As her highly regarded In the Blood finished performances at New York City's Public Theatre, Suzan-Lori Parks was readying a second interpretation of Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter" for Houston's DiverseWorks Artspace. This version, the more provocatively titled Fucking A, opened Feb. 24 and has extended its run past March 18 to March 31. Parks is directing the Houston acting ensemble, Infernal Bridegroom Productions in her play.

In 17 scenes and seven songs, A tells of an illiterate abortionist whose goal is to buy her wayward son out of prison. Parts of the play are written in an invented language called "Talk," which is used by the undereducated women of the piece to talk about sex and reproduction. Parks also penned the music and lyrics for the story's songs, a first for the playwright.

Besides In the Blood, Parks is best known for her OBIE Award winning plays Imperceptible Mutabilities in the Third Kingdom (1990) and Venus (1996) as well as The Death of the Last Black Man in the Whole Entire World and The America Play.

Infernal Bridegroom Productions, led by artistic director Jason Nodler, have performed thirty avant-garde classics and new plays since their inception in a punk rock club in 1993. Playwrights they have produced include Richard Foreman, Maria Irene Fornes, Mac Wellman and Wallace Shawn.

For tickets, call 713-228-0914. DiverseWorks Artspace is located at 1117 East Freeway and on the web at http://www.diverseworks.org. -- By Christine Ehren