Six Degrees of Separation
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Cititour.com Review
At a time when our nation is rigidly divided — racially, politically, economically — John Guare’s Six Degrees of Separation reminds us of our connections. Trip Cullman’s revival is bumpy at times, but affecting performances from Allison Janney and Corey Hawkins smooth the ride.
Guare drew inspiration for his 1990 play from real-life con man David Hampton. In the ’80s, Hampton tricked several prominent New Yorkers into opening their homes to him by claiming to be Sidney Poitier’s son. Knowledgeable, sophisticated and charming, he was easy to believe and, pre-internet, it wasn’t possible to instantly find out that Poitier only had daughters.
In Six Degrees, young African-American Paul (24: Legacy’s Hawkins) shows up at the posh apartment of Ouisa and Flan Kittredge (Allison Janney and John Benjamin Hickey) bleeding through his shirt. He claims he was mugged and that he knows about them because he attends Harvard with two of their children. Ouisa and Flan are so enraptured by Paul that they never question the oddities of his story. (Sidney Poitier is coming to town because he’s directing a film version of Cats?!)
Eventually they discover they’ve been duped, as have others they know, but the feelings this conjures in Ouisa aren’t easy to understand. Paul, it turns out, is a disadvantaged youth who learned all about them from someone in their circle and turned himself into an idealized upper-class young man. Ouisa even feels a stronger connection to him than she does her angry, self-absorbed children when Paul gets in a legal mess and calls her for help.
This elaborate and involved story unfolds over the course of 90 minutes with a cast of 18, some whose parts are just a couple of lines. Cullman’s direction is unnecessarily busy early on, and a few scenes, such as one in which the privileged children of the duped parents lash out at them for their naivete, are so broadly acted as to be almost cartoonish.
Six Degrees is at its strongest when Janney and Hawkins are center stage, trying to forge a connection in a world where they never should have met. That it happened because of a deception makes it no less meaningful.
By Diane Snyder
Visit the Site
http://sixdegreesbroadway.com
Cast
Allison Janney, John Benjamin Hickey, Corey Hawkins, Jim Bracchitta, Tony Carlin, Michael Countryman, James Cusati-Moyer, Ned Eisenberg, Lisa Emery, Keenan Jolliff, Peter Mark Kendall, Cody Kostro, Sarah Mezzanotte, Colby Minifie, Paul O’Brien, Chris Perfetti, Ned Riseley, Michael Siberry
Open/Close Dates
Opening 4/25/2017
Closing 6/18/2017
Preview Open/ Preview Close Dates
Preview Opening 4/5/2017
Closing Open-ended
Box Office
212-239-6200
Theatre Info
Ethel Barrymore Theatre
234 West 47th Street
New York, NY 10036
Map
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