An eelpout is not a Minnesota expression of surprise but a nocturnal, eel-like creature, often the quarry of ice-fishers. Some people call them the “poor man’s lobster.”
In Paul W. Kruse’s play “Eelpout!,” they are also a kind of confessor.
A fluid meditation on male friendships and sexuality, “Eelpout!” is now in production from Chicago’s Shattered Globe Theatre. Therein, we meet Sven Svensen (Jeff Rodriguez) and Ole Olsen (Carl Hallberg), two longtime pals who like to pound their lures on the wintry bottoms of frozen northern lakes.
Their friendship is under stress because tomorrow is Ole’s bachelor party. What will that mean for a couple of buddies whose relationship might be more complex than either of them is ready to admit?
The answer is contained in Kruse’s fantastical farce, a play that also features a third wheel named Lars Larsen (Dinah Berkeley), not to mention Ole’s fiancé Lena (Lydia Moss), his sister Heidi (Taigé Lauren) and his mom Holly (Rebecca Jordan), the last two being mother-and-daughter sex workers of the frozen northlands. There are also numerous sparkly appearances from aquatic creatures — namely Eelpout (the fully committed Jesús Barajas), who knows and feels more than you might expect from a freshwater fishy.
There is an entirely Midwestern sub-genre, or niche, of rural ice-fishing plays, including “Guys on Ice,” which claims to be the world’s first ice-fishing musical. And, of course, there are other plays where underwater creatures function as metaphors of projection and transformation, the surreal “Big Fish” being one. “Eelpout” uses some of the same themes of male bonding and projection as it explores both the perils of masculinity and how friendship can cross over into previously uncharted territory.
Jeff Rodriguez and Jesús Barajas (center left and right) and cast in “Eelpout!” by Shattered Globe Theatre at Theater Wit. (Michael Brosilow)
I can’t say I felt the dramatic landscape was fully realized or credible, nor did I totally embrace the surreal metaphors cast upon the waters here, and the show doesn’t exactly pulse with dramatic tension or carefully crafted comedy. Nor does Jeremy Ohringer’s uneven production achieve a consistency of style (it’s overplayed at times for the space), although that is far from easy with this script. That said, there are some lively performances, some creative staging and design ideas (costumes are by Delena Bradley), and Kruse’s writing definitely has a poetic sensibility when it comes to themes of longing.
There are some sweet monologues (asking questions like “did you ever feel you were born wrong?” or musing on the fully comprehensible desire for “the deep, dark silence at the bottom of the lake”) that suggest to me that once Kruse has exorcised the play of the talking fish, he’ll have more to say about the human condition.
Chris Jones is a Tribune critic
cjones5@chicagotribune.com
Review: “Eelpout!” (2.5 stars)
When: Through May 30
Where: Shattered Globe Theatre at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave.
Running time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Tickets: $40-$60 at www.sgtheatre.org