All About Terrence! Chita Rivera, Nathan Lane, Rita Moreno & More Salute 2019 Lifetime Achievement Tony Honoree Terrence McNally

Terrence McNally is a titan of the theater. With two dozen Broadway productions under his belt, he has won Tony Awards for his plays Love! Valour! Compassion! and Master Class as well as the books to the musicals Kiss of the Spider Woman and Ragtime. Now the beloved scribe is being honored with a Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre honor at the 2019 Tony Awards. To celebrate this distinguished accolade, we asked McNally's colleagues to pay tribute to the writer of works that include Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, (a new production, starring Audra McDonald and Michael Shannon, is currently running at the Broadhurst Theatre); The Rink; The Lisbon Traviata; The Ritz; Lips Together, Teeth Apart; Corpus Christi; The Full Monty; Mothers and Sons; Catch Me If You Can; The Visit; It’s Only a Play; Anastasia and many more. Read on to see what theater luminaries have to say about one of our great American playwrights.
 

IMPACT ON AMERICAN THEATER

"Terrence is one of the most prolific playwrights of this century and all centuries. His body of work is one of the greatest gifts to the theater. His plays, musicals and operas are honest, probing, diverse and so much more. Somehow he manages to find the humanity in all subjects he tackles—regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation or religion—brilliantly! I am particularly proud that through his work, Terrence was able to bring the message of the AIDS crisis to a broader audience."—Chita Rivera 

"Terrence McNally's impact on theater as a major contemporary playwright has been incredibly widespread and far-reaching over the six decades he's been working, and still reverberates today. First and foremost, he was writing about gay people as real human beings from his 1963 Broadway debut onward. Whether it was the early off-Broadway days, finding his voice and exploring many different themes, from sex to politics to show business, and in so many different forms, from drama to satire to a French farce set in a gay bathhouse called The Ritz that became a surprise Broadway hit. Then the rich and fertile years at Manhattan Theater Club, producing some of his finest work, not to mention his tremendous success as a librettist for musicals and operas, and on and on, until he became one of the most important voices in the American theater. Terrence is as prolific and as profound as ever. I think of him as the American Chekov, but a lot funnier."—Nathan Lane

"His impact on the American theater is enormous. His impact on me as a fellow artist is invaluable and humbling."—John Doyle

"His words play recklessly with your heart, have you aching with hilarity one minute (Oh, isn’t this going to be fun!), then he damages your heart with intolerable pain only to restore it a moment later with the sweet sadness of recognition. Devilish delight, heartbreak, then healing: The McNally Method. And we can’t get enough of it."—Swoosie Kurtz

"His impact is his unflinching faith in humanity; despite all the years in the trenches fighting for gay rights, AIDS research, same-sex marriage, despite his poor health and the loss of so many to the plague, his optimism still shines through his work. He is my champion, my hero."—F. Murray Abraham

"He’s a beautiful playwright who helped change gay rights. I mean, when I first came to New York, most gay people were hiding still—it was in the ’60s. I think Terrence helped to make that go away. He’s a beacon of honesty and truth and talent and humor. He writes plays that are moving and funny and everything all together."—John Glover

"He really opened up audiences to the gay world, and helped gay characters walk into the classic theater world. In the same way that Tennessee Williams shone a light on Southern culture, Terrence did that for the gay community by articulating their characters and stories. And for me, his obsession with opera really made me understand and appreciate something I knew nothing about. He articulated that world for me beautifully."—Faith Prince

"He sets the bar higher and higher. He has no fear in telling the story of many different walks of life. Like a chameleon, he can step into the shoes of any character and tell their story with humor, honesty and humanity. Art at its highest form makes the viewer feel. He has done this time and time again at the highest levels of excellence."—Christy Altomare

"If one thinks of playwrights as having 'voices,' Terrence’s is one of the singular and most recognizable of those voices in the tradition of Miller, Williams, Inge and Mamet. You know immediately the “sound” of his unique characters, which is not always true of the younger generation of playwrights. Yet! The witty urbanity, the sly satirical edge and the resolute heart beating always beneath the surface are sure indications we are in his presence."—Jack O’Brien

"Terrence is not only a dear friend to me but also one of the world's greatest gifts to the theater. I am continually inspired by the way he takes in his surroundings and crafts them into timeless words and stories that touch our hearts. His ability to see value and wonder in everyone and everything is an attribute we can all aspire to. Terrence's work will stand the test of time and continue to speak to audiences for generations to come."—Audra McDonald
 

THE BEST THING ABOUT WORKING WITH TERRENCE

"There is something so wonderfully comforting about being in a McNally play—his outrageous sense of humor makes a girl look so good."—Rita Moreno

"He is encouraging and passionate about his work. He does his research. He makes it easy for the actor to just trust in the text and allow the emotions they evoke to flow."—Christy Altomare

"He delivers. You never worry, if it be the book of a musical or a play that the morning after you’ve heard something that gives you pause, he will bring in the solution before the next rehearsal begins."—Jack O’Brien

"As an actor, the one thing you cannot—on pain of death—do to a McNally scene is add ‘a handle’ to a piece of dialogue. No ers, uhs, y’knows. It f**ks up his perfect sense of rhythm and God will definitely smite you with his mighty sword."—Rita Moreno

"He's got this boldness to him, and he doesn't suffer fools. There have been many instances where he just called me on my bullshit. He's there to help the story. He believes in collaboration and communication with a sense of humor thrown in there all the time."—John Glover

"There is no better collaborator in the world than Terrence. No one is happier to be in a sweaty rehearsal room with a new play and a group of nervous people trying to bring his story and characters to life. He still has a very pure, genuine, childlike excitement about the whole process that is infectious, inspiring and reminds you why you wanted to be in the theater in the first place. And sometimes he'll buy you lunch!"—Nathan Lane

"Terrence loves actors, that’s one of the best things about working with him; the other is he seems to write specifically for me; but then, I feel that way about Shakespeare, too."—F. Murray Abraham

"My two experiences of working with Terrence are amongst the great joys of my career. The Visit on Broadway and Fire and Air at CSC are memorable in different ways. The former a musical that had other incarnations, the latter a brand-new play. Terrence was the same on both—caring, understanding, full of empathy, funny, taxing and naughty. He is sensitive to the rehearsal process, respects actors and directors and puts the story above all else."—John Doyle

“Working with Terrence is a dream. I know I can always trust him, his instincts and most importantly, his words. I am incredibly blessed to have had so many opportunities to embody his characters.”—Chita Rivera
 

FAVORITE MCNALLY ANECDOTE

“His grim determination to ‘get it right’ when we were wading through the thicket of Catch Me If You Can gave rise to the brief epithet of ‘crankypants,’ which none of us ever had the courage to confront him with. Notice, I’m now disconnecting my phone!”—Jack O’Brien

“If you’re in one of his hilarious plays as I was in The Ritz, make every effort not to break up because if you do, you will soil your underwear. Guaranteed! Truly, it was one of the best times in my life.”—Rita Moreno

“One day in Anastasia rehearsals, we were working on a very emotional scene between Anya and Gleb. In this scene, Gleb pulls a gun out on Anya while Anya stands firm in her belief that she is Anastasia, even if it means that she must die at the hands of Gleb. Something opened up and my voice got louder and Terrence made a comment about the power in my voice that he didn’t know I had. It got me thinking about projection and the power my tiny body could hold. I will never forget that day.”—Christy Altomare

"This anecdote comes out of an improvisation that Bobby Drivas directed us to try in Bad Habits; I came up with the line, 'Fashionable,' which Terrence kept in the play. In his introduction to a collection of his work, he gave me credit for that line. How many playwrights would do that? Terrence has no ego problems.”—F. Murray Abraham

“I was playing Carrie Pipperidge in Carousel at the Kennedy Center and Terrence came up to me after a performance and I didn’t know who he was. He said, ‘You’re an actress, a real actress.’ Not long after that, he brought me in for the first reading of Urban Blight at Manhattan Theatre Club, then his play Bad Habits with Kate Nelligan and Nathan Lane. Then he wrote a beautiful role in the musical A Man of No Importance that I played, and I did his play Unusual Acts of Devotion with Richard Thomas… I got to do very different things in my career because of Terrence.”—Faith Prince

“I'll always remember the opening night of Lips Together, Teeth Apart. We all went to the Russian Tea Room, because Terrence loved it there, and he was on a pay phone with me standing next to him, and while someone read him the extremely positive New York Times review, he would repeat all the best blurbs for the both of us to me, looking like the happiest boy in all of Christendom.”—Nathan Lane

“I never share anecdotes. Suffice it to say, I'd do it all again in a heartbeat.”—John Doyle
 

FAVORITE MOMENTS FROM HIS SHOWS

“The great Zoe Caldwell as Maria Callas in Master Class telling an audience member to ‘get a look.’ Hilarious.”—Nathan Lane

“There is a scene in the third act of Love! Valour! Compassion! between Perry and Arthur, in which they discuss the fact that so many of their close friends are sick and dying. It’s an unbearable thing to talk about, much less for a writer to write about, but Terrence does this amazing thing: he turns the scene into a discussion about the proper grammar to use in describing someone whose death is imminent. And the scene becomes funny, and so specific, and because it’s so funny and specific, it’s also profoundly moving. It’s just a stunning piece of writing. It’s my favorite scene I have ever played on stage, and in a body of work filled with such moments, my favorite Terrence McNally moment, ever.”—John Benjamin Hickey

“I can’t name one favorite moment. There are far too many to name a specific one. Sometimes it can even be a silent moment. When two characters are developed and talk so well that when they both fall silent the audience knows exactly what both of them are thinking. I love the end of act one of Master Class. I love Anya’s recognition scene with the Dowager in Anastasia. I love Terrence’s ability to make you laugh and soon after cry as an audience member and an actor. There are far too many moments to pick a best.”—Christy Altomare

“There's that scene between the twins in Love! Valour! Compassion! where the twins confess. The mean twin, who's actually the frightened twin, confesses to his brother, who is loved by everyone. It's an amazing scene that I got to play.”—John Glover

“Lots of favorite moments! As Chris in The Ritz, singing and dancing: 'Ay Ay, Ay Ay, Have You Ever Been to the Tropics' in drag with balloons in my shirt. Another is playing myself in Frankie and Johnny. And wearing spaghetti on my head as a hated critic in It’s Only a Play was fun. Lots of plays, lots of moments.”—F. Murray Abraham

“I have so many fond memories of all the roles I played from The Rink and Spider Woman to my autobiographical musical The Dancer’s Life and more recently The Visit. The Dancer’s Life, Terrence had to basically consolidate my entire life and career in one show, and he did that so beautifully. It was a miracle! I am forever grateful to him for making me look so good!”—Chita Rivera

“The curtain rises. Period!”—Jack O’Brien