Six Degrees of a House of Blue Leaves ... and A Free Man of Color

John Guare, author of Six Degrees of Separation and The House of Blue Leaves, is back on Broadway this year with his first new play in 18 years, this one called A Free Man of Color.  The play opened last night at The Vivian Beaumont Theatre at Lincoln Center to mixed reviews.  The show was cited as trying to do too many things at once (though, in my experience, this can either be a good thing or a bad thing, so I'm not as worried about that as some reviewers seem to think it is).  The show was highly praised for Jeffrey Wright's leading performance, as well as the visually lush presentation and strong direction by George C. Wolfe, leading me to think there will definitely be nominations for these folks come May or June when the nominations are announced.  Just based on its scale alone, this play (which was cut down to two and a half hours from about five) may get a Best Play nomination, as well -- particularly in a year weak on new plays.  The play has been compared to Tony Kushnier's Angels in America (which won the Best Play Tony and was also directed by Wolfe) in the early 1990s, adding to the play's chances this year.