The coronavirus has claimed one of Broadway’s own. The much-lauded and prolific playwright, Terrence McNally, 81, a lung cancer survivor who lived with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, died on Tuesday, March 24 at Sarasota Memorial Hospital in Sarasota, FL, of complications from COVID-19. McNally led a full, rich, productive life, both personally and professionally.
He was presented the Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre in 2019. He was the recipient, among many awards, of back-to-back Tonys for his dramas Love! Valour! Compassion! in 1995 and Master Class in 1996. In 1993 he won the Tony for his book of the musical Kiss of the Spider Woman, and for the book of Ragtime in 1998. He also was presented with the Lucille Lortel Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2015.
Terrence McNally was born on November 3, 1938 in St. Petersburg, FL, later moving with his family to Port Chester, NY and then to Corpus Christi, TX. He entered Columbia University in 1956 as a journalism major, graduating in 1960. He spent some time living in Mexico to focus on playwriting before returning permanently to New York City.
McNally made his Broadway debut with an adaptation of The Lady of the Camellias (1963), which was followed by a body of work as impressive as can be imagined. His plays and musical books include: And Things That Go Bump in the Night (1965), Morning, Noon and Night (1968), Bad Habits (1974), The Ritz (1975), The Rink (1984), Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune (1987), Lips Together, Teeth Apart (1991), Kiss of the Spider Woman (1993), The Full Monty (2001), A Man of No Importance (2002), Love! Valour! Compassion! (1994), Chita Rivera: The Dancer’s Life (2005), Deuce (2007), The Visit (2011), Mothers and Sons (2014), It’s Only a Play (2015) and Anastasia (2017). These works represent only a fraction of the tremendous output of their author. McNally’s career was multifaceted and embraced his many interests in subjects such as opera, history and gay culture of the late 20th century. He wrote for stage, film, opera and television.
Early in his career, McNally entered into a four-year relationship with fellow playwright, Edward Albee. He was also in a long-term relationship with actor/director, the late Robert Drivas, who died in 1986 of AIDS. In latter years, McNally’s long-time partner has been Broadway producer Tom Kirdahy. The couple had a civil union ceremony in Vermont on December 20, 2003 and legally married on April 6, 2010 in Washington, D.C., celebrating the Supreme Court’s decision to legalize same-sex marriage in all 50 states. McNally and Kirdahy renewed their vows at New York City Hall, with Mayor Bill de Blasio officiating, on June 26, 2015.
The papers of Terrence McNally are held by the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin. The open archive, which has continued to receive updates from McNally, includes all of his major works for stage, screen and television, as well as correspondence, posters, production photographs, programs, reviews, awards, speeches and recordings.
McNally is survived by Kirdahy; his brother Peter McNally, and his wife, Vicky McNally, and their son, Stephen McNally and family; and by members of the Kirdahy family, including his mother-in-law, Joan Kirdahy.
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