‘Six Degrees of Separation’ is the concept that every individual on the planet can be connected to every other individual through six or fewer social connections. First posited in the late 1920s, it entered the cultural lexicon via John Guare’s same-named play in 1990, so much so that a parlor game in which participants were challenged to connect every actor in the world to Kevin Bacon became quite popular. For folks interested at a look at the original, Sonoma Arts Live has a production of Six Degrees of Separation running through Feb. 16.

Playwright Guare was told a story by some socialite friends about a young man claiming to be the son of Sidney Poitier ingratiating himself into their lives.  From that bit of storytelling, Guare developed a Tony Award-winning play and a film adaptation that starred Will Smith in his first dramatic role.

Private art dealer Flan Kittredge (Larry Williams) and his wife Ouisa (Mary Samson) are entertaining an out-of-town guest (Lukas Raphael) with the hopes of his joining a syndicate to make a substantial investment in a piece of art.  Their evening is interrupted by the arrival of Paul (Jonathen Blue), a young man claiming to have just been mugged who turns to the Kittredges for help, as he is a friend of their children. He’s soon regaling the three with tales of his life as Sidney Poitier’s son, cooking them dinner, and assuring them he can get them jobs as extras on the film his father is coming to town to direct. Paul is invited to spend the evening at the Kittredges.

Ouisa wakes up to find Paul in bed with a hustler. Flan throws them out. They contact their children to find out about their friend and discover they’ve never heard of him. How did he know so much about them? Who was he? Their investigation leads them to other people who had engaged with Paul who had similar experiences, one ending in tragedy. How were they all connected?  

The human desire for connection is at the heart of this play, and the desperate measures one is willing to take to make those connections provides the drama, while the desperate measures one takes to project an ‘image’ provides the comedy.  Authenticity is also an issue, as Guare examines the challenge of really getting to know someone, let alone knowing oneself. The “Who is Paul?” question leads to the bigger question “Who am I?”

Director Libby Oberlin has cast the show well, with musical performer Jonathen Blue showing impressive range with a complex dramatic character. Mary Samson is remarkable as Ouisa, whose desperation for a genuine connection with Paul as a replacement for the lack of connection with her own children is palpable. Larry Williams also does well as the floundering family patriarch. 

There’s a very talented ensembled (Jake Druzgala, Beth Ellen Ethridge, Pilar Gonzalez, Sean O’Brien, Jess Rodgers, Felizia Rubio, Tim Setzer and the aforementioned Raphael) taking on multiple roles and through those characters providing many of the play’s lighter moments.

Six Degrees… is neither pure comedy nor pure dramedy but one of those shows where both are utilized to engage an audience with an interesting story while subtly addressing several issues, among them classism, racism, the allure of celebrity, and the vapidity of Cats. It’s as much a rumination on storytelling as anything else.

Other than some distracting directorial flourishes, this production is a story well told.

Sonoma Arts Live presents ‘Six Degrees of Separation’ through February 16 on the Rotary Stage at Andrews Hall in the Sonoma Community Center, 276 E. Napa St., Sonoma. Thurs – Sat, 7:30pm; Sun, 2pm. $25 -$42. 707-484-4874. sonomaartslive.org

Photos by Miller Oberlin

This review originally appeared in an edited version in the North Bay Bohemian.