Review: The Birth of the Pill at TimeLine Theatre

Jessica Huang’s new play, “The Birth of the Pill,” premiered at TimeLine Theatre, engaging viewers with a multifaceted exploration of oral contraception. This production isn’t a direct adaptation of Jonathan Eig’s book; rather, it critiques how Eig framed the narrative. Huang expands the discourse to include critical viewpoints on Margaret Sanger, Katharine McCormick, and Gregory Pincus, key figures in the pill’s development.

Huang particularly highlights Margaret Sanger’s involvement with eugenics and the ill-conceived pill testing in low-income areas, such as Río Piedras, Puerto Rico. In these trials, desperate women received high experimental doses of hormone combinations. The trials resulted in severe health impacts and even fatalities. Huang centers Ramona Delgado—a minor figure in Eig’s book—as the play’s narrator, allowing her perspective to guide the story.

The play makes an implicit critique of the privileged classes’ disregard for the negative consequences of the trials, influenced by racist and elitist attitudes. Although controversial, Planned Parenthood distanced itself from Sanger in 2020. Huang’s work uniquely conflicts with the book it adapts, yet it offers a vital point of view.

While Huang does aim to engage with the complexities of the pill, her narrative often anticipates moments of racial and elitist commentary. This predictability affects the fairness of the portrayal, especially considering the historical context.

Numerous actors, including Janet Ulrich Brooks and Maria Victoria Martinez, contribute to portraying this intricate tale. However, Huang’s critique-heavy approach leads to predictability, and Sandra Marquez’s production might feel overplayed.

The show spends substantial time on meta-commentary, detracting from learning about the pill’s history. Viewers may crave more genuine interactions with the material’s historical complexity—an innovation that profoundly affected women’s lives yet came with costs.

As you leave the theater, you may wish Huang had crafted her own narrative instead of adapting a work she seems fundamentally at odds with. “The Birth of the Pill” poses challenges in blending history with insightful critique.

Chris Jones, Tribune critic
Review: “The Birth of the Pill” (2.5 stars)
Through Oct. 4
TimeLine Theatre, 5035 N. Broadway
Running time: 1 hour, 45 minutes
Tickets: $65-$100 at timelinetheatre.com