EELPOUT! Will Come to Chicago’s Shattered Globe Theatre
Performances run April 17-May 30, 2026.
Chicago's Shattered Globe Theatre will present 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.
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.
“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.”
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).
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.
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