Have you ever, like me, looked at a dollar bill in your wallet and wondered if you’ve had that dollar before? Did you use that very dollar bill five years ago to buy a pack of gum? And then did it make 200 transitions between people, cash registers, pausing for a year in a child’s piggy bank before being set free to make its way back to the dark crevices of your wallet? Well, I think about crazy stuff like that which is why I loved the concept behind String of Pearls, written by Michele Lowe and directed by Gillian McNally. 
A string of beautifully white, perfectly round pearls starts out as a declaration of love to one woman and makes its way around the world, across the years and through generations serving as everything from just a piece of pretty jewelry to salvation.
Four women play over 20 characters, changing with simple costume and set changes. Angela Pettigrew, Elgin Kelley and Samantha Provenzano slip in and out of identities and storylines with ease. Although their performances are strong, Amie Mackenzie is the glue of the show. This is due, not only to her bookend roles that bring the story full circle but to her lively and emotional performance.
Although the overall framework of the story is predictable, like a pearl necklace, each story serves as the individual beads, strung together, linking to return to where it all began. The play runs an hour and a half without intermission, for which I was grateful. Although I feel one or two of the stories could have been edited or even eliminated, each did serve its purpose in the grand scheme of things. To have stopped for an intermission would have broken the flow.
Despite being a very enlightened male, my husband felt there needed to be more action and some breaks in the talking. “So…much…talking” he said, coming out of the play a little dazed. I can’t say that he was alone in his views because I noticed several men in the audience starting to squirm mid-way through while us women-folk were glued. Why wouldn’t we be? There was at least some element in every storyline that one could relate to. The women were empowered and empowering even at their lowest points. Mix that with some pretty jewelry, lots and lots of conversation and, hey, what’s not to like?! Once he snapped out of his “constant talking” stupor, he did say it was a great play and he found it very interesting.
Carrying the female-empowerment theme beyond the stage, The Avenue Theater has partnered with the non-profit “Free the Girls” to help end human trafficking in Africa. The organization helps women and girls make a living selling bras, which are a luxury in Africa. Avenue Theater is the exclusive drop off point for downtown Denver. Anyone who makes a clean bra donation will receive a card for $3 off any regular season General Admission show ticket for that same day or in the future.
String of Pearls runs January 20 – February 25.
Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays – 7:30pm, Sundays – 2:00pm.
Tickets $25 Friday and Saturday, $20 Thursday and Sunday.
Student, senior and group discounts available.
The Avenue Theater, 417 E. 17th Ave., 303-321-5925. www.avenuetheater.com.
