Editor’s note: This story discusses allegations of sexual abuse and domestic violence. If you need help, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673.
Fifteen college theater students gather around one actor who is sitting on a chair atop a movable platform, reciting lines of the play that her character, “the Playwright,” has written.
If you go
“Lorena: A Tabloid Epic”
🗓️ 7:30 p.m. Feb. 25-28; 2 p.m. March 1
📍 Lilly Hall Studio Theater, 4741 Clarendon Road E Drive
🎟️ Waitlist available
“She’s reductive, contrived, cliché,” The Chorus says.
“The court finds this writer — guilty!” The Judge says.
It’s a scene from “Lorena: A Tabloid Epic,” which runs from Feb. 25-March 1 at Butler University’s Lilly Hall Theater.
The play, by Los Angeles-based playwright Eliana Pipes, centers on the tumultuous marriage of Lorena and John Wayne Bobbitt.
On June 23, 1993, Lorena Gallo made headlines when she used a kitchen knife to slice off her then-husband’s penis while he was sleeping in bed. For decades, that part of the story became the subject of jokes and parodies around the world and overshadowed her claims that he raped her that night.
Lorena alleged that he’d also beaten and threatened to kill her during their six-year marriage, and that he’d threatened to have her deported to her home country of Ecuador.
The play exists as a metadrama with elements of satire and Greek tragedy. Under the direction of assistant theater professor Andrés López, the cast of early twentysomethings try to make sense of one of the most polarizing stories of the 1990s.
Tabloid culture at the time was a toxic, high-profit industry, where paparazzi, print magazines and newspapers relentlessly pursued entertainment and scandal in the personal lives of female celebrities.
In the 90-minute production, you’ll find a few cameos from other notable women — Monica Lewinsky, Tonya Harding and Amy Fisher — who were affected by the tabloid culture of the decade.
Indianapolis native Kaya Howell plays the main character, Playwright, who is tasked with writing a play based on Lorena’s story. The 21-year-old said she didn’t know the other details of the story and learned more through a research packet put together by their dramaturg.
“Knowing that there was alleged abuse involved, that changes my perspective on things now,” Howell said. “And just to think about the amount of women who don’t come forward with their stories.”
Throughout the play, her character fights for control over the “real” story of Lorena Bobbitt.
“She’s kind of doing the opposite of what she’s intending to do. She wants to protect Lorena and in doing that, she takes control of Lorena,” Howell said.
Lorena’s character is played by Izel Valdiosera, a junior acting student. She described her character as sort of frozen in time, unaware of how her story ends after the 1994 trial. So she begins this quest to find out what happened through dialogue with the Playwright.
Valdiosera told Mirror Indy she previously did not know about the story of Lorena and John Wayne Bobbitt. The couple lived in Manassas, Virginia, and they both stood trial in 1993 and 1994 in the state. John was acquitted of marital sexual assault and Lorena was found not guilty by reason of insanity.
Valdiosera prepared for the role by doing a character study, which included watching the “Lorena” docuseries released in 2019. Valdiosera, who is Mexican-American, said she was able to reflect on the role that race and cultural heritage have played in the story of Lorena Bobbitt — and in her own identity.
“She was in it at such a young age. She got married to John when she was 20, and I’m 20 so it’s just a striking difference from my experience,” Valdiosera said. “It was really astonishing to hear about all of the backlash she got, but then also how much of the Latino community came out to support her. They would carpool to the trial to stand outside and hold up signs. It’s another part of my community’s history.”
This is only the second time “Lorena: A Tabloid Epic” has been performed. The first production premiered at Boston University in 2021, so the students said there’s a bit more nerves on top of the regular opening-day jitters.
But both Howell and Valdiosera said they believe audiences are in for a “mind trip.”
“’Oh my goodness — metatheatre,” Valdiosera said. “You’re laughing, you’re shocked, you’re scared and then you just have to think.”
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Mirror Indy reporter Mesgana Waiss covers arts and culture. Contact her at 317-667-2643 or mesgana.waiss@mirrorindy.org.
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