Shlepperellas headline Saturday fundraiser Shlepperellas headline Saturday fundraiser (May 28, 2004)

Event to raise money for MV schools

By Julie O'Shea

The Shlepperellas -- a zany 90-minute act featuring two of the Peninsula's most beloved "mothers gone mad" -- is hitting the stage to raise funds for the Mountain View Educational Foundation on Saturday.

The performance will start at 8 p.m. at the Mountain View High School Theater. Tickets are $25. Money raised will go toward programs and services for schools in the Mountain View-Whisman district.

Karen Schilling-Gould and Linda Merriweather met in an acting-improvisation class at Stanford five years ago. They played off each other so well that their teacher and several classmates suggested they go on the road with their act.

"I'm very shy, but Linda is funny -- all the time," Schilling-Gould of Palo Alto said.

Merriweather, who lives in Los Altos, countered: "Karen's very tall, and I'm very short; so the visual's funny."

Whatever the reason for their success, the fact remains that Schilling-Gould and Merriweather have a combustible sort of energy when they get together on stage. Simply put, these two moms are like two peas sharing the same pod or like Cheech and Chong.

Critics have been howling over them for years. And audience members have come close to losing their bladders during the two-woman show that highlights the trials and tribulations of parenthood in the Silicon Valley. The Shlepps hope their popularity will equal big bucks for the Saturday evening show.

"The budget cuts have really taken their toll on schools," Schilling-Gould said, noting that she and Merriweather make a point to do as many school and church fund-raising events a year as possible.

For more information about the show or to get tickets, visit www.shlepperellas.com or call 526-3500, ext. 1030.

E-mail Julie O'Shea at joshea@mv-voice.com

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