Hinsdale Parody Of Program 'Disgusting': Advocate

HINSDALE, IL — In the days when people could meet in large groups, local actors put on a comedy called "Hinsdopoly" with the stated intent of making fun of the village's headlines. But one target was displeased.

According to an advertisement, "Hinsdopoly" was a "good-natured" perspective full of "hilarious antics and affectionate mockery of all things Hinsdale." The play promised to "walk up to the edge of appropriate humor and sometimes, jump right by it." The performances were in late February at the Community House, with the proceeds helping the nonprofit Community House.

Michael Owens, executive director of Trinity Sober Living in Hinsdale, said he believes "Hinsdopoly" went too far. In an email to the Community House last week, Owens said he was saddened and disappointed that the musical mocked Trinity, which houses a group of men who are recovering from addictions.

Owens said he did not see the performance, but a number of people that saw Hinsdopoly told him they were shocked that Trinity would even be mentioned in a satirical play.

"It turns out that Trinity Sober Living was prominently featured as one of the Monopoly board squares (upper-left corner square between Free Parking and the ? square)," Owens said. "However, it didn’t end there. Apparently, a woman who appeared to be drunk and an alcoholic mockingly represented Trinity Sober Living during the performances."

Owens, a recovering alcoholic, said he and others at Sober Living enjoy self-deprecating humor, adding that laughter is an important part of recovery.

"However, the parody of our sober house and its residents is wrong and disgusting. These adult men live at Trinity Sober Living because they choose to be there to get healthy," Owens said. "They live at the sober house because their life and their families have been destroyed in many cases."

Owens called the Community House as a "wonderful group." It offers a number of services, including psychotherapy, fitness, education and theater.

A story in the Hinsdalean said, "Anything and everyone is potential fodder for the script." The play's director, Dave Heilmann, told the newspaper, "We've made fun of almost everybody. No one is out of reach." Tickets cost $125 and alcohol was for sale at the event.

Heilmann and Susan O'Byrne, who helped produce the play, did not return messages for comment.

Last August, Trinity opened in a large house at 111 N. Grant St. The village government has tried to put it out of business, saying it violated the single-family zoning rule requiring that no more than three unrelated people can live in a house. It also alleged Trinity was a commercial operation. In DuPage County Court, Trinity prevailed over Hinsdale, with a judge recently ruling that up to nine people can live in the house.

Trinity has sued the village in federal court, alleging its actions have violated the federal Fair Housing and Americans With Disabilities acts. That litigation apparently got the attention of the U.S. Department of Justice's civil rights division, which is now investigating the village for possible violations of the Fair Housing Act.