Like much dystopian fiction, Jacqueline Goldfingers Babel takes factual elements of a societys past or present and imagines how they might play out in the future. In this case, the playwright hones in on eugenics a dark part of our nations history and artificial intelligence, an increasingly pressing issue in the present day. In its current production at Redtwist Theatre, directed by Rinska Carrasco-Prestinary, the play raises important questions with the aid of some clever dramatic devices but is less successful in its attempt to capture the human cost of striving for utopia.

Set in what is presumably the future United States (although the location isnt named), Babel centers on two expecting couples, one who has been trying to get pregnant for eight years, the other happily surprised. However, a positive pregnancy test, even when greatly desired, immediately leads to anxiety about pre-certification a mandatory process of in-utero testing to determine the physical, cognitive and behavioral desirability of the fetuss genetic code. These standards have curbed a host of societal ills, from mass shootings to cancer, and ensured population control in the face of dwindling resources and climate change.

All the adults in this society are certified all the visible ones, anyway meaning their genes have passed muster in each of the three categories. Despite the careful pairing of certified partners, pregnancy is still a gamble; should a fetus fail the pre-certification process, the parents are strongly encouraged to terminate. Alternatively, they can put their child through rehabilitation and try to have them certified later, but those who do so risk ostracization and, of course, potential failure.

When Dani (Shannon Leigh Webber) and Renee (Monique Marshaun) get the news that their long-awaited pregnancy has failed pre-certification, their marriage quickly spirals into crisis. A powerful female executive, Dani is a true believer who voted to make certification the law of the land. Surely, the doctor must be wrong in her familys case. It doesnt apply to us, she insists.

Michael Sherwin (Stork) and Monique Marshaun (Renee) in "Babel" from Redtwist Theatre. (Tom McGrath)

Meanwhile, Renee reveals that she has always doubted the wisdom of the certification laws. Who gets to play God? she wonders, as this question takes on new immediacy in her own life. As she agonizes over what to do with her pregnancy, an anthropomorphic stork (Michael Sherwin) tries to influence her decision in a series of hallucinatory visions. These bizarre episodes add levity to a show thats billed as a dark comedy but leans heavily toward the dark.

The other couple, Ann (Soleil Prez) and Jamie (Sherwin), is best friends with Dani and Renee, although you wouldnt know it from some of their chilly interactions. Its clear that suspicion and surveillance are part of their everyday lives. Throughout the show, actors make their entrances and exits with robotic movements, eyes straight ahead, while stark red and blue lighting (by Cat Davis) and ominously cheerful voice-overs promoting the certification program (sound design by Jake Sorgen) reinforce an ever-present Big Brother.

Jamie also has his doubts about the certification laws, for reasons that become clear later in the play. As the two couples try to make decisions about their futures, they debate issues of bodily autonomy, nature versus nurture, the dice toss of genetics and the caste system that they live under. Referencing the biblical tale of human hubris and divine wrath for which the play is named, Renee says to Dani, Remember Babel? Brought down a civilization and broke the world.

This discourse, while thought-provoking, often feels more academic than emotionally grounded in the high stakes that these characters face. Elements of the story remind me of Celeste Ngs acclaimed 2022 novel Our Missing Hearts, which is also set in a dystopian United States, albeit one that enforces McCarthyite patriotism rather than genetic perfection. Ngs novel and Goldfingers play both center on families whose lives are upended by oppressive regimes, but in Babel, world-building gets in the way of deeper character development.

Nevertheless, the play addresses significant ethical questions through the lens of an imaginary, yet plausible, future. Since 2020, when Redtwist first planned to produce it, the legislative landscape surrounding reproduction has drastically changed in the U.S. not in ways that directly parallel the world of Babel, but enough to make its concerns about individual autonomy all the more urgent.

Emily McClanathan is a freelance critic.

Review: Babel (2.5 stars)

When: Through April 30

Where: Redtwist Theatre, 1044 W. Bryn Mawr Ave.

Running time: 1 hour, 35 minutes

Tickets: $40 at redtwisttheatre.org

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Review: In 'Babel' at Redtwist Theatre, expecting couples face ... - Chicago Tribune