Six Degrees of Separation NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (436)
See it if You want to see great cast in a great show, a version that intercepts humor (Allison Janney is marvelous), a show that touches you.
Don't see it if No reason not to see it. Read more
See it if You want a relevant play with strong performances. Their chemistry is amazing and really is a powerful story. I left the theatre moved.
Don't see it if You are uncomfortable with race or homophobic. Hawkins works his way into a rich white couples lives and shows a few homosexual scenes. Read more
See it if you truly believe truth IS stranger than fiction, are riveted by odd yet well-acted dramas, and willing to absorb every philosophical word.
Don't see it if you dislike plays that break the fourth-wall; wanting clear-cut comedy OR drama (this is a play of Realism/Metafiction); offended by nudity. Read more
See it if want an excellent cast (Janney and Hawkins shine) in a well written, intelligent and entertaining show. It is quick and well paced.
Don't see it if other than wanting a better ending, see it.
See it if Guare's social satire still packs a punch almost 30 yrs later. Slightly dated but revelant in new ways, Janney & Hawkins' chemistry ignite
Don't see it if Cullman's direction tends to emphasize the farcical nature of the piece but the poignancy & offbeat love story comes through competently
See it if you want a well-crafted piece of theater that's provocative & surprisingly still relevant despite it being 'dated' in an oddly good way.
Don't see it if you're looking for light entertainment.
See it if A peek at the mores of 5th Ave life appeals. Pursuit of the cushy life leaves the Kittridges open to Paul's persuasive con. Gripping & funny
Don't see it if Full nudity offends. The whiny rich kids are a bit over the top. Otherwise, it's worth an evening. It's closing soon.
See it if you want to see a really well-balanced dramedy with some really solid acting
Don't see it if you don't like characters narrating the story to the audience. you are uncomfortable with full frontal male nudity
Critic Reviews (53)
“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.”
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“Awkward and noisy and obvious when it’s not confused…As directed by Trip Cullman it now seems to be about the children of privilege as much as their parents. One struggles to drum up interest in any of them…The marvelous Janney seems perfect to take on the role of Ousia but it still seems haunted a bit by Channing’s bravura turn the first time around...It’s not technology that has dated ‘Six Degrees of Separation.’ It’s time.”
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"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."
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“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.”
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“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."
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“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.”
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"In the nineties, this story—and play—had shock value, but now, in the age of identity theft and Internet fraud, it doesn’t quite have the same pull. But Trip Cullman’s production is strong, with Allison Janney nailing the laughs...John Benjamin Hickey and Corey Hawkins are good...One sequence relies on a lot of screaming to get sitcommy effects, but mainly the tone is wry, as the characters break the fourth wall with monologues and asides."
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“Overplays the comedy and obscures the tragedy of this ingenious, complex and haunting play…Cullman turns up the dial on the farcical aspects of Guare's rapid-fire script, sending the story and the characters spilling into cartoonishness. By the second half, when 'Six Degrees' shifts into much darker terrain, this production has lost its footing…The lead actors all seem off, lacking in substance (Hickey), or mystery (Hawkins), or, in Janney's case, unwilling to plumb the depths of anguish."
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