Terrence McNally is an openly gay American playwright

He was born in St. Petersburg, Florida on November 3rd, 1939, and was raised in Corpus Christi, Texas. In 1956, McNally moved to New York City to attend Columbia University to major in English, graduating in 1960. In the same year, he gained membership into the Phi Beta Kappa Society.

After graduation, McNally moved to Mexico to focus on his writing, completing a one-act play which he submitted to The Actor's Studio in New York for production. While the play was turned down by the acting school, the Studio was impressed with the script, and McNally was invited to serve as the Studio's stage manager so that he could gain practical knowlege of theater.

Selected works

• And Things That Go Bump in the Night (1964)
• Next (1969)
• The Ritz (1975)
• Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune (1987)
• The Lisbon Traviata (1989)
• Andre's Mother (1990)
• Lips Together, Teeth Apart (1991)
• Kiss of the Spider Woman (1992)
• Love! Valour! Compassion! (1994)
• Master Class (1995)
• Corpus Christi (1997)

Awards

• A Rockefeller Grant (1964)
• Two Guggenheim Fellowships (1966, and 1969)
• Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Miniseries or a Special, Andre's Mother (1990)
• Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical, Kiss of the Spider Woman (1993)
• Tony Award for Best Play, Love! Valour! Compassion! (1995)
• Tony Award for Best Play, Master Class (1996)
• Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical, Ragtime (1998)
• A Citation from the American Academy of Arts and Letters

External links

• Press Release about Corpus Christi
• Guggenheim Fellowship listing