Auntie Heroine talks with fans on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024, before a drag show and showing of the final episode of the season of “The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula” at The Office night club in Rockford. (Photo by Kevin Haas/Rock River Current)
By Helen Karakoudas
Special to the Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — Television viewers around the world this week saw Auntie Heroine, the drag persona of Rockfordian Stephen Ramberg, wow judges on the season finale of “The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula,” a reality series on AMC Networks’ Shudder service.
Auntie Heroine was a breakout favorite in the sixth season of the popular horror-themed series Ramberg describes as “America’s Next Top Model” meets “Fear Factor.” Out of 12 contestants at the start, Auntie finished in the top three. Last year, Ramberg had applied but not gotten a call-back. By the end of the finale that aired Monday night, where hosts praised the artistry in Auntie’s runway fashions as impeccable, the Dragula crown and $100,000 cash prize went to a performer from Portland, Oregon: Asia Consent.
“You don’t have to win to be a winner,” said Ken Germain, pushing back tears after the show. Germain was one of more than 125 people attending the Dragula watch party Tuesday night at The Office Niteclub and Show Lounge, 513 E. State St.
“Auntie! Auntie! Auntie!” the crowd chanted at times before, during and after watching the finale, which was displayed on two big screens at the downtown spot that’s the region’s only LGBTQ+ venue and the oldest gay bar in Illinois. Over the past half decade, Ramberg, 32, has built strong relationships with Auntie fans of all ages and with fellow drag performers.
“Stephen is very conscious of where they come from. Very kind and compassionate, truly a pillar of the community. The love you feel here for Auntie is very real,” said Germain, who with his husband, Brad MacCullum, a bartender at The Office, sponsored Dragula watch parties at The Office and helped cover Ramberg’s travel costs to Los Angeles for the filming. The couple were first among the near-dozen people Ramberg publicly thanked Tuesday night for wide-ranging support.
In a viral moment early in the season, Ramberg corrected an introduction of Auntie as being from Chicago, hometown of the three other contestants from Illinois. “Let’s make one thing clear: I’m not from Chicago, I’m from Rockford,” Ramberg said, tossing their hands in the air, as the chyron changed from CHICAGO, ILLINOIS to ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS. For the rest of the season, the chyron read AUNTIE HEROINE: ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS.
“Auntie knows exactly who she is. She has a voice that’s very defined. We actually don’t have a lot of people like that on Dragula,” Emmy-nominated hosts Dracmorda and Swanthula Boulet said to each other in the final episode of Season 666. Out of drag, Ramberg identifies as nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns. Their stage name is a play on anti-hero, bringing attention to people doing what they think is right even if society judges how they look.
“I’m very proud of what I brought to this show,” said Ramberg, whose frequent salty quips always circled back to gratitude for the culture they find at home. “Don’t call each other out. Build each other up. That is my message.”
In addressing the crowd Tuesday night, Auntie spent little time talking about fan-favorite looks like that of an artichoke for a reimagined Audrey II from “Little Shop of Horrors” and a jack-in-the- box in the episode on dolls. Instead, Auntie focused on appreciation for community support.
Auntie Heroine created a jack-in-the-box ensemble for an episode of “The Boulet Brothers Dragula” this season. (Photo by Scotty Kirby/Provided)
“Asia has the crown, but I have people who just do stuff for the love of me and for the love of what I do, and to watch me succeed and fly. I have that here in Rockford,” Ramberg said.
A web search of hometown watch parties for other contestants shows the biggest gathering of drag artists to support a finalist was the lineup at The Office on Tuesday night.
Taking the stage to celebrate Auntie were drag performers Carb-Ho Hydrate and Caspian Moone (who teamed up to impersonate the Boulet Brothers), La Mira, Elektra Infiniti-Foxx, Barbara Busch Light, Zallury Lazureii and Sharon ShakeAlike. Out of drag, fellow Office performer Adenah Killz congratulated Auntie saying, “You have shown us that no matter where you come from, we can achieve our dreams. You are truly a one-of-a-kind. … I speak for everyone when I say, win or lose, you are an icon and a star, and we are so proud of you.”
One fan in the front row, who travels with an oxygen tank, came from Dixon – for this watch party, all the others, and is a regular at Auntie’s 11 p.m. shows at The Office.
“Stephen is one of the best, most genuine people in the community,” Nancy Webster said. “I’m proud to be here for them.”
Sharon Sharealike, drag mother to Auntie Heroine, takes a tip on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024, during a drag show at The Office night club in downtown Rockford. (Photo by Kevin Haas/Rock River Current)
A few rows back, Katie Lohr of Loves Park had an Auntie tattoo at the base of her neck. “Now, I keep a piece of Auntie with me all the time,” said Lohr, explaining how she sought permission from a Dragula fan in the United Kingdom to take a line drawing of Auntie, which Ramberg had shared on social media, to a tattoo artist. “I took it to Delicious Ink,” Lohr said, referring to the shop at 2310 Charles St., where Ramberg had worked and where their own Auntie Heroine tattoo was done.
As other watch party attendees pulled out their phones to show off albums of selfies with Auntie, everyone attending the party was treated to handmade caramels provided by Sugar Britches, a candy shop 12 miles away in Rockton. A note with the accompanying coupon for truffles read, “Sugar Britches wants to thank you for your support of the LGBTQ+ community.”
“She definitely unifies our community,” said Brian Finn, one of four owners of The Office, which has been a gay bar since the late 1940s. “The show of support from our community was immense. You could feel the excitement and energy every time. Auntie is a treasure here in Rockford.”
Auntie Heroine emcees a drag show on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024, at The Office night club in downtown Rockford. (Photo by Kevin Haas/Rock River Current)
As love for their hometown continues to pop up on Auntie’s social media accounts, one follower
posted this Tuesday morning:
“I gotta say, I’ve never wanted to visit Rockford, Illinois so bad in my life.”
About | Auntie Heroine
Facebook: @Auntieheroinequeen
Instagram: @auntieheroine
Tik Tok: @auntieheroine
Auntie Heroine dons a “Little Shop of Horrors” inspired outfit for an episode of “The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula” on Shudder. (Photo by Scotty Kirby/Provided)
This article is by freelance journalist Helen Karakoudas. Email feedback tonews@rockrivercurrent.com.
