Six Degrees of Separation: The Quintessential NYC Play Returns to Broadway
Once upon a time there was an island, surrounded by the Hudson and Harlem Rivers. It was a place where the underworld, “Regular Joes” and the elite flowed past each other creating a unique aura that produced the energy for a city that never slept. Those seeking fame and fortune came to the island to stake their claim.
Manhattan was a melting pot brimming with a million and one stories that now haunt the streets like ghosts over resurrected apartment complexes and 21st century skyscrapers. One such story that emerged out of this glorious period was the story of David Hampton, a handsome grifter from Buffalo NY.
Hampton used his good looks, manners and ability to manipulate others to intersect with the upper crust of New York City society. By pretending to be the son of Sidney Poitier, Hampton dined for free at the best restaurants, received A-list treatment at New York City hot spots, and flimflammed his way into the homes of the Upper East Side.
Playwright John Guare became aware of Hampton’s infamous con when married friends of his became one of Hampton’s many marks. Their intersection became the foundation for his play ”Six Degrees of Separation.”
“Six Degrees of Separation” made its Broadway debut in 1990 at the Vivian Beaumont Theater and was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize and a Tony. In 1993, it was adapted into a film starring Will Smith and Stockard Channing. Now it’s back on Broadway for a limited 15-week engagement.
“Six Degrees of Separation” primarily takes place in the apartment of Flan and Ouisa Kittredge. Flan is an art dealer and one evening when he and his wife are entertaining and ass-kissing a super-rich friend, Paul, a young, charming black man, appears on their doorstep wounded. He claims he had been robbed and stabbed. He claims he knows their children. He says he is the son of Sidney Poitier. Oooh!
Paul cooks them dinner and beguiles them, especially Ouisa who had been seeking a deeper connection with her own children. Paul tells the Kittredge’s that he plans to check into a hotel with his famous father in the morning. Flan and Ouisa insist that Paul spend the night with them. In the morning, Ouisa goes to wake Paul and finds him mid-coitus with a hustler he picked up after they had gone to bed.
After that encounter, Ouisa and Flan’s lives continue to intersect with Paul. Finally, after one scam too many, the police get involved. Sensing the police are closing in, Paul makes a final, desperate call to Ouisa to beg her to accompany him when he turns himself in. She agrees to take him, but the police pounce before she can get there. Ouisa is left to ponder the future of Paul, the experience and her future.
“Six Degrees of Separation” dives deep into the rabbit hole providing critiques on the issues of race, class and homosexuality. The beauty of Guare’s storytelling is the method in which these topics are presented in the play. The dialogue is luscious, full of wry wit, and flows with a hustle and bustle pace that is indicative of the city. Guare doesn’t smack you in the face with social commentary. He guides you to a mirror, and when you are laughing at some snarky line, you suddenly realized that you are looking at your own perception. Through Flan, Ouisa and Paul, the audience can confront their own prejudices, fears and desires to belong.
The selection of the cast is a stroke of genius. Allison Janney is hysterical as Ouisa; her comedic timing is impeccable. When Ouisa is introspective, Janney breathes a tenderness into these moments that one soon won’t forget. John Benjamin Hickey provides a multi-faceted performance of Flan. He is pretentious, yet sensitive. He has the soul of a tortured artist, but reeks of capitalist greed. He is a hypocrite, yet still totally likable.
The crown jewel of this cast is Corey Hawkins, who plays Paul. From the moment he rushes onto the stage in a state of panic, he captivates the audience. Without knowing, Hawkins wraps you around his finger and compels you to believe even the most fantastic lie. Every face Hawkins presents as Paul is equally as believable as the next. When he says to Ouisa, “I like being looked at,” I thought to myself who would want to look away? Hawkins goes deeper than just bringing the character of Paul to life for a new generation of theatergoers. He honors the soul of the man whose infamous life was the catalyst for this splendid play. He’s a writer’s dream, a master actor in the making.
F.AM.E NYC Magazine 2016
