The Pain and the Itch tells the story of what begins as an average Thanksgiving for one privileged family, which unravels into an expose of disastrous choices and less-than-altruistic motives. Described as a scathing satire of the politics of class and race, the play won the 2005 Jefferson Award for Best New Play for its production at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre; Norris was also named runner-up for the 2006 Kesselring Prize, awarded to a playwright of exceptional promise.