The power of virtual reality. The surreal grip of social media.The icy depths of repressed desire.
Shattered Globe Theatre has announced its 35th anniversary season, introducing one World Premiere and two Midwest Premieres to Chicago audiences that find humor in unexpected places and offer a fresh lens on our ever-evolving world.
Shattered Globe’s 2025-26 season launches in October with the Midwest Premiere of Lindsey Ferrentino’s poignant comedy Ugly Lies the Bone, a darkly funny, heartfelt story of a veteran using virtual reality to piece her life back together, directed by Jonathan Berry. February brings social media, magic realism and moms and daughters to SGT’s season mix with Kirsten Greenidge’s Morning, Noon, and Night, directed by Shattered Globe Associate Artistic Director AmBer Montgomery, another Midwest Premiere. Next April, get set for the World Premiere of Eelpout!, Paul W. Kruse’s hilarious new fantasia on Midwest masculinity, directed by Jeremy Ohringer.
Shattered Globe’s 2025-26 season includes the Midwest Premieres of Ugly Lies the Bone by Lindsey Ferrentino and Morning News and Night by Kirsten Greenidge, and the World Premiere of Eelpout! by Paul W. Kruse. All three productions will be presented at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago.
In SGT's fall opener Ugly Lies the Bone, humor and heart combine for a powerful, funny story of how beauty endures beneath the surface. After three tours in Afghanistan, Jess has returned home to a changed world, and body. With biting dark humor and virtual reality therapy, she begins to rebuild her life one puzzle piece at a time, confronting scars both seen and unseen.
Coinciding with SGT’s Midwest premiere of Ugly Lies the Bone, Ferrentino will be making her Broadway debut with the book for Queen of Versailles, Stephen Schwartz’s new musical starring Kristin Chenoweth and F. Murray Abraham. Also of note: Ugly Lies the Bone marks the welcome return of director Jonathan Berry to Chicago. An ensemble member of Steep and Griffin theaters and former artistic producer at Steppenwolf, Berry is home after three years as artistic director of Penobscot Theatre in Maine.
Shattered Globe’s cast for Ugly Lies the Bone features Ensemble Member Christina Gorman as Jess, with Cyd Blakewell as Kacie, Christopher Acevedo as Stevie, Eddie Martinez as Kelvin, and Barbara Figgins as voice/Mom. Previews start October 3. Press opening is Thursday, October 9 at 7:30 p.m. Performances run through November 15.
In February, Shattered Globe presents the Midwest premiere of Morning, Noon, and Night, Obie Award-winning playwright Kirsten Greenidge’s stirring drama about how the “new normal” is actually pretty weird.
Because it’s hard, raising a teenager. For Mia and Dailyn, it’s not going smoothly. As they get ready for older sister Alex to come home, an unsettling visitor steps out of the algorithm, and their plans glitch into pure chaos. Amber Montgomery directs Greenidge’s mind-bending exploration of teens, family, surveillance, and connection in a post-pandemic world. Previews start February 13. Press opening is Thursday, February 19 at 7:30 p.m. Performances run through March 28.
Then, in April, Shattered Globe casts its third rod into Season 35 with the World Premiere of Eelpout! by Paul W. Kruse, directed by Jeremy Ohringer. Meet Sven Svensen and Ole Olsen, best buds since kindergarten. But all that changes on the morning of Ole’s ice-fishing bachelor party on a frozen lake in rural Minnesota. Could they be something more than friends? Or is Sven destined for something even more wild and strange? Kruse’s hilarious new fantasia on Midwestern masculinity invites us to consider the limits of Queerness. Dream ballet included. Previews start April 17. Press opening is Thursday, April 23 at 7:30 p.m. Performances run through May 30.
“Shattered Globe is on a roll, particularly as we’re coming off a highly successful season marked by the most Jeff Award nominations in company history, 14 in all, including best production, director, cast, ensemble, and design nominations,” said Shattered Globe Producing Director Artistic Director Sandy Shinner. “The entire ensemble is buzzing with anticipation as we encourage audiences to join us for a wild ride to three unexpected places, with three unexpected outcomes, during our 35th season.”
All three Shattered Globe productions will be presented at the company’s resident home, Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave. in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood.
Ticket information for Ugly Lies the Bone
The first preview of Ugly Lies the Bone on Friday, October 3 at 7:30 p.m. is Pay-What-You-Can. Previews continue Saturday, October 4 at 7:30 p.m., Sunday, October 5 at 3 p.m., and Wednesday, October 8 at 7:30 p.m. Press opening is Thursday, October 9 at 7:30 p.m. Performances run through November 15: Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m., Sunday at 3 p.m. No show Friday, October 10 or Thursday October 30. There’s an added 3 p.m. matinee on Saturday November 1, as well as closing day, Saturday, November 15.
Single tickets to Ugly Lies the Bone go on sale Friday, September 12 at SGTheatre.org, by calling the Theater Wit box office, (773) 975-8150, or purchasing 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.
Better yet, support Chicago’s live theater scene and save with a Shattered Globe 2025-26 Season Traveler Membership, ranging from $55 to $115, on sale now at sgtheatre.org/memberships.
Visit SGTheatre.org for more information, including photos and video clips, news of special events, accessible and waived ticket programs and show content warnings. Find and follow the company on social media @shatteredglobe on Facebook and Instagram.
Shattered Globe’s 2025-26 Season: Meet the artists
Lindsey Ferrentino (playwright, Ugly Lies the Bone) is a playwright whose work includes The Fear of 13 (Donmar Warehouse; Olivier Award nominations for Best New Play and Best Actor, starring Adrien Brody), The Queen of Versailles (Broadway; The Emerson Colonial Theatre), Ugly Lies the Bone (Roundabout Theatre Company; The National Theatre, UK; NYT Critic’s Pick), Amy and the Orphans (Roundabout Theatre Company), This Flat Earth (Playwrights Horizons), The Year to Come (La Jolla Playhouse), The Artist (Theatre Royal Plymouth). According to The New York Times, Ferrentino writes with, “a muscular empathy, which seeks to enter the minds of people for whom life is often a struggle of heroic proportions.” Whether writing about a female burn survivor or the first leading role for a person with Down syndrome, she has been called, “a brave playwright of dauntless conviction, whose unflinching portraits are hard to come by outside of journalism,” and she possesses, “a moral compass second to none among her generation of playwrights” (Variety). Ferrentino is also an accomplished screenwriter with various projects in development. Most recently announced, she is writing and directing a film adaptation of her celebrated play Amy and the Orphans (Aggregate Pictures), writing a project based on Hugh Hefner’s Playboy empire (Sony), and adapting Rebecca Yarros’ beloved novel In the Likely Event (Netflix). She is the recipient of the 2016 Kesselring Prize, a Laurents/Hatcher Citation of Excellence, the ASCAP Cole Porter Playwriting Prize, the Catalyst Award for Entertainment Industry Excellence, the Paul Newman Drama Award, the NYU Distinguished Young Alumna Award. BFA, NYU; MFA, Hunter; and the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale. lindseyferrentino.com
Jonathan Berry (director, Ugly Lies the Bone) is excited to be back in Chicago, after three years of serving as Artistic Director of The Penobscot Theatre Company in Bangor, Maine. He is a proud ensemble member of both Steep Theatre and Griffin Theatre and a former Artistic Producer at Steppenwolf Theatre Company. He directed the Steppenwolf productions of: Lindiwe, The Children, You Got Older, Constellations, and the SYA productions of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, The Crucible, and A Separate Peace. Steep Theatre Company: Paris, Red Rex, Earthquakes in London, Posh, The Life and Sort of Death of Eric Argyle, If There Is I Haven’t Found it Yet, The Knowledge, Festen, Moment, The Hollow Lands and The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui. At Griffin, productions include: The North American premiers of Simon Stephens Punk Rock (Jeff award Director, Lead Actor, and Ensemble) Port, and On the Shore of the Wide World, as well as The Harvest, Winterset, Pocatello, Balm in Gilead, Golden Boy, The Burnt Part Boys, Spring Awakening, Company, Picnic, Time and the Conways, Dead End, The Hostage and Journey’s End. He was the Assistant Director for Anna D Shapiro’s Broadway productions of Of Mice and Men and This is our Youth. Gift Theatre: Obliteration (second production) The world premiers of both Dirty and Suicide, Incorporated, as well as Othello. Goodman Theatre: The Solid Sand Below and The World of Extreme Happiness for their New Stages Festival. Other work includes: American Theatre Company: Kill Floor, American Blues: Little Shop of Horrors and Sideman; Redtwist: Look Back in Anger and Reverb, Chicago Dramatists: I am Going to Change the World, Jackalope Theatre: The Casuals, Strawdog: Conversations on a Homecoming, Remy Bumpo: The Marriage of Figaro, Theatre Mir: The Sea and Caucasian Chalk Circle, Lifeline Theater: The Piano Tuner (Afterdark award – Best Production) He pursued his MFA in directing from Northwestern University. He has taught acting, directing, and viewpoints at University of Michigan, Northwestern University, University of Chicago, Act One Studios, Columbia College and served as the director for the ensemble training program The School at Steppenwolf.
Kirsten Greenidge’s (playwright, Morning, Noon, and Night) work presents African American experiences on stage by examining the nexus of race, class, and gender. Greenidge is currently a Playwright in Residence at Company One Theatre in Boston, where she helps run the playwriting program, PlayLab. She is the author of Baltimore, a commission from the Big Ten Consortium at the University of Iowa, which toured to the National Black Theatre Conference; Bud Not Buddy, an adaptation of the children’s novel by Christopher Paul Curtis, with music by Terence Blanchard, which will be produced this winter at Metro Stage Company in St. Louis; The Luck of the Irish (Huntington Theatre Company; LTC3); and Milk Like Sugar (La Jolla Playhouse; Women’s Theatre Project; Playwright’s Horizons), which was nominated for a Lucille Lortel Award and received an Independent Reviewers of New England Award, San Diego Critics Award, and an OBIE Award. She is a 2016 winner of the Roe Green Award for new plays from Cleveland Playhouse for Little Row Boat; Or, Conjecture, a play about Sally Hemings, James Hemings, and Thomas Jefferson, commissioned by Yale Rep. Her play As Far As a Century’s Reach toured to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August, after being part of the Royal Exchange’s B!RTH Project. She is a proud author of Audacity, part of Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s EVERY 28 HOUR PLAYS, and she’s enjoyed development experiences at Family Residency at the Space at Ryder Farm, the Huntington’s Summer Play Festival, Cleveland Playhouse (as the 2016 Roe Green New Play Award recipient), The Goodman, Denver Center Theatre’s New Play Summit, Sundance, Bay Area Playwrights Festival, Sundance at Ucross, and the O’Neill. Greenidge is currently working on commissions from Company One, La Jolla Playhouse, OSF’s American Revolutions Project, The Goodman, and Playwrights Horizons. She is an alum of New Dramatists, and has proudly graced the Kilroys list of New Plays by women and women identified playwrights several years running. Her play Familiar, a winner of the Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival New Play Award, was presented by Harvard’s A.R.T. Institute this winter. She is an alum of Wesleyan University, and the Playwrights Workshop at the University of Iowa. She oversees the Playwriting Program at the School of Theatre at Boston University. kirstengreenidgeplaywright.com
AmBer Montgomery (director, Morning, Noon, and Night, she/her) is Associate Artistic Director of Shattered Globe Theatre. She is an emerging director, educator and multi-disciplinary artist from Detroit, Michigan. She has created a career centered around amplifying the voices of Chicago youth and creating work that stands on the legacy of black theater makers before her. Originally trained as an actor, her transition to directing in Chicago has including her associate and assistant directing credits for many major productions including School Girls or the African Mean Girls Play (Goodman Theatre), Sheepdog (Shattered Globe Theatre), LINDIWE (Steppenwolf Theatre), Too Heavy for Your Pocket (TimeLine Theatre), Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Writers Theatre), Measure for Measure (American Players Theater) and First Love is the Revolution (Steep Theatre). Her other director’s credits include: Snow Queen (The House Theater), Countess Dracula (Otherworld Theater) and hippolytos (Story Theater New Play Festival). She was awarded 2020 FAIR Assistantship at Oregon Shakespeare Festival, 2018 Fellowship at Steppenwolf Theater in their Department of Education/SYA and an internship at Penumbra Theater’s Summer Institute: Pedagogies for Social Change. She has attended training programs at the Globe Theater in London and LISPA (Now Arthaus Berlin). Montgomery holds a BFA in Acting from the University of Minnesota Guthrie Theater BFA Actor Training Program.
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 an official selection at the 2022 Tribeca Festival. Kruse’s plays have been produced by Adjusted Realists in Brooklyn, NY; Quantum Theatre in Pittsburgh, PA; the Vortex Theater in Austin, TX; and in high schools around the country. He has developed work at The Ground Floor at Berkeley Rep, Yaddo, the Lewis Center for the Arts at Princeton University, and Middlebury College. Kruse completed his MFA at UT Austin in 2020, where he was a fellow with the Michener Center for Writers. From 2012–2022, Kruse 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 a Chicago-based theater-maker and educator. He is an adjunct Professor of Theatre Studies at DePaul University as well as at North Central College. Directing credits include Raymondo (The Cartographers), Ride the Cyclone, Tristan and Iseult, Constellations, The Importance of Being Earnest, and A Devil Comes to Town (North Central College), Stupid F#@%ing Bird, Monica (DePaul University), Angels in America: Perestroika, Mother Courage and Her Children (Boston University), Who Walked All Night (Rhino Fest) Sad Songs For Bad People (Rough House Theater), Who Rowed Across Oceans (Edinburgh Fringe Festival), and Spring Awakening (Fearless Theatre). At Steppenwolf Theater Company, he is the Lead Facilitator of Professional Development as well as a Teaching Artist. He is also currently writing a play for the Cunningham Commission of Youth Theatre at DePaul University. 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 44 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 has 29 members: 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, Hailey Rakowiecki, 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 now number 20 including Daniela Colucci, Mikey Gray, Lawrence Grimm, Darren Jones, Christopher Kriz, Jason Lynch, Elizabeth Margolius, Kelsey Melvin, Tim Newell, Jane Nix, Aila Peck, Steve Peebles, David Antonio Reed, Jasmine Cheri Rush, Angie Shriner, Abbey Smith, Becca Smith, Michael Trudeau, Ayanna Wimberley and Austin Winter.
SGT is supported by generous grants from the Shulman- Rochambeau Charitable Foundation, Brenda and James Grusecki, The Bayless Family Foundation, the Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, Carol P. Eastin, The Shubert Foundation, Judith & David Sensibar, The Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Foundation and Barbara and Randy Thomas.
Visit SGTheatre.org for subscriptions, tickets and information, and follow the company @shatteredglobe on Facebook and Instagram.