Fucking A

Suzan-Lori Parks’s Fucking A is an otherworldly tale involving a noble mother, her wayward son, and others. Hester Smith, the revered and reviled local abortionist, hatches a plan to buy her jailed son’s freedom—and nothing will deter Hester from her quest. In this violent and wild-eyed blend of story and song, which harkens to Brechtian and Jacobean structure, Hester’s branded letter “A” becomes a provocative emblem of vengeance, violence, and sacrifice.