The Truckee Follies are at it again.
Every two years this indiscriminate tribe of screwball natives get together to put on a show for the ages. In the process, they poke fun at every fresh target in Truckee-Tahoe, hoping to persuade locals to have a good time, hang out with friends, get weird and laugh it all off the morning after.
“I always brag how lucky we are to live in a community that allows us to poke fun at each other and still remain friends and have beers later.”– Mitch Clarin
The Follies are a fundraiser for the Truckee Downtown Merchants Association, which works to beautify, preserve and promote the historic corridor along Donner Pass Road and West River Street. The troupe started meeting in October to work on the program for this year’s raucous revelry.
“The script was written by at least a dozen people meeting in my living room,” says producer Mitch Clarin. “Now that’s fun, but not nearly as much fun as the show.”
The real estate broker and general contractor living on South River Street used to own Blue Sky Home Center in Brickelltown. Now he runs his business from home and produces the Truckee Follies biennially.
While The Follies cast totals close to 40, nearly 150 locals will be a part of the show as writers, actors, props, backstage personnel, waiters, waitresses and bartenders.
“They don’t necessarily have to be connected with the downtown,” says Clarin. “They are business owners, realtors, workers, artists and a broad swath of random local Truckee people from the area.”
Marty’s Café will provide the food and The Tourist Club will be on site to bartend.
Although tickets are predicted to sell out, the total capacity is “whatever the Truckee Fire Department allows,” the producer reports.
In past years, The Follies have raised between $40,000 and $60,000 during its wild, three-night stands.
“I always brag how lucky we are to live in a community that allows us to poke fun at each other and still remain friends and have beers later,” says Clarin. “Anybody’s open game. Some people are insulted if they are not picked on. I like to think I live in a town that I love and the jokes come with it.”
This year’s theme is a take-off on the Chamber of Commerce’s new motto: Base Camp for a Big Life. Instead, it’s Truckee Follies: Base Camp for a High Life.
The unadulterated variety show loosely based on “Saturday Night Live” is being directed by madcap couple Aimee and Kane Schaller for the fourth time.
“It’s nice to keep the pulse on the community through a totally different aspect of tongue-in-cheek humor,” says Aimee.
She gave a sneak preview of just a few of the many inside matters that will be roasted during the performances where locals craft a wacky twist on both national and local news.
One skit will ponder what would happen if President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania came to Truckee for the weekend.
Another asks what if the Truckee Chamber was not just handing out maps and info, but also handing out something else — given the recent passage of legalized cannabis. Same goes for Tahoe Forest Pharmacy.
“What if they were just handing out more than ibuprofen and baby wipes?” asks the director.
Other skits tackle surviving non-locals in a roundabout and a famous Truckee local will play Donald Trump.
“We really focused on a good writing team from the beginning,” says Schaller. “We wanted really good local Truckee content. In the past we’ve Truckee-ized SNL content. This time it’s almost 100 percent, all-pure, original content.”
Although The Follies have a reputation for harebrained backstage antics and a genuinely raunchy script, they may or may not have cleaned up their act in the past couple years.
“We mind our Ps and Qs a little more and try to avoid foul language,” says Schaller. “It’s a little more tongue in cheek, a little bit more behaved. In the past there’s been rumors of babies made and marriages ended at The Follies. People cut loose. We come together as a community to laugh at ourselves and it is really awesome we can do that.”
April 26-28 | 7 p.m.
Community Arts Center | Truckee
For more information, visit facebook.com/truckeefollies. Tickets are available at Cabona’s.
