This Saturday, May 30 at 12 noon, over 100 people in brightly-coloured orange wigs and vivid caftans will be storming city hall in Orangeville, Ontario. Demanding more polyester? Lobbying for a clown college? No, this will kick off the 2nd annual Roper Romp Orangeville.
Then its off to a local pub and food, foolishness and fundraising. It’s all thanks to super fan Sofie Weber, one of two guests on this episode of brioux.tv: the podcast. She tells me she has over 100 people set to dress up as Mrs Helen Roper, played by Audra Lindley in the late ’70s ABC sitcom The Ropers. This Three’s Company spinoff also starred Norman Fell as landlord Stanley Roper. Nearly a half century later, this two-season comedy has inspired people from across North America to bust out their caftans and clunky jewelry.
Joining us on this podcast is Stevie Louise Vallance, a Montreal-born, Emmy award-winning actress, director and voice artist with credits on everything from Knots Landing to Night Heat, ReBoot and Zoobilee Zoo. She played street urchin Jenny on Season Two of The Ropers and, now an Ontario resident, will be romping her way in person to Saturday’s Roper-palooza in Orangeville.
These Roper romps are everywhere, with over 400 “Helens” dressing up as Mrs. Roper last June in Red Deer, Alberta. Guess it helps to have “red” or “orange” in the name of your city.
To listen to this episode, simply click on the white arrow in the blue dot above. To see what Weber looks like in her wig and glasses and view photos of Vallance as Jenny on the series, watch this short YouTube teaser video. Look for the alert that it is posted, which will happen later in the day on Monday.
