Tag Archives: Eliana Pipes

Jul 15

Gold, Acrylic, Altar Work, Prayer, Selena & Janelle Monáe: “HOOPS”

Posted on by

Presented by Company One Theatre in partnership with Boston Playwrights’ Theatre and the City of Boston’s Office of Arts and Culture
By Eliana Pipes
Adapted from The HOOPS Project by Nicole Acosta 
Directed by Tonasia Jones
Dramaturgy by afrikah selah
Compositions by Brandie Blaze
Choreography by Jenny Oliver 
Featuring: Brandie Blaze, Elijah Brown, Albamarina Nahar, Tiffany Santiago, Kaili Y Turner, Karimah Williams, Beyonce Martinez (swing)

July 12 – August 10, 2024
The Strand Theatre
543 Columbia Road
Dorchester, MA

Approximate run time: 1 hour 30 minutes.
This production includes explicit language.

Critique by Kitty Drexel

DORCHESTER, Mass. — Hoops is adapted from The HOOPS Project by Nicole Acosta in 2019. It was created when Acosta asked fellow members of the art collective LUNA, “What do hoop earrings mean to you?” Their answers were accompanied by photos of the members wearing their own hoop earrings. 

Playwright Eliana Pipes adapted stories from The HOOPS Project for the stage. Company One presents HOOPS at the Strand Theatre in Dorchester through August 10. It has also played in Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York. Continue reading →

Oct 23

It Was the 90s: “Lorena: A Tabloid Epic”

Posted on by

Presented by Boston Playwrights’ Theatre 
By Eliana Pipes
Directed by Erica Terpening-Romeo
The digital program 

Boston Playwrights’ Theatre
949 Commonwealth Avenue
Boston, MA 02215
BPT on Facebook

Content advisory: Because it follows Lorena Bobbitt’s case, this play contains descriptions (not depictions) of sexual assault and domestic violence. A strobe light is also used in the performance.

Review by Kitty Drexel

BOSTON — Lorena: A Tabloid Epic by Eliana Pipes re-examines the public spectacle that was the 1993 Bobbitt trial. Lorena (Bobbitt) Gallo’s voice wasn’t heard then. It takes center stage now. 

The 90s were a mess. One of the biggest messes was the Bobbitt trial. Lorena Bobbitt was a young Ecuadorian immigrant woman living in Virginia who survived years of abuse from her husband. One night, after she was raped again, Bobbitt cut off her husband’s penis with a kitchen knife while he slept upstairs. The tabloids (talk shows, trashy magazines, new media, and other outlets) could only focus on what she did to John, not on her story.  Continue reading →