When drag queens Darby Lynn Cartwright and Alexis P. Bevels take the stage at the Den Theatre on June 8 for “IMHO: The Show,” they won’t just be performing. They’ll be coming home.
The duo behind the beloved drag comedy series “IMHO (In My Homosexual Opinion)” is bringing their live show to Chicago for the first time since relocating to Los Angeles in 2022. And they’re treating the performance as both a homecoming and a proving ground for an eventual tour.
“We want to come to Chicago to test it all out,” Darby said. “Chicago is our drag hometown. So we want to go to a place where we know we will be supported no matter what we do — even if we go out and flop on our face.”
The hometown comfort comes with a dose of accountability, too, Darby said.
“The Chicago drag community is very supportive, and they want you to try whatever you want to try,” Darby said. “But they’re also very honest, and they’re quick to keep you honest.”
“IMHO” launched six years ago as a YouTube talk show in which the queens reviewed episodes of “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” but the show has grown into a tight-knit digital family for queer fans across the country. The queens’ Patreon boasts nearly 3,000 members.
The show’s signature style mixes irreverent humor, personal storytelling and silly inside jokes with viewers as Darby and Alexis offer candid commentary on everything from “Drag Race” episodes to real-life struggles.
The YouTube series primarily focuses on “Drag Race” recaps, but Darby and Alexis launched “IMHO: The Podcast” in January as a place for listeners to hear more about their lives and other non-”Drag Race” topics. So far, the podcast has had guests like viral drag performer Meatball, “Drag Race” star Naomi Smalls and comedian Vinny Thomas.
“I think the big draw for us is our friendship and the way we banter,” Alexis said. “But the deeper, underlying thing that’s super special about ‘IMHO’ is the heart.”
While “IMHO” now reaches fans far beyond Chicago, the show’s roots are firmly planted in the city’s drag scene. Both performers honed their skills here at bars like Roscoe’s, Hydrate and Sidetrack and came of age in Chicago, both as performers and people, Alexis said.
“I was there for 18 years, [Darby] was there for 13 years, and those were our young adult years when we were really growing up,” Alexis said. “We’ll always view it as our hometown.”
The June 8 show promises both nostalgia and novelty, Alexis said.
“It’s going to be some of the fan-favorite, classic bits that we do on our show, along with some new stuff,” Alexis said. “There will be singing, a little bit of dancing — and I mean very little bit of dancing — and some video components.”
The hosts also teased there will be special guests from the “IMHO” cinematic universe. Regulars on the show include Chan, a Chicago drag queen who starred on “IMHO” during its early years; Paula, their social media-savvy intern; and Grant, Darby’s twin brother and co-host of her other podcast, “Twinnuendo,” in which the siblings reconnect after years of living apart — Grant as a pastor and Darby as a drag queen.
“There will be plane rides taken by a couple of the guests,” Darby said. “We do have people flying in for our show.”
Darby and Alexis are especially excited to reunite with Chan, who still lives in Chicago.
“As much as Alexis and I do our own thing with ‘IMHO’ now, it always feels so special to get the gang back together,” Darby said. “Chan is like our little niece.”
As the “IMHO” crew prepares for the show, they’re also planning to soak up the city that raised them. Alexis said she’s eager to return to Pilsen’s Textile Discount Outlet, 2121 W. 21st St., where she used to buy fabric for her sewing creations (Alexis is also creating the outfits for the “IMHO” live show).
“I’m bringing an extra suitcase just to buy new patterns,” Alexis said. “I miss that store very much.”
Darby’s plans are less ambitious: She just wants to mourn the Uptown Target.
“Losing that specific Target feels like a death in the family,” Darby said. “But we just can’t go to Target anymore,” citing the boycott over the company quietly rolling back its diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.
Beneath the jokes is a deep sense of gratitude and a desire to honor the city that shaped them, Darby said.
“We want Chicago to know that even though we did leave, this city was such a huge part of ‘IMHO’s’ identity when we started,” Darby said. “It really helped lift us up to where we are now.”