The Terrence McNally Foundation and Tom Kirdahy Productions have announced that late, Tony Award-winning playwright Terrence McNally will be honored with a namesake roadway. East Ninth Street in Manhattan, between Broadway and University Place, will be named Terrence McNally Way, in honor of the playwright who made his home on the block for nearly a quarter century. An event unveiling the new name will take place on May 30 at the corner of East 9th Street and University Place. The unveiling is free and open to the public.
The unveiling will feature appearances by Tony winners Jonathan Groff and Brian Stokes Mitchell, the latter of whom originated the role of Coalhouse Walker in McNally’s “Ragtime.” The event will also include a performance by Caissie Levy and Tony winner Brandon Uranowitz, both of whom are slated to appear in the upcoming Main Stem revival of “Ragtime.” New York City Council Members Carlina Rivera and Erik Bottcher will be in attendance.
McNally is the one of only three artists (along with Harvey Fierstein and Alfred Uhry) to have earned Tony Awards in both the Best Play and Best Book of a Musical categories. Moreover, McNally is the only person to have won each award twice, having taken home Best Play trophies in 1995 for “Love! Valour! Compassion!” and in 1996 for “Master Class,” as well as Best Book awards in 1993 for “Kiss of the Spider Woman” and 1998 for “Ragtime.” McNally, who passed away in 2020 at the age of 81, received the lifetime achievement Tony in 2019. Tom Kirdahy, president of Tom Kirdahy Productions and McNally’s late spouse, established the playwright’s namesake foundation in 2022.
“For decades, Terrence’s words lit up the stages of New York and gave voice to its beating heart; now, his legacy is quite literally part of its streetscape,” said Foundation executive director Santino DeAngelo, in a statement. “To have ‘Terrence McNally Way’ just steps from where he lived and worked, in the Village he so deeply loved, is not only a tribute to his extraordinary contributions to the American theater, but a permanent reminder that this City was his muse, his battleground, his sanctuary and his home.”
“Terrence died five years ago but his memory is very much alive in my heart and in the hearts and minds of theatergoers across the globe,” added Kirdahy. “I can't think of a single day since he passed that I haven’t received a note, a call or a message about how he changed people’s lives with his words and deeds. Terrence and I loved living together on Ninth Street, so alive with artists, students, fascinating people and true New York characters. Terrence paved the way for so many young playwrights and LGBTQ people so it seems fitting that the street where we lived and I continue to live will now be known as Terrence McNally Way. My heart is full.”
