Chicago’s Shattered Globe Theatre presents the hilarious and surreal fantasia on Midwestern masculinity you’ve all been waiting for: the World Premiere of Eelpout! by Paul W. Kruse, directed by Jeremy Ohringer, April 17-May 30, 2026.
Meet Sven Svensen and Ole Olsen, best buds since kindergarten. When they gather to celebrate Ole’s wedding to Lena with an ice-fishing bachelor party, an unexpected confession begins to crack their plans wide open. As the beer flows and temperatures drop, Sven and Ole hook into deeper truths, along with a talking fish.
(from left) Dinah Berkeley as Lars, Jeff Rodriguez as Sven and Carl Hallberg as Ole in Shattered Globe's 35th season finale, the World Premiere of Eelpout!, a comedic fantasia about Midwest masculinity by Paul M. Kruse, directed by Jeremy Ohringer. Advance photo by Jeff Kurysz
Cast your rod and catch Eelpout!, both a bottom-feeding fish native to the upper Midwest AND Chicago’s must-see world premiere comedy this spring. Previews start April 17. Press opening is Thursday, April 23 at 7:30 p.m. Performances run through May 30 at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave. in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood. Tickets are $20-$60. For tickets and information, visit sgtheatre.org.
“I am grateful to direct at Shattered Globe for the first time with this world premiere that epitomizes why I love theater: it’s wild, wondrous, and makes me laugh until it hurts,” said director Jeremy Ohringer. “The play also interrogates the fragility of masculinity and invites us to ask, ‘what must we shed in order to live authentically?’ I cannot wait to share Paul’s incredible play! I bet audiences fall for it hook, line, and sinker.”
(from left) Carl Hallberg as Ole, Jeff Rodriguez as Sven, and Dinah Berkeley as Lars in Shattered Globe's 35th season finale, the World Premiere of Eelpout!, a comedic fantasia about Midwest masculinity by Paul M. Kruse, directed by Jeremy Ohringer. Advance photo by Jeff Kurysz
Shattered Globe Theatre’s cast for Eelpout! features SGT Ensemble Member Rebecca Jordan (she/her) as Holly with Jesús Barajas (he/they) as Eelpout, Dinah Berkeley (they/them) as Lars, Carl Hallberg (he/they) as Ole, Taigé Lauren (she/her) as Heidi, Lydia Moss (she/her) as Lena, and Jeff Rodriguez (she/her) as Sven.
The production team is Paul W. Kruse (playwright), Jeremy Ohringer (director), Eleanor Kahn (set), Delena Bradley (costume designer), Sierra Walker (lighting designer), Saskia Bakker (props designer), Christopher Kriz (original music and sound designer), Kristina Fluty (intimacy director), Benjamin Murphy (assistant director), Tina Jach (stage manager) and Alexa Berkowitz (production manager).
Shattered Globe's world premiere of Eelpout! by Paul W. Kruse (top, middle), directed by Jeremy Ohringer (top, right), features (bottom, from left) SGT Ensemble Member Rebecca Jordan as Holly with Jesús Barajas as Eelpout, Dinah Berkeley as Lars, Carl Hallberg as Ole, Taigé Lauren as Heidi, Lydia Moss as Lena and Jeff Rodriguez as Sven.
Ticket information for Eelpout!
The first preview of Eelpout! on Friday, April 17 at 7:30 p.m. is Pay-What-You-Can. Previews continue Saturday, April 18 at 7:30 p.m., Sunday, April 19 at 3 p.m., and Wednesday, April 22 at 7:30 p.m. Press opening is Thursday, April 23 at 7:30 p.m. Performances run through May 30: Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m., Sunday at 3 p.m. No show Friday, April 24. There’s an added 3 p.m. matinee on closing day, Saturday, May 30. Run time is 90 minutes with no intermission.
For tickets and information, visit sgtheatre.org, call the Theater Wit box office, (773) 975-8150, or purchase in person at Theater Wit. Take advantage of early-bird discounts. Otherwise, previews are $25. Performances are $20-$60 ($20 for students, veterans, active military, teachers, and under 30; $40 general admission; $60 for those who want to support accessible theater). For group discounts, email groupsales@shatteredglobe.org or call (773) 770-0333.
Visit SGTheatre.org for more show information, including photos and video clips, news of special events, accessible and waived ticket programs and show content warnings. For the latest updates, follow @shatteredglobe on Facebook and Instagram.
Access Services
Audio Description and a Touch Tour for patrons who are blind or have low vision will be offered on Friday, May 22. The Touch Tour begins at 6:15 p.m. Show at 7:30 p.m.
Shattered Globe will offer a captioned performance on Sunday, May 24 at 3 p.m. for patrons with hearing loss. Assisted Listening Devices are available for all performances.
Theater Wit is wheelchair accessible. All patrons with disability needs are invited to purchase $20 access tickets with the code “ACCESS20” at Theater Wit’s checkout page. Please email boxoffice@theaterwit.org to ensure the theater can reserve the right seat for your needs.
Eelpout!: Meet the playwright and director
Paul William Kruse (playwright, Eelpout!) often writes collaboratively, drawing from his years of experience as a videographer and documentarian, and has been commissioned twice by Montana Repertory Theatre (Hip Strip Hijinks, BINGO!). He is a 2023–2025 Jerome Fellow at the Playwrights’ Center in Minneapolis and a cohort member of Audible’s third Emerging Playwrights Fund. His audio play Once Removed was a selection at the 2022 Tribeca Festival. His plays have been produced by Adjusted Realists in Brooklyn; Quantum Theatre in Pittsburgh; the Vortex Theater in Austin; and in high schools around the U.S. He has developed work at The Ground Floor at Berkeley Rep, Yaddo, Lewis Center for the Arts at Princeton, and Middlebury College. He earned his MFA at UT Austin in 2020, where he was a fellow with the Michener Center for Writers. From 2012–2022, he was resident playwright with Pittsburgh’s Hatch Arts Collective, which he co-founded with Adil Mansoor and Nicole Shero. paulwkruse.com
Jeremy Ohringer (director, Eelpout!, he/him) is making his SGT directing debut. Chicago credits include Briefly Breathless (Steppenwolf LookOut), A Devil Comes to Town (Trap Door), Who Walked All Night (Rhino Fest), and Sad Songs for Bad People (Rough House Theater). At The Theater School at DePaul University (where he is also an Adjunct Professor) he directed The Moors, Monica, and Stupid F#@%ing Bird. He has also directed several performances at North Central College including Everybody Thrashing (co-creator, Ride the Cyclone, Tristan and Iseult, Constellations, and The Importance of Being Earnest.) He is a graduate of Skidmore College and holds an MFA in directing from Boston University. jeremyohringer.com
About Shattered Globe Theatre
Shattered Globe Theatre seeks to redefine what it means to be an ensemble theatre, discover new connections between story, artist and audience, and explore drama from bold, challenging perspectives.
Shattered Globe Theatre was born in a storefront space on Halsted Street in 1991. Since then, SGT has produced more than 80 plays, including nine American and world premieres, and garnered an impressive 53 Jeff Awards and 132 Jeff Award nominations, as well as the acclaim of critics and audiences alike. Guided by Producing Artistic Director Sandy Shinner, Shattered Globe’s values are rooted in a commitment to racial equity, respect for all artists and support for the ensemble, while creating new opportunities to amplify traditionally marginalized voices and collaborate in all aspects of its work. Through initiatives such as the Protégé Program, Shattered Globe creates a space which allows emerging artists to grow and share in the ensemble experience.
Shattered Globe Theatre’s Ensemble includes Judy Anderson, Louis Contey, David Dastmalchian, Demetra Dee, Joe Forbrich, Christina Gorman, Daria Harper, Tina M. Jach, Rebecca Jordan, Steve Kleinedler, Vivian Knouse, AmBer Montgomery, Tina Muñoz Pandya, Eileen Niccolai, Jazzma Pryor, Deanna Reed-Foster, Linda Reiter, Nate Santana, Drew Schad, Adam Schulmerich, Leslie Ann Sheppard, Sandy Shinner, Joe Sikora, Shelley Strasser, Devonte E. Washington, Sarah Jo White, Joseph Wiens and Brad Woodard.
SGT’s Artistic Associates include Daniela Colucci, Mikey Gray, Lawrence Grimm, Darren Jones, Christopher Kriz, Jason Lynch, Elizabeth Margolius, Kelsey Melvin, Tim Newell, Winter Olamina, Jane Nix, Aila Peck, Steve Peebles, David Antonio Reed, Jasmine Cheri Rush, Angie Shriner, Abbey Smith, Becca Smith, Michael Trudeau and Ayanna Wimberley.
SGT is supported in part by generous grants from the Shulman-Rochambeau Charitable Foundation, Brenda and James Grusecki, The Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, Carol P. Eastin, The Shubert Foundation, Judith and David Sensibar, the Illinois Arts Council, The Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation and Americans for the Arts.
Visit SGTheatre.org for subscriptions, tickets and information, and follow the company @shatteredglobe on Facebook and Instagram.