Multiple Tony-winning playwright Terrence McNally dies at 81

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His plays and musicals e[plored how people con nect ² or fail to. With wit and thoughtfulness, he tack led the strains in families, war, and relationships and probed the spark and costs of creativity. He was an openly gay writer who wrote about homophobia, love and AI'S.

³I like to work with people who are a lot more talented and smarter than me, who make fewer mistakes than I do, and who can call me out when I do something la]y,´ he told /A Stage Times in

01 . ³A lot of people stop learning in life, and that¶s their tragedy.´

0c1ally¶s ³/ips Togeth er, Teeth Apart,´ about two married couples who spend a weekend on )ire Island, was a landmark play about AI'S. His play ³The 5it]´ became one of the first plays with un apologetic gay characters to reach a mainstream audience.

0c1ally also e[plored gay themes in the book for the musical ³.iss of the Spi der Woman,´ for which he won his first Tony Award. His play ³/ove 9alour &om passion ´ earned him another Tony Award for its portrayal of eight gay men facing is sues of fidelity, love and hap piness.

³Theater changes hearts, that secret place where we all truly live,´ he said at the

01 Tony Awards, where he accepted a lifetime achieve ment award. ³The world needs artists more than ever to remind us what truth and beauty and kindness really are.´