Orangeville, Ont., got even orange-ier Saturday as over three dozen Mrs Ropers romped intro town. The locals all dressed up as outrageous landlady Helen Roper, originally played in all her colourful glory by Audra Lindley.
The character was a favourite on Three’s Company (1977-84) and the short-lived ABC spinoff series, The Ropers (1979-80). John Ritter, Joyce DeWitt and Suzanne Somers starred in the sitcom about two single women living with a bachelor; Ritter’s character Jack pretended to be gay so as to not scandalize cranky Mr. Roper (Norman Fell).
The Orangeville homage was organized by Sofia Weber, who missed a chance to attend a similar event recently in Toronto and thought Orangeville — about an hour north of T.O. — could use a little more colour. Word quickly got out on Facebook that there was an Orangeville Chapter of Mrs Roper Romp. Weber saw a local romp as the perfect kickoff to Pride Week.
Local merchants quickly embraced the idea, says Weber. The retailer Styling Essentials brought in extra caftans. Other prizes were donated for the main afternoon gathering, with all Ropers eventually making their way to The Taphouse on Mill Street. Seventies music, sausage rolls and other goodies were a plenty.
“Ropers” of all heights, ages and genders took part; there was even a Chrissy or two and a Jack. One participant had a tip: you can actually source orange wigs and and other Mrs. Roper gear right off Amazon. Weber’s sister did not have to go that far to find her caftan; she borrowed one that belonged to her grandmother.
As of this posting stragglers can attend until 5 pm ET Saturday at the Taphouse. Prizes will be awarded for working the catwalk and smooching “Stanley” (a surogate Mr. Roper). Funds raised from the $20 fee at the door will go to local charities Celebrate Your Awesome as well as the Food Bank.
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Weber says similar gathering have been going on in the United States and Canada for a dozen years. One Mrs. Roper Romp in Pennsylvania recently drew 1100 participants. About 100 people took part in a Toronto gathering recently. That started out as a pub crawl, says Weber, “but they won’t do that again. You lose people.”
Weber hopes this will become an annual event in Orangeville.
