Neisha, a pregnant woman, comes to a hospital looking for help and is provided with a cutting-edge treatment, despite her mother’s wish for a more traditional approach. The treatment sends Neisha on an Afro-futuristic journey through the past and present. Written by Kristen Adele Calhoun and directed by Tiffany Nichole Green, blood work will premiere as a short-term, scaled-back production to allow the play to come to life without the pressure of critics. Produced by the National Black Theater, who with the Public Theater co-produced the Pulitzer Prize–winning Fat Ham in 2022, blood work “is literally what the title imbues,” says Jonathan McCrory, the company’s director. “They are working the secrets, magic, and power of the blood to awaken the pathway we can use for a brighter future.” —Jeanne Malle