"Hi Helen!" sing out a dozen Helen Ropers gathered at a bar called Sidetracks in Ypsilanti, Mich. They are mostly Gen X women, resplendent in colorful caftans, red curly wigs and clunky 1970s-style jewelry.
These Helens are among hundreds of costumed fans who have cheerfully invaded bars and social centers across the country in recent weeks. From West Seattle, Wash., to North Little Rock, Ar., from Front Royal, Va., to Topeka, Kan., these outings, better known as Mrs. Roper Romps, are organized nationally on social media. They honor a beloved minor character from the TV sitcom Three's Company that aired for eight seasons on ABC.
As indelibly embodied by actress Audra Lindley from 1977 to 1984, Helen Roper was a loopy landlady, forever interfering with her tenants, bickering with her husband and pursuing crafts such as macramé and flower arranging.
Mrs. Roper Romps began in 2013, initially as a parade in New Orleans at the LGBTQ celebration known as Southern Decadence. "New Orleans is where it occurred first and then San Diego," confirms Jen Lewis, one of the "founding Helens" of the Ypsilanti romp. "We just got together and made it happen here."
The Ypsilanti Helens say they're paying homage to a rare, unconventional older female character on television, who pre-dated The Golden Girls, but delivered similar verve and humor.
"She was comfortable. She was her own woman," says Renea Wright, appreciatively. She's wearing a pink and blue caftan that evokes the dawn of a tropical day, and big yellow earrings. She first saw short videos of Mrs. Roper Romps on TikTok.
"In the TikTok videos, I didn't see any African American Helens," she explains. "So I said to my cousins, we're just going to go out there and represent. I don't know if we'll be the only three melanin people there, but we're going to have fun."
One very tall Helen draped in a rainbow-colored caftan is Jason Ringholz. He says he's attended multiple Mrs. Roper Romps with his wife Kerri Pepperman, who also helped organize this local event. She says Helen Roper had the right idea, when it came to idiosyncratic, loose-fitting fashion.
"This is like pandemic attire," Pepperman says, smoothing her floor-length garment. "And now we have a license to be comfortable in our caftans in public. I think there might be a little post-pandemic retro thing going on right here."
The Ypsilanti Helens are particularly proud that their city boasts a bar called The Regal Beagle — named after the one in Three's Company where the main characters hang out. It's an obvious stop on this Mrs. Roper Romp. (Unlike the bar on television, the real-life Regal Beagle bills itself as "queer and anti-fascist," and also hosts Mrs. Roper drag contests.)
"We're a bunch of Helen goblins running around," announces Angel Vanas, a Helen who has eschewed a wig in favor of pink-colored, punk-rock hair. She embraces the character of Helen Roper, she says, as a role model for aging powerfully in uncertain times. "If we want to run around in caftans with the gaudiest jewelry we can find, with fantastically curly hair, guess what? We can do that. There's no rules now."
Somewhere, Mrs. Roper is smiling.
Audio and digital story edited by Jennifer Vanasco. Audio mixed by Chloee Weiner. Produced for the web by Beth Novey.
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