Six Degrees of Separation Play – John Guare | Broadway & True Story
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SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION
A Dazzling Social Satire
A BRILLIANT SOCIAL SATIRE
Six Degrees of Separation is a play written by American playwright John Guare that premiered in 1990. The play was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play.
The play explores the existential premise that everyone in the world is connected to everyone else in the world by a chain of no more than six acquaintances, thus, “six degrees of separation.” It was adapted into a film of the same name in 1993.
The play examines issues of race, class, identity, and the American dream through the story of a charismatic young con artist who infiltrates the lives of wealthy Manhattan art dealers, claiming to be Sidney Poitier’s son. Guare’s sharp wit and keen social observation create a theatrical experience that is both hilarious and deeply unsettling.
PLOT SYNOPSIS
The Arrival
A young black man named Paul shows up at the home of art dealer Flan Kittredge and his wife Louisa, known simply as “Ouisa”, who live overlooking Central Park in New York City. Paul has a minor stab wound from an attempted mugging, and says he’s a friend of their children at Harvard University.
The Kittredges are trying to get the money to buy a painting by Paul Cézanne and now have this wounded stranger in their home. Paul claims he is in New York to meet his father, Sidney Poitier, who is directing a film version of the Broadway musical Cats.
Paul continues to charm them with his story, though in reality, it is all a lie: Paul is no Harvard student and obtained details on the Kittredges from a male student he had seduced. Eventually Paul uses their home for an encounter with a hustler, but is caught red-handed. The police are called, but Paul escapes.
The Second Con
Soon after, Paul starts up another con against a sensitive young man named Rick and his live-in girlfriend, Elizabeth. The naive young couple are new to the big city having just moved to New York from Utah and, based on Paul’s con, invite him to live with them until he gets everything sorted out with his wealthy father—who Paul tells them is Flan Kittredge.
The trio become good friends, with Paul spinning a tale of being estranged from his racist father; the girlfriend tells Rick not to lend Paul any money. One night Paul takes Rick out on the town, and seduces him in order to get the money.
Later that night, Rick tells Elizabeth that Paul is gone, that he has all their money, and that he and Paul had sex. In a fit of fury, she cruelly suggests that Rick’s father had always questioned his son’s sexuality. Soon afterwards Rick commits suicide.
The Aftermath
In desperation, Paul calls the Kittredges for assistance. Partly due to strained relations with her children, Ouisa finds herself feeling emotionally attached to Paul, hoping to be able to help him in some way despite the fact that he has victimized them.
Over a protracted and laborious phone call, he agrees to give himself up to the police; however, during the arrest, he and the couple are separated. Despite their efforts—Ouisa’s more than Flan’s—his fate is unresolved, except for a possibly tragic end.
The Famous Monologue
Towards the end of the play, in a climactic moment of reflection, Ouisa delivers the play’s most famous monologue about six degrees of separation, musing on the profound connections between all people and how Paul found his way into their lives. She contemplates how “every person is a new door, opening up into other worlds.”
PRINCIPAL CHARACTERS
BASED ON A TRUE STORY
The Real David Hampton
The play was inspired by the real-life story of David Hampton, a con man and robber who managed to convince a number of people in the 1980s that he was the son of actor Sidney Poitier.
The writer John Guare was a friend of Inger McCabe Elliott and her husband Osborn Elliott. In October 1983 Hampton came to the Elliotts’ New York apartment and they allowed him to spend the night. The next morning Inger Elliott found Hampton in bed with another man and later called the police. The Elliotts told Guare about the story and it inspired him to write the play years later.
The Legal Battle
Hampton was tried and acquitted for harassment of Guare after the play became a critical and financial success; he felt that, as the real life protagonist of the story, he was due a share of the profits that he ultimately never received.
The case raised interesting questions about who owns a story and whether someone can profit from dramatizing real events without compensating the person whose life inspired the work.
MAJOR PRODUCTIONS
Off-Broadway Premiere (1990)
The play premiered Off-Broadway at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater, Lincoln Center, on May 16, 1990. Stockard Channing won an Obie Award for Best Actress for her performance. Guare won an Obie Award for his script.
Casting Stockard Channing
Kristin Griffith and Swoosie Kurtz read the role of Ouisa Kittredge in workshops in 1989 before Stockard Channing was cast. Channing was originally unavailable and was committed to coming to Broadway in another play, Neil Simon’s Jake’s Women. The play’s Broadway run was canceled. Channing had starred previously in John Guare’s The House of Blue Leaves, and he offered her the role for the official Off-Broadway run.
Broadway Transfer (1990-1992)
The production was transferred to the Vivian Beaumont Theater for its Broadway debut on November 8, 1990. The production closed on January 5, 1992 after 485 performances, directed by Jerry Zaks.
John Cameron Mitchell originated the role of Trent, which was his non-replacement debut on Broadway. Kelly Bishop played the role of Ouisa as a replacement, and Laura Linney made her Broadway debut as a replacement for the role of Tess.
The original Broadway production was nominated for four Tony Awards, winning for Best Direction for Zaks. Kurtz later replaced Channing during the Broadway run.
| Character | Off-Broadway (1990) | Broadway (1990) |
|---|---|---|
| Ouisa Kittredge | Stockard Channing | Stockard Channing |
| Flan Kittredge | John Cunningham | John Cunningham |
| Paul | James McDaniel | James McDaniel |
National Tour (1992)
A US National tour was launched in 1992. Veronica Hamel played Ouisa in the first production in Chicago, and Marlo Thomas also toured with the production.
UK Productions
The play made its UK debut in 1992 at the Royal Court Theatre and then transferred to the West End’s Comedy Theatre. In 2010, the play was revived at the Old Vic theatre in London starring Lesley Manville as Ouisa.
In May 2004 Michael Buffong directed a production at the Royal Exchange, Manchester with Lisa Eichhorn as Ouisa Kittredge, Phillip Bretherton as Flanders Kittredge and O-T Fagbenle as Paul. O-T Fagbenle won a MEN Award for his performance.
Canadian Production (1995)
A 1995 production at Canadian Stage in Toronto, Ontario starred Fiona Reid as Ouisa, Jim Mezon as Flan and Nigel Shawn Williams as Paul. Both Williams and Reid won Dora Mavor Moore Awards for their performances.
2017 Broadway Revival
The play was revived on Broadway at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre in a limited engagement opening on April 5, 2017, starring Allison Janney, John Benjamin Hickey and Corey Hawkins, with direction by Trip Cullman.
| Character | 2017 Broadway Revival |
|---|---|
| Ouisa Kittredge | Allison Janney |
| Flan Kittredge | John Benjamin Hickey |
| Paul | Corey Hawkins |
FILM ADAPTATION (1993)
Guare adapted the play for a film released in 1993 directed by Fred Schepisi. Stockard Channing reprised her stage role as Ouisa Kittredge and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance.
The film starred Will Smith as Paul in a breakthrough dramatic role, Donald Sutherland as Flan, and featured strong supporting performances from the entire cast.
Film Cast
- Ouisa Kittredge: Stockard Channing
- Flan Kittredge: Donald Sutherland
- Paul: Will Smith
- Rick: Anthony Michael Hall
- Elizabeth: Heather Graham
The film received critical acclaim and helped introduce Guare’s brilliant play to a wider audience. Will Smith’s nuanced performance as Paul demonstrated his range beyond comedy and action roles.
THEMES & LITERARY CONNECTIONS
The Catcher in the Rye
A strong influence on the play is the novel The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger. There are some very overt references to it, as when Paul explains the thesis paper he has just written on The Catcher in the Rye to the family who takes him in for the night.
There are also more subtle allusions made both in the script and in the cinematography of the film version, such as when various characters begin to take on Holden Caulfield-esque characteristics and attitudes.
Race and Class
The play brilliantly examines how race and class intersect in American society. Paul’s blackness makes him simultaneously exotic and threatening to the wealthy white families he cons. His elaborate performance of upper-class manners and knowledge allows him to cross boundaries that would normally be closed to him.
Identity and Performance
At its core, the play is about the performance of identity. Paul creates an entirely false persona, but so in some ways do the Kittredges and their circle, who perform their wealth and sophistication. The play asks: what is authentic? Who are we really?
Connection and Isolation
The six degrees of separation concept highlights how interconnected we all are, yet the play also shows profound isolation. Ouisa is isolated in her marriage and from her children. Paul is isolated by his lies and his sexuality. The connections between people are simultaneously profound and superficial.
AWARDS & NOMINATIONS
1991 Tony Awards
The original Broadway production received 4 Tony nominations:
- Best Play
- Best Direction of a Play (Jerry Zaks) – WON
- Best Actress in a Play (Stockard Channing)
- Best Featured Actor in a Play (James McDaniel)
LEGACY & CULTURAL IMPACT
Popularizing the Concept
While the six degrees of separation theory existed before Guare’s play, it was his work that popularized the phrase and concept in American culture. The play’s title entered the lexicon, and the idea became a cultural touchstone referenced in everything from party games to social media.
A Defining Work of the 1990s
Six Degrees of Separation captured something essential about America in the early 1990s—anxieties about race, class, authenticity, and connection in an increasingly interconnected yet fragmented society.
Stockard Channing’s Triumph
The role of Ouisa Kittredge became Stockard Channing’s signature stage performance. Her portrayal of a woman awakening to the limitations of her privileged life was hailed as a masterpiece of subtle, intelligent acting. The Academy Award nomination for the film further cemented her interpretation as definitive.
Will Smith’s Dramatic Breakthrough
The 1993 film marked Will Smith’s emergence as a serious dramatic actor. His charismatic, complex performance as Paul showed he could go far beyond his sitcom roots in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
Enduring Relevance
The play’s themes of racial and class divides, the performance of identity, and the search for connection remain powerfully relevant. The 2017 Broadway revival with Allison Janney demonstrated that Guare’s sharp social satire had lost none of its sting.
John Guare’s Masterpiece
While Guare had written acclaimed plays before (including The House of Blue Leaves), Six Degrees of Separation stands as his most celebrated and widely-known work. Its perfect blend of comedy and social commentary, theatrical artifice and emotional truth, created a play that is both entertaining and profound.
