Displaying items by tag: Carl Hallberg

Shattered Globe’s world premiere of the delightful comedy “Eelpout!” delivers its punches with deceivingly understated skillfulness. Written by Paul W. Kruse, who calls it a fantasia, it is beautifully conceived and directed for the stage at Theater Wit by Jeremy Ohringer, whose “A Devil Comes To Town” at Trap Door has made me a big fan of his stage work.

“Eelpout!” examines the less frequently visited territory of the emotional relationship between two men in this tale of a stag party set in an ice fishing hut in Minnesota. We meet Ole Olsen (Carl Hallberg is terrific)—soon to marry Lena (Lydia Moss’s brief appearance is a knockout)—as he and his best buddy Sven Svensen (Jeff Rodriguez in a nuanced performance) trek across the frozen water in the pre-dawn darkness aiming to fish and drink.

Gradually we gather that Ole is more vested in the manly pursuits like ice fishing, while Sven is a more sensitive reflective soul. Their overlap, the safe area in which male intimacy is expressed, is in spectator sports, and chugging booze. Ritualistic beer and shots action is called upon whenever the conversation veers toward honest male intimacy. Likewise for a terse memetic conversation, almost totemic in its value and repeated throughout the play by multiple characters, runs like this:

You catch that game yesterday?
Nail biter.
Sure was.
Down to the buzzer.

These devices substitute for emotional connection, or defer it, for the men.

As the play opens on icy Lake Mille Lac (a real place), Sven pauses to take in the magnificent starry night and beckons Ole to join him and drink in the beauty. The language they have to express their feelings is terse, constrained by male convention, and even more so by their monosyllabic vernacular, which the playwright wields with amazing versatility. (There is a plethora of unusual nouns that I had to Google, only to find that they are real words, at least in Minnesota.)

SVEN: Ole. Just look!
OLE: Oh
SVEN: Worth it.
OLE: How about that.
SVEN: Prettiest right before the sun comes up.
Ole: Yessir

Sven tells Ole, “You ever think about how looking at the milky way is looking sideways through a pancake of stars?” Perhaps touched by the moment, Ole is moved to share a confidence with Sven: that he and Lena will name their first born after him. Now Ole is disappointed that Sven is less than enthusiastic. "You're supposed to be happy,” complains Ole. Sven deflects. “I wanna fish,” But their true feelings spill out in the course of the play, when Sven predicts to Ole that after he is married to Lena, their friendship will suffer and their offspring will take centerstage.

This conversation comes soon after Sven has an accidental dunk into a frigid spear fishing hole during the starlit walk. There he meets the magical Eelpout (Jesús Barajas is absolutely enchanting), a sentient fish in glistening red sequined body stocking. Eelpout engages Sven, nibbling at him in magical fish-like exploration. Barajas is so good in his role, both fishlike, and an alien personality almost from another dimension. It’s a remarkable performance, so good that even one of his stylish exits earned applause!

I suspect the playwright has given us an altogether new personality type - vaguely, a bit Sheldon Cooper-ish from Big Bang theory, maybe Jake Gyllenhaal in "Buzz Saw," with that dash of a very restrained yet overtly gay sensibility. Eelpout as a type seems a rare but familiar character in real life, but I don’t think I’ve seen it on a stage or film.

A third-wheel character arrives in the shape of Lars (Dina Berkeley) with gender bending affect - just one of the guys, but there’s just something you can’t put your finger on. Lars is a well-intentioned dolt and a schmuck, and also affords the playwright an opportunity to caricature the ungainly social behavior of the male suffering deep-seated insecurity and feelings of inadequacy.

In addition to the fantasia style of this play, conjuring visions of great bodies of swirling, writhing, spawning aggregations of fish, the playwright also incorporates classically funny physical comedy and comedy of errors skits: Ole and Sven in skivvies under a blanket, warding off hypothermia and trying unsuccessfully not to get hard; a mistaken identity in which not one, but two stag party strippers (Taigé Lauren as Heidi and Rebecca Jordan as Holly) appear in the ice hut to shock and humorous surprise. It’s a lot of fun.

Particularly notable are the production values, which use very little to great effect. Kudos to Delena Bradley (costume designer), Sierra Walker (lighting designer), Saskia Bakker (props designer), and particularly Eleanor Kahn (set) for the ice house and platform.

All’s well that ends well in a play like this. “Eelpout!” is a precise evocation of the many styles and languages of the varieties of love that dare not speak their name, or perhaps, may not even have a name. Highly recommended, Shattered Globe’s “Eelpout!” runs through May 30, 2026 at Theater Wit in Chicago.

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.

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. 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.”

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).

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. 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 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 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 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to ensure the theater can reserve the right seat for your needs.