melissa directing, there was such a shorthand between us because we’ve worked together for so long that it just makes it extra fun, and extra special.

And a funny thing, I think, between the two of them—the two of them as people, Melissa and Joey, have both been in the business for so long, and it’s almost like they have this brother-sister kind of relationship in real life.  It’s sort of funny, because they’re both such professionals and have been doing this for so long, and it’s just fun to work with the two of them together.

Moderator: Elisa, how was it being more rivalries with Melissa, instead of her good friend, like on Sabrina?

Elisa: Well, it was a change.  Like I said, first of all, just to be playing adults was really nice.  And on Sabrina we were friends, but Morgan was a bit over the top. I would say she was a challenging person to be friends with.

So, in this case it was fun, because as you’ll see in the episode, when we do cross paths in this way, we have an understanding with each other.  It’s more that Joey’s the one that has to answer to the issues at hand.  So that was fun, to not have to be catty about it, but actually to turn it on him, because he’s the one who makes the mistake, really.

Moderator: What is it like filming in front of a live studio audience?

Elisa: Oh, it’s so much fun!  I adore it, I love it, because there is just an unmistakable energy that is in the room from the second that you walk on to set, and it just imbues you with so much energy.  I love it.  It’s like doing theater.

David: Yes, it’s really exciting.  The energy—it’s a little nerve-racking.  It’s a nervous energy, but it definitely keeps you awake and makes you bring your best A-game, and when you get a laugh from a live audience, there’s nothing like it.  It brings it to another level.  It’s exciting!

Moderator: How did your guest appearances on Melissa and Joey kind of get started?

Elisa: In my case, they called and asked if I was available to come and do an episode.  I live out of town, so when I work I go down to LA, [it’s usually] for periods of time.  But at that particular moment I was at home in San Francisco.

So, they called and asked if I was available and interested, and I said, of course, and that was that.  And then Melissa e-mailed me and I e-mailed her back, and we were like, “Yay, I’ll see you Wednesday!”

David: Yes, me too.  I just got a call saying, “Are you available to do the show?”  And they sent over a script, and my first feeling was like, “Oh, ABC Family, this will be a great kid’s show, my kids will love it.”  And then I read the script and I was like, “Wow, this is edgy!” There’s some edgy subject matters, and it was just really funny.

The scripts are so well written, and I was just thrilled to do it. Then I went back and did a couple more, and it’s just been fun.

Moderator: How did the cast welcome you all to the show?

Elisa: Oh, with huge open arms!  I was so excited, I felt like I’ve never had such a warm welcome from every direction, because not only did I know Melissa, Joey and David beforehand, and Paula (Melissa’s mom), obviously, there also were other crew members that had worked on Sabrina. David Kendall, who created the show, worked on Clueless, the series.  So he and I had known one another for years, and it was just like this continual, happy, hugging, laughing, wonderful environment.

It was a complete joy to me.  I mean, I’ve never had that experience before where everywhere I turned was like, “Hey, how are you?”  And then on the stage across the way, Donald Faison was shooting his show, and I just thought, this is just madness, this is just so much fun, everywhere I look.

David: Yes, there was a lot of hugs and a lot of laughs.

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Watch Elisa and David on Melissa & Joey, April 9th at 8/7c on ABC Family.