Four-time Tony Award winning playwright and librettist Terrence McNally passed away on March 24 at age 81 from complications due to coronavirus. A trailblazer in LGBT representation, McNally’s plays include Love! Valour! Compassion!, The Ritz, Master Class, Mothers & Sons, Deuce, Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, It's Only a Play, and Lips Together, Teeth Apart. He also wrote the book for the musicals Kiss of the Spider Woman, The Rink, Ragtime, Anastasia, The Full Monty , The Visit, A Man of No Importance and Catch Me If You Can. In 2019, Terrence McNally was honored with a special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement. Here’s his speech from that night.
To celebrate the life of the seven-time Tony Award nominee and his six decades in the American theatre, revisit Terrence McNally: Every Act of Life, a PBS American Masters documentary available to buy or rent on YouTube or watch online with PBS Passport. Check out the trailer for Every Act of Life below.
