Phoenixville’s Mrs. Roper Romp was ridiculous, joyful, and filled with more than 1,000 Helens

I decided to go incognito to the second annual Mrs. Roper Romp in Phoenixville on Saturday, and by incognito I mean I dressed as Helen Roper, the landlady on Three’s Company, despite never having watched an entire episode of the 1970s sitcom.

Within minutes after I walked onto Bridge Street, two other Helens dressed in the exact same caftan as mine ran up to me screaming with unbridled glee and demanded a group hug and selfie. It was only later, when I looked at my own photo of the moment, that I realized they both had Jell-O shots in hand.

It was just the beginning of one of the most ridiculous and joyful events I’ve ever experienced. An estimated 1,500 women, men, and even a few dogs flooded the streets of the borough in curly red wigs, caftans, oversize glasses, and large jewelry — Mrs. Roper’s signature style — and greeted each other with “Hi, Helens!” and “You look fabulous!”

At least two dozen other people showed up as different Three’s Company characters, including Stanley Roper, Chrissy, Ralph Furley, and even a Janet.

Everyone was in a good mood, everyone was kind, and everyone wanted a photo with each other. There was a Mrs. Roper Romp bar crawl, a group picture, karaoke in the town square, and by the early evening, there was even a Mrs. Roper Romp conga line going too.

Megan Webb, 45, of Phoenixville, was the lone Janet I saw (she was one of the three roommates in Three’s Company, along with Jack and Chrissy). Webb came last year as Mrs. Roper but decided to switch it up this time around.

“It’s so nice in this day and age to walk down the street and have a reason to say ‘Hi, Helen!’ to strangers and connect and deepen our relationship with the community,” she said.

Husband and wife Braheem and Jennifer Washington of Paoli both attended as Helens last year, but this year Braheem came as Don Knotts’ character on the show, Ralph Furley, dressed in a sky-blue jumpsuit with white patent leather shoes, a gray wig, and an ascot. His perfectly-executed Don Knotts face, with lips puckered to one side and eyes wide, made him a hit with all the Helens who clamored for photos with him.

“It’s just so fun,” he said. “It’s nice to see people out reliving old, nostalgic times.”

Jennifer Washington said they came back this year because the atmosphere is warm and welcoming.

“Strangers are your best friends here. There’s no judgment, it’s fantastic,” she said.

Even those who had no idea what was going on with all the redheads in Phoenixville on Saturday were delighted by it. As I walked down the street, I was stopped by Erin Matthews, 22, and Konnor Gike, 23, who were watching the Penn State game at a bar when it was overrun by Helens.

“What’s going on here?” Matthews asked me. “It’s amazing!”

Once I explained, she said: “Where can I sign up for it next year?”

I also chatted with a tourist who was in town from Lichtenstein for a wedding and found himself swimming in a sea of Helens.

“This is crazy!” he said. “The bartender told me a redhead paid for my drink and I said ‘Which one?’”

I wasn’t sure I should fully immerse myself in the Roper Romp culture that’s quickly spread across the country, but I was convinced to go (in costume) by a local friend and by the event’s organizer, Jackie Hripto, who told me the main reason people said they went last year.

“They didn’t feel like they had to get dressed up and be fancy. They could be comfortable and goofy,” she said.

Comfy and goofy are two of my favorite things (which is probably why I don’t get invited to fancy balls like 6abc reporters). I’d never owned a caftan before, but now that I have one, I don’t want to wear anything else. Pants are just leg straitjackets now. Shirts are corsets. I’m ruined forever.

Mrs. Roper Romps started about a decade ago, when a group of people marched as Helen Ropers in a parade during Southern Decadence, New Orleans’ largest LGBTQ festival. Today, there are dozens, if not hundreds, of Mrs. Roper Romps held every year from coast-to-coast and abroad too.

At least five other Mrs. Roper events were scheduled for the same day as Phoenixville’s, including one in Rehoboth Beach, and 16 more are planned through the end of the year in the U.S., Canada, and Ireland, with names like “Helens at the Disco,” “Fall Caftan Crawl,” and “In My Caftan Era Cruise.”

Helen Roper, played by actress Audra Lindley, has become a beloved, if unlikely, icon 40 years after Three’s Company ended (the show ran from 1977 to 1984). Many say it’s because the character was a sassy, mature woman who was progressive for her time and in tune with her sexuality, long before Blanche Devereaux sauntered onto our TV screens in The Golden Girls.

“Helen was always raunchy, that was my favorite part about her, she was very fresh,” said Elizabeth Collazo of Exeter, who attended the Romp in costume.

Mrs. Roper often chided her husband, landlord Stanley Roper, for his small-minded and bigoted comments, and she was open about needing — and not getting — physical attention from him.

“She was iconic because she was very open to all types of people and would outwardly scold people who didn’t like gay people, or were acting mean towards women,” Hripto said. “She would constantly act like she was not getting enough love and attention from her husband and he’d roll his eyes and she’d say, ‘Oh Stanley!’”

Hripto, a project manager for Burkey Construction of Reading, was inspired to hold Phoenixville’s first Mrs. Roper Romp last year after seeing a meme online of one in California. She posted about hosting a Mrs. Roper Romp bar crawl in a local Facebook group, expecting 15 to 20 people to show up, but about 700 did (this is the town that builds a huge wooden phoenix every year, then sets it aflame during a giant party).

Her initial post was cross-posted to other Facebook groups and people from as far away as Long Island, Maryland, and Virginia got dressed up as Helens, got in their cars, and went to knock on Phoenixville’s door.

“I walked up to the police officers last year and thanked them. They said ‘If you could host this every week, we’d be so happy. Everyone has been so well-behaved,’” Hripto said. “All of the older people were in costumes and all the younger people were confused and didn’t want to act badly around people who could be their moms.”

Last year the event raised $4,000 for Better Days Ahead, which provides services for people experiencing homelessness in Philadelphia and its suburbs. This year, Hripto said she raised at least $5,300 for the charity (totals are still being finalized) from registration fees, donations, and sponsorships.

When I talked to Hripto after the Helens gathered for a group photo, she was visibly moved by the size of the crowd this year, which she estimated to be close to 1,500 people. Hripto said she’s not aware of another Mrs. Roper Romp in the country that’s so well-attended.

“I am overjoyed at the turnout today. I could not be happier with the amount of people that came out, the attitudes of everyone that is here, everyone that’s donated and is happy. It’s just a joyous occasion,” she said.

While the bar crawl was still a big part of the event this year, with many area establishments offering drink specials to those in costume and Lock 29 turning itself into an honorary Regal Beagle (the neighborhood bar in Three’s Company), Hripto heard from some people who requested daytime and nonalcoholic activities too.

So this year the event ran from 1 to 10 p.m. with vendors set up at the town’s center square at Bridge and Main Streets during the day. There, Mrs. Ropers were treated to live music, massages, and mini-Reiki sessions. A craft table was also set up for guests to make their own wooden bead necklaces.

At 7 p.m., the main square turned into an outdoor karaoke and dance lounge, with Helens doing conga lines and crooning hits like “You Shook Me All Night Long” and “It’s Raining Men” well into the night.

In preparing for the event, I watched several clips of Helen Roper interacting with her husband, Stanley, on Three’s Company. In most of the clips, I noticed Helen would get a zinger in at her husband’s expense, but he’d usually come back with a joke of his own at her expense, then break the fourth wall by looking into the camera and laughing before the scene cut out.

But after attending my first Mrs. Roper Romp, it’s clear to me that in the end, it’s Helen who has rightfully gotten the last laugh.

As one passerby noted, “I’ve seen the Naked Bike Ride, but I’ve never seen anything like this.”