Features News
T.R.A.S.H. to put on a rare public show
del.icio.us
Digg
NewsVine
FarkFor 25 years, a small group of doctors’ wives has been administering its own brand of medical treatment — not with a medical license, but with poetic license.
These spouses believe that laughter cures what ails you and do their best to prove it with parody stage performances. They call themselves “T.R.A.S.H.,” which stands for “Truly Rational and Sane Humans (offstage),” and they have performed in 18 states and raised more than $125,000 for charity. The charities have all been health- and community-related causes and charities that include the American Cancer Society, Hurricane Katrina victims via the American Red Cross and National Guard units serving in Iraq. They have donated performances to Relay for Life as well as to communities affected by flooding in North Dakota.
T.R.A.S.H. has entertained for numerous other fundraising events that generally are not open to the public. In celebration of its 25th anniversary, the group will perform at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 7, and Friday, Feb. 8, at The Journey Museum. Everyone is invited to receive a dose of comedic therapy.
Group member and pianist Marylou Torrey of Rapid City, who has provided the musical accompaniment since 1990, said it is a rare treat to do a show that is open to the public.
“Basically, when we do a private show, it’s generally limited to who can see it,” she said. “So many people have said to me, ‘I’d love to see your show,’ but they can’t. This one is open to the public and will be sort of a first. … It’ll be a good time.”
Torrey said it is fun that keeps her coming back year after year. “It’s a great group to play for,” she said. “They are a delightful group of people to be around. I enjoy them. We just have a ball. We’re quite a tight group.”
While she is the one member who is not a doctor’s wife, she said she is a true believer in the group’s message — that laughter cures.
She noted that this show deals with adult topics and is not appropriate for children. She said they have a tamer version for audiences when they know children will be present, but this is not it.
The women perform well-known songs whose lyrics have been changed to address such topics as constipation, puberty, mammography and PMS, to name a few.
Torrey said Mollie O. Krafka of Rapid City, one of the two remaining original group members, writes all of the lyrics. “She does all of it. Sometimes she gets ideas from somebody else, but she’s just a fountain of words. She has an extremely fertile mind. She picks out the music that she wants, and then I have to make it fit. Sometimes we have to wiggle a word around a little bit, but it always works out,” she said.
Krafka said the group performs what its calls public service songs, “in that we directly encourage people to take care of their health and we also make editorial comments. Our mission is to help people find the funny stuff that inevitably goes along with the hard things in life,” she said.
“When we started putting together actual shows with themes, we had ‘Sentimental Gurney,’ which was about getting sick, going to the doctor, having surgery and getting better, and ‘As Time Goes By,’ which is about aging,” Krafka said. Their new show is called “Extreme Reality,” which is based on reality TV shows.
She said their messages relate to everybody, male or female. One of their songs is about hemorrhoids, which is set to the tune of Paul Simon’s “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover,” They also perform an edgy song about stressful incontinence set to the tune of “High Hopes.”
For the 25th anniversary show, they are inviting all of their alumni back and asking them if they would like to perform a song the group has written for them. “We’ll sing it with them, but it’s a chance to perform again. It’s a retrospective. We’ll have open mike so they can reminisce or tell stories about something that was funny to them,” she said.
Group members also are inviting all of the children of T.R.A.S.H. to sing a kids’ song and they will sing a love song to their husbands for supporting them, “willingly or not,” Krafka said.
The idea for T.R.A.S.H. began with a 1959 skit called “Is There a Doctor in The House,” and was briefly called Ellie and Her Girls, with Ellie Frost in the lead. The group had as many as 14 members in the past and presently has 10. They currently perform around 16 to 18 shows a year.
In addition to performing shows, members of T.R.A.S.H. also sell cookbooks. Their third book, called “Laughing All The Way – 25 Years of Edible T.R.A.S.H.” will be available for sale during their Journey performances. Money raised from their first two cookbooks was used to purchase sound equipment. “But now that we have our sound system, we hope to be able to benefit the charities from the sales,” Krafka said.
Since the mid-1990s, the group has been guided by the direction and advice of Eric Johnson, whom Krafka calls their musical guide and guru. Johnson, who now lives in New York, will be in town and will be their emcee during the two-night show.
“They come up with great ideas to raise social consciousness as well as medical consciousness,” Johnson said. “They are incredibly funny but also right on the money. It’s amazing the topics they will tackle.” He said that since they are dealing with things in medicine, nothing is sacred, which is part of the fun for him.
“Their absolute desire and devotion to do it keeps me going. I have watched them grow. Nothing makes me happier than when they get a standing ovation,” he said. “They are generous of heart, generous of spirit and generous of giving. They are kind of incredible human beings,” he said.
“I will have had a rotten week and then I go to a T.R.A.S.H. rehearsal and it makes my week,” Johnson said.
If you go
What: T.R.A.S.H. performance
When: 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 7, and Friday, Feb. 8
Where: The Journey Museum
Tickets cost $15 per person or $25 per couple, and all proceeds will go to Cornerstone Rescue Mission. Admission will include a sampling of treats from the group’s cookbook. The show deals with adult topics and is not appropriate for children.
In addition to performing shows, members of T.R.A.S.H. also sell cookbooks. Their third book, called “Laughing All The Way ” 25 Years of Edible T.R.A.S.H.” will be available during the group’s Journey performances. (Courtesy photo)
The opinions above are from readers of rapidcityjournal.com and in no way represent the views of the Rapid City Journal or Lee Enterprises.
Rapidcityjournal.com provides this community forum for readers to exchange ideas and opinions on the news of the day. Passionate views, pointed criticism and critical thinking are welcome. Name-calling, crude language and personal abuse are not welcome. Moderators will monitor comments with an eye toward maintaining a high level of civility in this forum. Our comment policy explains the rules of the road for registered commenters.
If you don't see your comment, perhaps...
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy