The Synopsis
Beth’s granddaughter, Amy, is about to be married. Beth assumes that Amy will wear the pearl necklace that she handed down to Amy’s mother, Linda, on the eve of her own wedding many years earlier. But Amy knows nothing of the pearls and Beth reluctantly accepts that the precious heirloom is lost. The story then takes us back in time to the late 1960s, where we follow the journey of the pearls as they are handed down, stolen, discarded, lost, and finally rediscovered as they find their way back to their original owner. Coincidence and irony play major roles in the story, as we see how the lives of the characters intersect and connect around a simple string of pearls.

According to playwright Michele Lowe, “When those connections are made, it seems that doors fly open and anything is possible. I have found with women, that one good story usually launches another. The very act of connecting makes us want to open up more. And it is in those resonant moments that we recognize our deeper desire to connect with ourselves.”

The Playwright
Michele Lowe is the author of Mezzulah, 1946 (City Theatre), String of Pearls (Primary Stages, Outer Critics Circle Award nomination), The Smell of the Kill (Broadway debut) Backsliding in the Promised Land (Syracuse Stage), Map of Heaven, Good on Paper and Hit the Lights! (book and lyrics). She has been commissioned by the Denver Center Theatre, Cincinnati Play House and Geva Theatre. Lowe has participated in the Eugene O’Neill National Music Theatre Conference, Colorado New Play Summit, The New Harmony Project, PlayLabs, New York Stage and Film and the ACT & Hedgebrook Women Playwrights Festival. Her work has been produced at Primary Stages, Vineyard Theatre, Intiman Theatre, City Theatre, Reykjavik City Theatre (Iceland), Berkshire Theatre Festival, Cleveland Play House and Florida Stage, among others. Lowe’s work appears in Best Plays of 2005 (Smith & Knaus, 2006) and New Monologues for Women by Women (Heinemann, 2004). For television she has written several episodes of Little Bear based on characters created by Maurice Sendak. Screenplays include The Emergence of Emily Stark and Quitting Texas for Avenue Pictures. Lowe is a recipient of the Frankel Award and is a graduate of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. She is a member of ASCAP, the Dramatists Guild and a Core Member of the Playwrights Center. Her new play Inana will have its world premiere at Denver Center Theatre in January 2009.

Production History and Awards
String of Pearls was commissioned and developed by The Cherry Lane Theatre, New York City, and received further development from New York Stage and Film and The Powerhouse Theatre at Vassar College. It had its world premiere at The City Theatre Company, Pittsburgh, in September 2003. It subsequently opened in New York at Primary Stages in September 2004 where it garnered an Outer Critics Circle Award nomination. String of Pearls has been presented on many of the nation’s regional stages, including Asolo Repertory Theatre (Sarasota), Echo Theatre (Dallas), North Coast Rep (San Diego) and TheatreWorks (Memphis).

Recommended for adult audiences. Mature language, sexual references.

^*Member of Actor’s Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States

⁺Equity Membership Candidate
⁺⁺Member of Artists Repertory Theatre Resident Acting Company

Production Sponsors:







Madeline Nelson & Jim Lafky

Read the review in "The Oregonian" 

“I was KNOCKED OUT by the writing and acting! One of the best plays I’ve seen in recent years.”

“String of Pearls at ART is one of the funniest, most touching and truthful shows I've seen in a while.  I could say more, but won't.  This is definitely one to see."

"Totally enjoyable theatre, the actresses did a super job."

"It was just very entertaining and I found myself reliving the string of events in my head for days."

"We were delighted by the talent of the cast and the playwright!"

"It was flawless and superb."

"As usual, excellent acting, timing, set pieces, moods, certain surprises in the script. I think that, overall, this is a woman's show, but I am glad to see men reacting to it, also!"

"It was one of the best pieces of theater I have ever seen(and I have been to a lot.)"

"The stories were real and funny!"

Submit your own thoughts on String of Pearls to info@artistsrep.org