PicksInSix Review: The Birth of the Pill - TimeLine Theatre Company
If Only There Was A Pill.
PicksInSix® Review | Ed Tracy
Inside TimeLine Theatre’s comfortable and cozy first floor bar and café on opening night of Jessica Huang’s fascinating and informative play, “The Birth of the Pill” on Thursday night, there was a heightened air of anticipation. It has been only a few months since TimeLine moved into its new home at 5035 North Broadway and you can already feel the impact of the bustling arts hub and newest live theatrical anchor in the heart of Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood.
The world premiere production, now playing through October 4, is based on the book by Pulitzer Prize winner Jonathan Eig who collaborated with Huang on the project. Both Eig and Huang were present for the opening which has received brisk advance sales and impressive promotion, including an opinion piece about the play by Eig that appeared in the New York Times.
Smartly directed by Sandra Marquez with a top drawer cast that includes the outstanding talents of Janet Ulrich Brooks as Margaret Sanger, Mary Beth Fisher as Katharine McCormick and Mitchell J. Fain, playing both Dr. Gregory Goodwin “Goody” Pincus and the author Eig, you can imagine that there is a fantastical twist to the stage telling of the funding, research, clinical testing and development of the Pill that forever changed the course of women’s lives.
That twist comes in the exhilarating, multi-faceted performance of María Victoria Martinez as Ramona Delgado, a narrator of sorts whose refreshing comedic sense keeps things moving at a rapid pace. Assuming a variety of characters, Martinez, who is rarely out of the action, poignantly represents the lost voices of a vast number of Puerto Rican women at the heart of the story who were unknowing participants in early clinical trials and therefore unaware of the potential health risks. It is a wide-ranging and challenging role that Martinez, a newcomer to Chicago, handles effortlessly, evoking a warm and robust charm all her own.
“The Birth of the Pill” leaves it to us to ponder the difficult questions surrounding the moral and ethical choices made by Sanger, McCormick, Pincus, Dr. John Rock (David Parkes) and Dr. Min Chuen Chang (Rammel Chan) in an era when birth control of any kind was illegal are worth the human cost.
The overall subject matter has depth to it, but you do not need to be a biologist to understand what is going on. If you have any doubts, come early to peruse the superb 2nd floor exhibit. But don’t delay. This will be a big hit for TimeLine and a tough ticket in the weeks ahead.
NOTE: The Birth of the Pill contains brief nudity. Content Advisory.
PHOTO | Brett Beiner Photography
TimeLine Theatre Company
presents
World Premiere
The Birth of the Pill
5035 North Broadway
through October 4, 2026
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