BWW Reviews: Country Playhouse's SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION is Wooden but Interesting

There is always a certain electric buzz that seems to surround any production of a show with a recognizable title. Some people will research the origin of the show, and with John Guare's SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION, they'll find that Frigyes Karinthy, a Hungarian author, playwright, poet, journalist, and translator was the first proponent of the theory that everyone is connected to everyone else by six or fewer degrees of separation. He examined this in his 1929 short story, "Chains" (Láncszemek). This very theory was popularized by the 1990 play and 1993 film adaption of SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION. People might remember that following the success of the play and the film, while watching FOOTLOOSE, students at Albright College created the game "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon." Those people will recall how everyone in the 90s was figuring out how every actor and actress was connected to Kevin Bacon through their work in film and commercials. Elements such as these build anticipation for productions of shows with mane recognition.

John Guare's SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION is loosely based on the real-life story of David Hampton, a con man that convinced a number of people he was the son of Sidney Poitier in the 1980s. In the play, a young black man named Paul arrives at the sumptuous home of Flan Kittredge, an art dealer, and his wife Ouisa. Paul is hurt from an attempted mugging and claims to be friends with the Kittredge children. Paul charms the Kittredges and promises to get them cast in his father's, Sidney Portier's, film adaptation of the Broadway musical CATS because of their hospitality. But it doesn't stop there; the lies and deceptions continue to multiply as the plot progresses. Twists in the plot are added with every scene and conflict the motives of each character.

Direction by Jim Tommaney plays significant service to the theme of imagination and the power it has over the human condition. Unfortunately, this zealous adherence to this one thematic element negatively affects the ability for the audience to have any sincere emotional connections to the characters in Paul Guare's accomplished and acclaimed work. Dynamics, subtle or otherwise, are hardly present in the production, causing each of the many characters in the work to come across as stagnant or wooden. The audience I saw the show with began shifting and fidgeting with boredom and discomfort after the repetition of the opening moment about 30 minutes into the play. In this production, the constant breaking of the 4th wall to narrate the plot makes the play feel more like an illustrated lecture than a play. It also puts an uncomfortable distance between the audience and the story, which does not allow us to be drawn into the production. Moreover, there is only one slight emotional arc that any character seems to traverse in the production, and it really doesn't become apparent until it's almost too late. As Ouisa delivers her famous climatic monologue over the phone to Paul, the tendrils of emotional breadth begin to spread and take hold. The audience becomes truly engaged by the production for the first time, and the play ends shortly thereafter.

Renata Smith plays the pivotal Ouisa Kittredge with charm and grace. She adopts and pristinely uses the upper class accent of the New England old money rich, building her back-story for the audience. Renata Smith's Ouisa is warm, especially when beguiled by Paul. However, it is not until Paul calls the apartment towards the end of the play that the audience even gets a glimpse into how fond she is of her former houseguest. The jump from fear, disdain, and confusion the night they threw him out to tender concern and care is puzzlingly abrupt.

As Paul, Christopher St. Mary capably illustrates how he won over the Kittredges with charisma and a great smile. As the play explores his motivations for conning people, the character becomes developed to a degree. However, the audience misses the meat behind his actions.

Playing Flan Kittredge, Brian Heaton excels at showcasing the materialism that accompanies our stereotyped notions of the rich. The show opens with his wife in hysterics and all he can do is check that artifacts from his art collection are present. Likewise, throughout the play, he is more concerned with the Paul Cézanne painting in the auction and his own Wassily Kandinsky painting to notice anything that really happens around him.

Kitty and Larkin, played by Yvonne Owen Nelson and Sam Stengler, are an amiable and affable moneyed couple. They too were duped by Peter, but are less savvy and aware than the Kittredges.

Lee Honeycutt's Doctor Fine is easily persuaded by Paul and becomes outraged as soon as he realizes he has been so effortlessly tricked.

Jenny Ruess as Tess, Austin Allie as Woody, Caleb Batchman as Ben, and Steve Kelley as Doug portray the spoiled and seemingly unloved kids of the rich parents. They're all angst-ridden and angry.

As Trent Conway, Logan Varden creates a character that touches audiences with his devotional love for Paul. While hardly on stage for more than five minutes, he brings life to the role, begging Paul not to leave him.

Kaylin Zeren and Jose Rivera skillfully play the young couple from Utah, Elizabeth and Rick. In their brief moments on stage the play became engrossing and stirring. The audience is fully enraptured and fascinated in their struggles and feels for them as they get lost in Paul's scams. When I saw the show, Kaylin Zeren and Jose Rivera hands down gave the best performances in the entire production.

Geoffrey, played by Carl Masterson, is the owner of South African gold mines serves as an intriguing dinner guest with an interest in art.

Roy Hamlin's Detective, Mark Reyes' Doorman, and Ignatius "Iggy" Nguyen's Hustler are all business. Each character is relegated only to their job title.

Set Design by Jim Tommaney plays into the notion of imagination with his pop-up book like design. The living room of the Kittredge household is rather realistic, but outside the windows are painted silhouette flats that represent the trees of Central Park and the skyline of New York City.

Light Design by Cameron Cooper is simplistic and cleverly uses spot lights to differentiate locations outside of the Kittredge apartment.

Costume Design by Deborah Blake does a good job differentiating levels of wealth for the cast. Some choices look rather modern for a play that would be set in late 80s.

Joshua Mishler's Sound Design uses traffic sounds on 5th avenue for great effect. His preshow music and curtain call song utilizes recognizable anthems like "Viva La Vida" by Coldplay for rousing effect.

The Country Playhouse's production of SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION, even with the flaws discussed, is interesting but flat. The complex script was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 1990, but this production is too simplistic, choosing to only highlight one theme, to showcase why the writing earned such laudatory praise.

SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION runs on the Cerwinske stage at the Country Playhouse through May 25, 2013. For more information and tickets, please visit http://www.countryplayhouse.org or call (713) 467 - 4497.

Photos courtesy of the Country Playhouse.

Renata Smith and Brian Heaton enjoy an anecdote from Chistopher St. Mary (seated).

Renata Smith and Brian Heaton.

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