Mrs. Roper Romp bar crawl ready to wig out in Wilton Manors on Saturday
Wilton Manors will host its first Mrs. Roper Romp, a costumed celebration of the ‘Three’s Company’ character that is open to anyone who wants to join in
Tina Ashley, right, creator of the South Florida chapter of Mrs. Roper Romp, with fellow fans during the themed bar crawl she hosted in Delray Beach in June. (Scott Luxor/Contributor)
You better watch out, Wilton Manors: Helen Roper is coming to town.
The wiggy series of costumed bar takeovers known as the Mrs. Roper Romp — a global phenomenon — will make its debut in Wilton Manors on Saturday, Dec. 7, a “holiday caftan crawl” along Wilton Drive that is open to anyone who wants to join in.
The tour will begin at LIT (2440 Wilton Drive) for 2 p.m. cocktails, then move on to Hunters Nightclub (2232-2238 Wilton Drive) before landing at Pub on the Drive (2271 Wilton Drive).
The only prerequisites: a friendly spirit, a colorful caftan and a wig, unless you are naturally endowed. There will be prizes for the most fabulous caftan.
This will be the fourth edition of these gatherings organized by the South Florida Chapter of Mrs. Roper Romp since the inaugural crawl that met at the Elbo Room in Fort Lauderdale in October 2023. Others have been held in downtown Delray Beach and in Lake Worth Beach.
Wilton Manors is a city seemingly born for these affectionate tributes to the acerbic, romantically frustrated and effortlessly fashionable landlady (played by Audra Lindley) on the 1970s-80s TV sitcom “Three’s Company.” Or maybe it’s the other way around: Roper Romps got started in 2013 in New Orleans as part of the LGBTQ celebration known as Southern Decadence.
Fans of the Queen of the Caftan—the one and only Mrs. Helen Roper of "Three's Company" fame—met up at Throw Social in Delray Beach on Saturday, June 8, 2024. The group had fun socializing, drinking and doing caftan crawls in downtown Delray. The bewigged Helens of the South Florida chapter of the Mrs. Roper Romp celebrated the patron saint of spousal frustration. The character was played by Audra Lindley in the TV series. (Scott Luxor/Contributor)
Tina Ashley, right, creator of the South Florida chapter of Mrs. Roper Romp, with fellow fans during the themed bar crawl she hosted in Delray Beach in June. (Scott Luxor/Contributor)
Fans of the Queen of the Caftan—the one and only Mrs. Helen Roper of "Three's Company" fame—met up at Throw Social in Delray Beach on Saturday, June 8, 2024. The group had fun socializing, drinking and doing caftan crawls in downtown Delray. The bewigged Helens of the South Florida chapter of the Mrs. Roper Romp celebrated the patron saint of spousal frustration. The character was played by Audra Lindley in the TV series. (Scott Luxor/Contributor)
The South Florida Chapter of Mrs. Roper Romp, fans of the beloved TV sitcom character, will gather in Wilton Manors on Saturday. (Scott Luxor/Contributor)
Jaana Hernandez and Marla Maier of West Palm Beach take part in the Mrs. Roper Romp at Throw Social in Delray Beach on Saturday, June 8, 2024. Fans of the Queen of the Caftan—the one and only Mrs. Helen Roper of "Three's Company" fame—met up to socialize, drink and for the caftan crawls in downtown Delray. The bewigged Helens of the South Florida chapter of the Mrs. Roper Romp celebrated the patron saint of spousal frustration. The character was played by Audra Lindley in the TV series. (Scott Luxor/Contributor)
Fans of the "Queen of the Caftan" — the sitcom character of Helen Roper from "Three's Company" — met up at Thrōw Social in Delray Beach on Saturday, June 8, 2024. (Scott Luxor/Contributor)
Fans of the Queen of the Caftan—the one and only Mrs. Helen Roper of "Three's Company" fame—met up at Throw Social in Delray Beach on Saturday, June 8, 2024. The group had fun socializing, drinking and doing caftan crawls in downtown Delray. The bewigged Helens of the South Florida chapter of the Mrs. Roper Romp celebrated the patron saint of spousal frustration. The character was played by Audra Lindley in the TV series. (Scott Luxor/Contributor)
Fans of the Queen of the Caftan—the one and only Mrs. Helen Roper of "Three's Company" fame—met up at Throw Social in Delray Beach on Saturday, June 8, 2024. The group had fun socializing, drinking and doing caftan crawls in downtown Delray. The bewigged Helens of the South Florida chapter of the Mrs. Roper Romp celebrated the patron saint of spousal frustration. The character was played by Audra Lindley in the TV series. (Scott Luxor/Contributor)
Fans of Mrs. Roper from "Three's Company" had fun socializing, drinking and doing caftan crawls in downtown Delray Beach. (Scott Luxor/Contributor)
Mark Mattson-Holley of Pompano Beach takes part in the Mrs. Roper Romp at Throw Social in Delray Beach on Saturday, June 8, 2024. Fans of the Queen of the Caftan—the one and only Mrs. Helen Roper of "Three's Company" fame—met up to socialize, drink and for the caftan crawls in downtown Delray. The bewigged Helens of the South Florida chapter of the Mrs. Roper Romp celebrated the patron saint of spousal frustration. The character was played by Audra Lindley in the TV series. (Scott Luxor/Contributor)
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Fans of the Queen of the Caftan—the one and only Mrs. Helen Roper of "Three's Company" fame—met up at Throw Social in Delray Beach on Saturday, June 8, 2024. The group had fun socializing, drinking and doing caftan crawls in downtown Delray. The bewigged Helens of the South Florida chapter of the Mrs. Roper Romp celebrated the patron saint of spousal frustration. The character was played by Audra Lindley in the TV series. (Scott Luxor/Contributor)
“Taking the Romp to Wilton Manors feels like we are paying homage to how this whole thing began,” says Tina Ashley, a Sunrise resident who runs the chapter’s Facebook group. “Wilton Manors is a fun-loving, progressive and open-minded community. There is always a great vibe around town, and they know how to celebrate in style.”
Ashley started the South Florida group in the summer of 2023 with three friends, and it now has more than 700 members, male and female. The national Mrs. Roper Romp Facebook group has more than 65,000 members.
Not everyone has access to a wig and a wild muumuu (Rompers hit thrift stores, with Amazon as an emergency backup), and less brave souls have attended as Mr. Roper (drab Sansabelt slacks and sweater, or a bathrobe). Ashley says the most important thing to bring is the right attitude.
“Helen Roper was sassy and stylish and had a live-and-let-live mindset,” she says. “She’s an icon for all of us. She represents someone who is a friend to all and that’s something that can bring people together.”
