Predictor, now playing at Oregon Contemporary Theatre, is based on the true story of Meg Crane, a graphic designer who goes to work for a large drug company in the sixties.
Meg surprises her coworkers by creating a simple home pregnancy test that quickly shows results without requiring a doctor’s exam and waiting for weeks to diagnose a pregnancy.
Acclaimed playwright Jennifer Blackmer begins Meg’s remarkable story in the style of a raucous comedy. The humor gradually evolves into a thought-provoking examination of the suppression of women’s rights in that era. Meg’s life turns into a roller coaster of dizzying ups and downs when the executives make plans for her product without her input. She soon learns that men often take credit for women’s achievements in the workplace.
Director Inga Wilson pulls out all the stops for a clever depiction of how difficult it was for women to excel back then. The play opens with a TV game show called Who Made That. It’s as loud, colorful and frenzied as a live action cartoon, and a tour de force for the actors, who transform themselves before our eyes.
Only one of the actors doesn’t play multiple roles. Kiré Horton is quite busy enough, as she expertly reveals Meg’s honesty, tenacity and desire to make a better life for everyone. The others: Kari Welch, Paul Dunckel, Gabriella Cefalu, Andrew Beck, Sharon Sless and Ben Minnis are truly splendid in their various roles.
Julianne Bodner’s set design artfully evokes the colors and geometric forms of the sixties.
Predictor runs through Sunday, June 2.