Company One Theatre’s production of ‘Hoops’ by Eliana Pipes opened last Friday (July 12) at the Strand Theatre in Dorchester’s Uphams Corner.

The show, which celebrates the cultural significance of hoop earrings, is based on The Hoops Project by Nicole Acosta and real-life interviews amplifying self-expression in Black, Latinx and Indigenous cultures. Tickets offered with a "pay-as-you-want" option available.

This will be Company One’s third and final production in their 25th season. The production features diverse talent including Boston Music Awards nominee Brandie Blaze.

“We see a lot of people who have systemically been made to feel like they are not welcome in theatrical spaces,” said Riley Greenstein, marketing and communications manager, said when discussing the need for free tickets. “Our job is to make sure those communities feel welcome and feel like this is a space for them.”

Pipes debuted Hoops last year at Milwaukee Chamber Theater after participating in Company One’s Surge Lab. But this year’s production features a larger cast and original music by Blaze, who grew up within walking distance from the Strand.

“As a Black woman, hoop earrings are obviously a part of our culture, definitely a part of my aesthetic,” said Blaze, 37. “I think that connection alone, that cultural connection, I thought was very amazing. That’s something that’s very important to me.

“I think one thing that the play is really good at talking about is how we’re showing our joy along with our pain,” she added.

The production team wants the audience to feel just as connected to this story.

“We’re talking about something that means so much to people,” said Kimstelle Merisma, 21, the show’s assistant director who has been working on this show for three months. To her, the multifaceted identities showcased in the production feel raw and candid in a way that is unique to the theatre. She hopes the audience feels comfortable enough to celebrate, shout, cheer and laugh as they please as they display real-life stories.

“It’s something that’s so prevalent in so many cultures. To bring it to the Strand specifically, this celebration of stories and the celebration of identity and jewelry, it’s amazing.”

The production will run through Saturday, August 10, in partnership with Boston Playwrights’ Theatre and the City of Boston’s Office of Arts and Culture. See companyone.org/hoops for tickets and showtimes.

Kaili Y. Turner, Brandie Blaze, Karimah Williams, Tiffany Santiago, Albamarina Nahar, and Elijah Brown in Hoops at the Strand. Ken Yotsukura Photography