Six Degrees of Separation

“Cullman's razor-sharp staging serves as a welcome reminder of the fiercely intelligent, pungently funny voice of playwright John Guare at his vintage best…While two sensational performances occupy the play's molten center, the entire large ensemble that surrounds them is on fire. That heat is due in part to Cullman's whiplash pacing...But it also rises from the play itself…It remains a work of stinging satirical brilliance...Hugely entertaining, clever and provocative." Full Review

"Cullman’s staging is exemplary, but it’s the play itself that makes the deepest impression...One of the strongest American plays of the postwar era...Everyone acts with the high-keyed, anti-naturalistic histrionics that Mr. Guare favors, and the resulting unanimity of tone serves the play well...You’ll be struck by how fresh and immediate it feels. That’s a pretty good working definition of a classic, which binds past and present together in a web of permanent relevance." Full Review

“A spectacular revival…’Six Degrees’ transcends its particulars and addresses something ineffably human: The terrifying gulf between how we see ourselves and how we need others to see us. That’s a theme for the ages…Hickey brings a powerful sense of irony to Flan…Hawkins is brilliant…Janney is utter conviction in conveying the transformation Paul has unwittingly, unexpectedly brought about in her...It’s only gained in power over the last quarter-century.” Full Review

“John Guare’s masterpiece…A top-drawer group of artists, all of them at the top of their form…Mr. Hawkins brings us a protagonist of enormous vitality, charm, and charisma…John Benjamin Hickey perfectly partners with Ms. Janney…This is intelligent, thought-provoking theatre—rich and full of the full spectrum of human behavior and understanding. Trip Cullman’s direction has fully harvested the writing and the acting by calling on many contradictory styles.” Full Review

“Guare’s social exercise remains witty and wise, yes, but it has added resonance as a glimpse at the recent but clearly distant past. What’s more, the three central performances are equal to what we had in 1990, as unexpected as that may be…Janney is a legit actress with a capital A…Time and again, she elicits audience roars with one-word lines...Janney seizes the stage, and the play, and controls it…The same can be said for Corey Hawkins as Paul...A superlative production." Full Review

“Trip Cullman’s dazzling production captures the play’s many qualities as a dizzying farce, a gossipy one-on-one conversation, an attention-grabbing lecture, a drama about personal connection and a disturbing portrait of economic inequality and racial division...Hawkins gives a stunning performance that captures Paul’s dualities: refined and knowledgeable on the outside, wild and sexy underneath. Janney is hilarious, with priceless reactions to the craziness around her.” Full Review

“Broadway’s crazy good revival of ‘Six Degrees of Separation’ is proof of theater’s enduring impact…Smart, juicy and still-potent…Surrounded by a crack ensemble of Broadway vets and newcomers, the three leads shine…Janney goes from above-it-all to something deeper when Paul’s ruses turn deadly serious...Hawkins is thoroughly convincing and seductive...Cullman’s energizing revival delivers its own thrills...An exhilarating, real-deal staging.” Full Review

“The 90-minute spree of imagination and acute psychological observation feels even more timely right now…The production, directed with compassion and merciless hilarity by Cullman, has a wonderful, luxuriously large cast, with some actors dropping in for just a few perfectly pitched scenes…The writing is giddy with the excitement of ideas…Yet, for all the interruptions and philosophical tangents, the play and production speed along with both elasticity and tight discipline.” Full Review

"Janney is creating a palpable chemistry with co-star Hawkins...It's abundantly clear why it received the Tony nomination for Best Revival of a Play...A play that is largely about how Paul makes this couple 'sort of see what's fraudulent in their own life.' Ouisa's realization of this fact drives the action of the play, which is frankly riveting. Watching this young man successfully remake himself from a street hustler into a gentleman is inspiring and heartbreaking, in equal measures." Full Review

“A vibrant new production…The play feels newly critical in our current neo–Gilded Age…As an analysis of the fault lines surrounding race in America, it also bristles today with a renewed urgency…Janney commands the stage with a calibrated mixture of poise, vulnerability, and bluntness. Hawkins scintillates in the role of Paul…Janney and Hawkins soon find their stride together, and as the play reaches its climax, they seize the rhythm of Guare's drama like a pair of virtuoso musicians.” Full Review

"Guare effectively toys with the audience's sympathy the same way Paul toys with the sympathies of his scam's targets...Though Janney's nailing of Guare's dry zingers is a delight to behold, her subtle unveiling of how the character's experience with Paul, however false, opens her eyes and heart to a world outside her bubble is the finer achievement...Hawkins' convincing contrast of Paul's fictional persona and his streetwise actual self is layered...A brisk and biting production." Full Review

“Directed with laser precision by Cullman…Corey Hawkins’ performance sparks with charisma and intellectual hyperactivity…It's not hard to see why Ouisa is so mesmerized by Paul and vice versa…'Six Degrees of Separation' feels made for today…The young adults of ‘Six Degrees’ are like portentous omens of the next generation's (i.e. today's) disconnected elite, which Cullman stares down with hilarious absurdity.” Full Review

“Yes, John Guare’s 1990 hit feels dated…And yet, it swings both ways. Guare’s elegant and elegiac social dramedy actually seems startlingly prophetic…Janney is a perfect Ouisa Kittredge: martini-dry and quick with a quip, almost undone by maternal instinct. Hickey flits amusingly about as her art-dealer and husband Flan…Trip Cullman directs with great panache...The cumulative effect, once you get over the retro vibe, is renewed respect for a disquieting, still-rewarding work.” Full Review

“Guare’s merciless observations of our media-driven, shallow society still hold…Trip Cullman’s sharp revival veers close to the edge of slickness in its satiric broad strokes, but never takes the fatal leap…Allison Janney slowly peals back Ouisa’s shell of sophistication to expose the vulnerable, confused woman beneath…A uniformly vibrant and large company…A still-relevant and entertaining play.” Full Review

“Cullman has satisfyingly teased Guare's agile shift of tone and style into a still-timely and entertaining whole…He's assembled a fine team of actors…Cullman steers the action-packed single act with a steady hand…The rest of the ensemble expertly mines Guare's witty text…The play itself is something of a clever theatrical con game. As staged and performed this time around it's a most entertaining and enjoyable game that deserves a place on your not-to-be-missed list.” Full Review

"The stunning revival is an uncomfortably funny reminder that the more things change, the more they stay the same...Much of the play’s humor is in the interactions between the various sets of parents and their children...Janney gives a mesmerizing performance. She’s sharp and fast and funny, but brimming with intelligence and humanity. Her transformation is subtle and slow, but all the more moving for its thoughtfulness." Full Review

“A splendidly acted and handsome production…What is gratifying to see is how the initial gripping power of the play is maintained to the end by director Cullman, who seems to have been able to further enhance the playwright’s vision…Even the play’s somewhat disappointing, fragmented denouement and vague dissolve don’t hinder our enjoyment...With obvious relish, the cast is extracting every ounce of innuendo out of the odd, sordid, tragic and even perverse doings." Full Review

"It’s as sharp and delightful as ever, skewering white liberal guilt, societal racism, and the child-rearing of the wealthy with glee and wit to spare...Guare does an expert job exploring the racial divide, one that hasn’t changed all that much in America since 1990...Janney and Hickey portray the quintessential Upper East Side couple with grace and skill...Hawkins is a worthy successor to previous Paul portrayers...The show is smoothly directed by Trip Cullman." Full Review

"Playwright John Guare writes with deep humanity, and that beauty is on full display in this revival...The cast gives top-drawer performances, especially Janney and Hawkins...The fact that the social satire no longer has the same bite just shows the beautiful bones of Guare's work. Because even 27 years later, it is a show that compassionately explores even the dark side of human nature." Full Review

“A beautifully unsettling Broadway revival…It’s aged nearly as well as the ‘Cats’ quips—far better than you’d expect…There’s plenty of profundity as well…On the outside, Ouisa is polished and buffed and shined to perfection, but inside, she’s ‘a collage of unaccounted-for brush strokes.’ In an argument with Flan, she asks him this question—one that I suspect Guare wants us all to ask ourselves: ‘How much of your life can you account for?’ Three days later, I still don’t have my answer.” Full Review

"Janney brings all the class and hilarity we have come to expect from her...Corey Hawkins' interpretation of the role of Paul is nothing short of spectacular...The core cast here are all excellent...Director Trip Cullman has not only worked his cast into a delightful frenzy, he has cultivated a crystal clear semiotic system for the play...Taken as a revival, this is a brilliant piece of theater...Recommended to the discerning theatergoer." Full Review

"Guare’s tale feels more relevant at a time when our culture is hopelessly addicted to money and all things celebrity...It is recommended for Guare’s sharp, insightful taking down of the gullibility of the P.C. left. And for some truly excellent performances. Allison Janney is spot-on perfect with every expression and droll delivery. John Benjamin Hickey is equally fine...The strongest performance comes from Corey Hawkins." Full Review

"Playwright John Guare’s 27-year-old piece holds just as much bite as it did when it emerged. Sharp satire is enhanced by on-target detail and wry syntax...Allison Janney is splendid, her appreciable comedic talents well showcased...John Benjamin Hickey does a yeoman like job but is miscast...Director Trip Cullman offers an interpretation with black humored snap and imagination. Staging is minimal and sharp-edged. When emotion shows itself, it’s all the more effective." Full Review

“Janney is a well-cast successor to Stockard Channing…It’s Hawkins who is the revelation as the deluded man so invested in his web of deceit that even he loses track of his identity…John Benjamin Hickey is great as the status-obsessed, acquisitive art dealer who can’t believe his wife has become enchanted by a petty criminal. Trip Cullman’s direction is peppy.” Full Review

“It is Channing’s shadow that the wonderful Allison Janney must escape from. This Janney does with all the command and blithe swagger you’d hope…This revival goes at a whipcrack pace…Janney and Hickey marshal the production engagingly—whether smug, tricked, or pained—and Hawkins as Paul is a coy, seductive, sly, and lively destabilizing presence…The satire of the true politics and character of rich Upper East Side liberals is pin-sharp.” Full Review