When the Tony Award nominations were announced for the 2016-2017 season, we decided to test that theory and determine how intertwined some of this year’s nominees are.
Starting with Corey Hawkins, Tony-nominated for his leading performance in—what else?—Six Degrees of Separation, we connected the dots between Tony-nominated performers based on the shows they’ve worked on together to prove yes, there are truly only six degrees tying together Broadway’s greatest talents.
Hawkins, nominated for Six Degrees of Separation, made his Broadway debut as Tybalt in 2013’s Romeo + Juliet alongside Jayne Houdyshell as the Nurse.
Houdyshell, nominated for A Doll’s House, Part 2, appeared in the 2011 revival of Follies as Hattie Walker alongside Mary Beth Peil’s Solange LaFitte.
Peil, nominated for Anastasia, worked alongside Rachel Bay Jones (both ensemblists) in the David Yazbek-penned musical Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown.
Jones, nominated for Dear Evan Hansen, starred alongside Gavin Creel’s Claude as a Member of the Tribe in the Tony-winning revival of Hair.
Rannells starred as Whizzer this past fall in the revival of Falsettos, which also starred Stephanie J. Block as Trina.
Block shared the stage twice with Andy Karl—when she played Judy and he played Joe in 9 to 5, and again when she played Edwin Drood/Alice Nutting and Karl played Neville Landless/Victor Grinstead in The Mystery in Edwin Drood.
Karl, nominated for Groundhog Day, was the infamous UPS guy in Legally Blonde The Musical alongside Christian Borle’s Emmett Forrest.
Borle, nominated for Falsettos, shared the screen with Condola Rashad in Smash.
And, coming full circle, Rashad played Juliet in Romeo + Juliet with Hawkins.
*Fun Fact: Creel and Rannells also share a history with the role of Elder Price in the smash hit The Book of Mormon. Rannells earned his first Tony nomination for creating the role on Broadway, and Creel took home the Olivier Award for playing the role in the original London production.
By Meg Masseron | April 2, 2026
