In The Blood takes a compelling look at homelessness and poverty in America. Inspired by Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, In The Blood tells the tragic tale of Hester La Negrita, a homeless black woman who lives with her five children under a bridge near the freeway. While her children bring her great joy, the adults in her life bring her nothing but sorrow. As Hester struggles with poverty and seeks support for her family, she is exploited by the very people who are supposed to help make her life better.

Parks’ script utilizes an interesting theatrical device: the same actors who play Hester’s children also play the societal forces arrayed against her—her ex-boyfriend, her social worker, her doctor, her best friend, and her minister. The ingenuity of this device made In The Blood a finalist for the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, which paved the way for Parks to win the 2002 Pulitzer for her subsequent play Topdog/Underdog. (She was the first African-American woman to receive a Pulitzer Prize.)