Allison Janney & John Benjamin Hickey Will Headline Broadway Revival of Six Degrees of Separation

Emmy winner Allison Janney and Tony winner John Benjamin Hickey will headline a Broadway revival of John Guare’s Six Degrees of Separation this spring. The production, directed by Trip Cullman, will begin performances in April 2017 at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, where it will run for 15 weeks.

Janney and Hickey, who recently appeared together in the Netflix film Tallulah, will play Ouisa and Flan, respectively—the roles originated by Stockard Channing and John Cunningham on stage and Channing and Donald Sutherland on screen.

Janney earned a Tony nod for her last appeared on Broadway in 9 to 5; she was also nominated for A View from the Bridge and appeared in Present Laughter. She is a seven-time Emmy winner, having picked up four for The West Wing, two for Mom and one for her guest performance in Masters of Sex. Her recent film credits include Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children and The Girl on the Train.

Hickey won a Tony Award for his performance in the 2011 revival of The Normal Heart. His previous Broadway credits include Mary Stuart, The Crucible, Cabaret and Love! Valour! Compassion! On screen, he’s known for his performance in the WGN series Manhattan.

The play, inspired by a true story, tell the story of Ouisa and Flan Kittredges, a wealthy New York couple who take in Paul, a young man who cons them into believing he’s a friend of their son at Harvard and the son of Sidney Poitier. After they discover his lies, Ouisa and Flan piece together his true identity and their connection to him, as well as the similar encounters their upper class friends have had with Paul.

Guare’s drama-comedy premiered off-Broadway in 1990 and transferred to the Great White Way later that year. Stockard Channing, who received a Tony nomination for her performance as Ouisa, reprised her role for the film adaptation, earning an Oscar nod.

Additional casting, design team and production dates will be announced at a later time. The Barrymore's next tenant, The Present, is scheduled to play a limited engagement through March 19.