Six Degrees Of Separation Play

Anecdotes are the meat of any dinner party, and, in the fall of 1983, New Yorkers were feasting on a juicy story about a charming young black man who managed to win the confidence of certain prominent New Yorkers by posing as the son of Sidney Poitier. On successive nights, "David Poitier" duped two couples by claiming to be a college friend of their children.

A few things have changed since John Guare's "Six Degrees of Separation" first held the mirror up to New York's social-climbing nature nearly two decades ago. The 5th Avenue setting graduated from million- to billion-dollar deals, the Japanese lost their yen for tourist treasures, and international Ponzi schemes came to replace the more personalized (and relatively small-potato) con games of yore. But as the Old Globe production of Guare's 1990 play makes clear, life is pretty much the same in the deluxe condos of the rich and rapacious.

When Stockard Channing received the call to join the cast of "Six Degrees of Separation," she had just finished starring in the pre-Broadway engagement of "Jake's Women," the first Neil Simon play to close out of town. About the last thing she wanted to do was jump into another play. Yet Blythe Danner, who had originally been cast in the pivotal role of Ouisa in "Six Degrees," had just quit the production and a replacement was desperately needed.

Anecdotes are the meat of any dinner party, and, in the fall of 1983, New Yorkers were feasting on a juicy story about a charming young black man who managed to win the confidence of certain prominent New Yorkers by posing as the son of Sidney Poitier. On successive nights, "David Poitier" duped two couples by claiming to be a college friend of their children.

A few things have changed since John Guare's "Six Degrees of Separation" first held the mirror up to New York's social-climbing nature nearly two decades ago. The 5th Avenue setting graduated from million- to billion-dollar deals, the Japanese lost their yen for tourist treasures, and international Ponzi schemes came to replace the more personalized (and relatively small-potato) con games of yore. But as the Old Globe production of Guare's 1990 play makes clear, life is pretty much the same in the deluxe condos of the rich and rapacious.

If you're a lover of the arts, you may just want to check into a Santa Barbara County hotel for the next few days, take off your coat and stay for a while. Because it's going to be busy. The arts and entertainment calendar over the next week includes plenty of theater, music, a wine festival and more. * Santa Barbara City College's Theatre Group will officially raise the curtain on its 1994-1995 season tonight with John Guare's multi-award-winning play "Six Degrees of Separation."

When Stockard Channing received the call to join the cast of "Six Degrees of Separation," she had just finished starring in the pre-Broadway engagement of "Jake's Women," the first Neil Simon play to close out of town. About the last thing she wanted to do was jump into another play. Yet Blythe Danner, who had originally been cast in the pivotal role of Ouisa in "Six Degrees," had just quit the production and a replacement was desperately needed.