“Straight Outta Compton” star Corey Hawkins will join Allison Janney and John Benjamin Hickey in this spring’s Broadway revival of John Guare’s “Six Degrees of Separation.”
Hawkins will play Paul, the young con man who infiltrates Manhattan society by falsely claiming to be the son of Sidney Poitier. Will Smith memorably played the role in the 1993 movie.
Trip Cullman will direct the production, which will begin previews on April 5 before an official opening at the Barrymore Theatre on Tuesday, April 25, 2017. The limited run is scheduled to conclude in July.
Hawkins, a Juilliard grad, first gained recognition with his breakout performance as music producer and hip-hop legend Dr. Dre in F. Gary Gray’s N.W.A biopic “Straight Outta Compton.” He’s also scheduled to star opposite Miranda Otto and Jimmy Smits in the new iteration of Fox’s “24” franchise, “24: Legacy,” which is scheduled to launch on Feb. 5 after the Super Bowl.
Hawkins recently wrapped production on the King Kong prequel tentpole “Kong: Skull Island” with director Jordan Vogt-Roberts. His credits also include Heath in AMC’s “The Walking Dead” and “Iron Man 3.”
His stage credits include playing Tybalt in David Leveaux’s Broadway revival of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet,” opposite Orlando Bloom and Condola Rashad.
Guare’s play premiered Off Broadway at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater on May 16, 1990 before moving to Broadway’s Vivian Beaumont Theater on Nov. 8, 1990.
The play received the 1991 New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Play, an Obie award for the playwright, and the 1993 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play. It was a finalist for the 1991 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and received a Tony Award nomination for Best Play.
The Broadway revival is produced by Stuart Thompson and Tim Levy. The design team will include Mark Wendland (sets), Ben Stanton (lighting), and Darron L West (sound).