Certain women have a way of speaking shorthand ” particularly with blood relatives ” that generally leaves men, and even some women, far behind, scratching their heads over the chasms that were leaped.
This is the kind of shorthand employed by playwright Michele Lowe in her off-Broadway comedy, “String of Pearls,” playing in a delightful production at North Coast Repertory through Feb. 10. The strand is definitely broken, a fact that will delight some and thoroughly frustrate others.
Played by four virtuoso actors ” Kwana Martinez, Jennifer Seifert, Crystal Sershen and Christy Yael ” two dozen women that range from six to 70 seek a strand of valuable pearls in locales ranging from Milwaukee to Manhattan. One could term the play “The Red Violin” of necklaces, and like the red of the film’s violin, these pearls, too, have a double meaning. The play’s denouement, oddly touching and somehow fitting, is as implausible as the wacky proceedings; those women and men who dig the lingo and the leaps will have a blast.
Formerly associate artistic director of the Old Globe, Karen Carpenter returns to the San Diego area to stage “String of Pearls.” Remembered for her sensitive work with Nilo Cruz’s “Two Sisters and a Piano,” her staging of Jeffrey Hatcher’s rip-roaring farce “Smash” and Abi Morgan’s wondrous and misunderstood “Splendour,” Carpenter drives her company through Lowe’s play, stringing a semblance of sanity from the chaos of sketches, some as brief as the blink of an eye.
The theatrical year is just begun, and yet, by the middle of January, theatergoers have seen two cinematically influenced, seemingly nonlinear, ensemble plays, “In This Corner” and “String of Pearls.” Both are highly recommended.
“String of Pearls” plays at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday through Feb. 10 at North Coast Repertory, 987-D Lomas Santa Fe Drive in Solana Beach.
For tickets ($26-$40) and information, visit www.northcoastrep.org or call (858) 481-1055.