Pearson was a graduate student in the creative writing program at the City College of New York in 1980, when her play, the two-person comedy-drama Sally and Marsha was chosen to be produced at the Playwrights Conference, Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, Waterford, Connecticut.
The reviewer for The Associated Press wrote that "It has some well-written passages, some warm, moving moments and a goodly share of funny lines...Miss Pearson has talent, no question.
But I hope someday she flees the pack of local scriveners who think West Side woe, shrinks and trips to Bloomingdale's are worth writing about.
[9] Pearson's play with music True History and Real Adventures was produced Off-Broadway by the Vineyard Theatre in 1999, directed by Michael Mayer and starring Kathleen Chalfant.
[18] Pearson is a full-time professor at the Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University.