Review: PREDICTOR at Contemporary Theater Company

The Predictor

     Making its New England premiere, Contemporary Theater Company's "Predictor" told the rarely-known story of the creation of the home pregnancy and the woman behind it that faded into history.  Until now.

Premiering in 2023 but only hitting a handful of theaters across the country so far, "Predictor" is based on the true story of Margaret (Meg) Crane and her journey to create a home pregnancy tests in a male-dominated and controlled 1960's.

Chelsea Mitchell, a particularly shining star of my family from her incredible Christmastime performance of Mrs. Cratchit in "Mrs. Cratchit's Christmas Binge" was wonderfully cast as Meg.  Initially hired as a freelancer working at a product testing company, Meg would work her way up the hard way, fighting her men supervisors all the way.  She'd see how products were created and funded and talked to a number of people about their needs in the test studies.  When she discovered that a pregnancy test typically took 3-4 weeks before getting the results back from your doctor, she knew women needed a better, quicker test.

Stephen Fox plays an excellent Martin, Meg's sympathetic but stern boss who, along with Product Tester Jack, played wonderfully by Neil Motta, continued to put hurdles in Meg's way of getting her test kit tested and sampled.  Even when they agreed to move the home pregnancy test to the testing phase, the men refused to let her be a part of the project initially.  With women hearing about the potential of the home pregnancy tests and hoping it gets moved along to save lives, Meg pushed ahead stubbornly.  When Jack said the test "may make abortions easier", Meg fought back that this test wasn't about abortions.  "This isn't a game, Jack, it's a woman's life", she said.

Despite all her work, it still took a decade to get the test out for sale and Meg faded into obscurity until she saw a 2012 column called "Who Made That" where the correct answer on who made the first home pregnancy test was not Margaret (Meg) Crane.  Meg realized she still had work to do to set the record straight and that's what this play does.

This is a face-paced but very funny two hour performance with one intermission, where the true journey in the creation of the first home pregnancy test is mingled in with 1960's trivia, game shows, commercials and more.  You don't need to be a plaid or bell-bottom pants fan to adore this play, just someone who appreciates a good story of perserverance and never taking no for an answer until you get the best ending for everyone.   

Rounding out the incredible cast includes Amina Cunnigham, who played Jody and Lillian; Steph Rodger as Mary and Meg's Mother; Tina Moore as Meg's grandmother and Sister Bernadette; and Carson Pavao as Ira and Bertie.

A super special moment of this Saturday night performance was that Margaret (Meg) Crane was in the audience to see the performance and would go on to spent some time with the audience after the play was finished, answering their questions.  It just capped off an incredible night of wonderful theater and a true story that will stay with you long after the drive home.  

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