She Called the Theater Her Church: Melissa Rivers Brings Joan Rivers to the Stage in New Play

Melissa Rivers and Tessa Auberjonois have something in common: They’re both children of famous parents. Rivers is the daughter of the beloved comedian Joan Rivers and her producer husband, Edgar Rosenberg. Auberjonois is the daughter of Tony-winning actor René Auberjonois and writer and producer Judith Auberjonois.

They are also united by personal grief. Rosenberg died by suicide in 1987 at 61; Rivers passed in 2014 at 81, following complications from a routine throat procedure. While Auberjonois’s mother is still living, her father died in 2019 at 79, choosing to end his life through California’s right-to-die law after lung cancer metastasized to his brain.

These deeply personal losses certainly inform their collaboration on Daniel Goldstein’s Joan, a theatrical portrait of Rivers that premiered at South Coast Repertory in 2024 and is now onstage at Barrington Stage Company through August 17. Melissa Rivers is deeply involved with the piece, not just watching Auberjonois play her mother eight times a week but giving the show the full rights to Joan’s vast and famous catalog of jokes.

Lest we get too maudlin, Joan is not a play about the death of an icon. It’s about a life—messy, outrageous, trailblazing—and told with all the peaks, valleys, and perpetual reinvention that defined one of comedy’s most indomitable voices. And it’s a responsibility that both Melissa and Tessa take extremely seriously

This conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity.

Melissa, why present your mother’s life as a stage play rather than something like a film or television series?
Melissa Rivers: This is a project that started pre-Covid. It was going to be more experimental than an actual play. The more we got into it, the more we realized that there was going to have to be some sort of storytelling element. It just kind of morphed into a play, and Danny was brought on to write a script. It has just evolved, little by little. I’m not saying it has been a total cakewalk, but the right things keep happening. I have a great relationship with Danny, and I have a great relationship with our director, David Ivers. We are all working towards the same end. I’m lucky to have partners that all want the same thing.

What is it like to watch Tessa play your mother? And Tessa, what is it like to know Melissa is watching you?
Tessa Auberjonois: It was a little bit scary the first time I read the play in front of Melissa. Before I even opened my mouth, she was like, “Do not do some cheesy Joan Rivers impersonation,” which I’m sure she gets a lot. She said, “It’s not a stereotypical New York accent. She was very educated, and she was classy.” That helped me. I also had a little epiphany of, “You’re off the hook, because it’s an impossible task,” so I just did what I always do, which is serve the play and honor the person and just do my work as an actor. That took the pressure off. I saw Melissa lean over to Danny and in my mind, she was like, “She’s good.”

Melissa: I think Tessa has done a fantastic, fantastic job. There were a couple of adjustments along the way, mostly vocal, and about the timing of how she spoke. You can watch it and study it, but I know it so well that I’m able to say, “This joke needs a longer beat; that one needs a shorter beat.” It was those kinds of little tweaks. But I’m very happy with Tessa’s interpretation and what she’s doing. She carries the show. And she’s funny. She hears the rhythm of funny.

Tessa: There are some sections that are pulled directly [from Rivers’s acts], and I go back and watch them and I’m like, “Oh, God, she’s doing it so much faster than I do it.” I’ve settled into my own with it. Part of it is that I am a comedic actress and I’ve done a lot of comedy, and Joan was a wonderful actor. When she delivers her comedy, she gives such a clear, dramatic point of view. She infuses the setups with an emotional acting choice. It helped to see that. And I was raised by René Auberjonois, who had fabulous comedic timing. I feel like it’s kind of in my blood.

Larry Amoroso, who was one of Joan’s joke writers, was a consultant on the play, as well. At one point, I think after the third time we did it in front of an audience, Larry came up to me and he was like, “You’re getting the timing.” I was like “Finally!”

You’re both children of famous parents. How does that color this experience for both of you?
Tessa: Melissa and I have never talked about this; I don’t even know if she knows who my father is, but because of my own father, who was obviously unique and kind of larger-than-life to me, I had a moment where I thought, like, “How?” Nobody could play my father. I can’t imagine asking someone to play my father and then being OK with it.

Melissa: The first time I saw the play on its feet, it was kind of odd. But I am one of those people who can compartmentalize. I’m able to look at it as a producer and creator. And that’s only because I also produced the red carpets and Fashion Police. The funny thing is, when we’re doing notes, I switch between saying “my mom” and “Joan” and “me” and “Melissa.” I still stumble on that. It’s weird for me to say “Joan.” I don’t think I’ll ever be able to totally separate it, but it’s not an emotional thing; it’s more of a creative thing. I’ve ended up saying “JR” and “MR.”

The production was able to use material from Joan’s vast archive of jokes. Why was that so important?
Melissa: Everybody had full access, and working with my team, Danny would pull a particular joke, and we could look at it and go, “There’s a better one.” It gives the audience permission to laugh at things we technically cannot say anymore. The special that we did that was on NBC and Peacock reaffirmed that feeling and allowed us to push that envelope further. We found out through the reaction that people still laughed; coming from her, it was fine.

What do you think Joan would think of the show?
Melissa: I think she’d be happy. She would enjoy it. She used to say that theater was the church. Getting onstage in a theater was church to her. But she would be annoyed that she wasn’t doing it herself!

A separate production of Joan, with a different cast and creative team, will run September 3-20 at the Cape Playhouse on Cape Cod.