Six Degrees of Separation
A young black man named Paul shows up at the home of art dealer Flan Kittredge and his wife Ouisa, injured, bleeding and claiming to have been mugged. Flan and Ouisa Kittredge are Fifth Avenue socialites and self confessed distinguished arbiters of culture. They live a privileged and insular world overlooking Central Park in New York City. Paul says he's a friend of their children (who are described as Ivy League progeny), at Harvard University. Paul claims he is in New York to meet his father, Sidney Poitier who is directing a film version of the Broadway musical Cats.
Paul in reality is a consummate con artist for whom the Kittredge’s are easy prey. Impressing Ouisa and Flan with his articulate literary expositions, Paul proves to be a sharp-witted, learned young man with epicurean taste and surprising culinary skills. His highbrow façade is so charmingly persuasive, Paul soon has the Kittredge’s lending him money, putting him up for the night and taking satisfaction in his appraisal of their posh lifestyle.
Paul (if that even is his name) is not a Harvard student but obtained details on the Kittredge’s from another male student (Trent Conway) he had seduced. Eventually Paul uses their home for an encounter with a hustler, but is disturbed by the Kittredges. The police are called, but Paul escapes.
As Paul's plot unravels it becomes clear that Kittredges are not the first privileged New York family to fall for his charms. He fast becomes an urban legend of the upper crust, a witty anecdote to banter about at cocktail parties
Soon after, Paul starts up another con against a sensitive young man named Rick and his live-in girlfriend, Elizabeth. The young couple is new to the big city and, based on Paul's con, invites him to live with them until he gets everything sorted out with his wealthy father—who Paul tells them is Flan Kittredge. The trio become good friends, with Paul spinning a tale of being estranged from his racist father; the girlfriend tells Rick not to lend Paul any money. One night Paul takes Rick out on the town, and seduces him in order to get the money. Later that night, Rick tells Elizabeth that Paul is gone, that he has all their money, and that he and Paul had sex. In a fit of fury, she cruelly suggests that Rick's father had always questioned his son's sexuality. Soon afterwards Rick commits suicide.
In desperation, Paul calls the Kittredges for assistance. Partly due to strained relations with her children, Ouisa finds herself feeling emotionally attached to Paul, hoping to be able to help him in some way despite the fact that he has victimized them. Over a protracted and laborious phone call, he agrees to give himself up to the police; however, during the arrest, he and the couple are separated. Despite their efforts—Ouisa's more than Flan's—his fate is unresolved, except for a possibly tragic end.
However, he has a profound effect on the many individuals who encounter him during the play, linking them like in their shared experience, like six degrees of separation.