East 9th Street Co-Named Terrence McNally Way

“Go out and tell our story.” Friday morning, East 9th Street between University Place and Broadway was co-named in honor of Terrence McNally: renowned playwright, Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement winner, LGBTQ+ trailblazer, and longtime resident of the block. 

McNally’s many friends, family, neighbors, and collaborators gathered on the corner of 9th Street and University to celebrate the late playwright’s legacy with moving speeches, monologues from his work, and a performance from the upcoming Lincoln Center revival of Ragtime, for which McNally wrote the book.

As a writer, McNally chronicled the AIDS epidemic and its impacts on the LGBTQ+ community, love, compassion, and art itself. He won four Tony Awards — two for his plays, and two for books of musicals.    

“At a time when the arts are under attack in this country, books are being banned and LGBTQ+ rights are being eroded, honoring a fearless queer artist feels particularly meaningful,” Tom Kirdahy, McNally’s husband, said in his speech.

Before the unveiling of the Terrence McNally Way sign, Jonathan Groff, Francis Jue, and Donna Murphy performed monologues from three of his plays. The many attendees — including Lin-Manuel Miranda, Stephen Flaherty, Lynn Ahrens, and those who knew McNally well — were moved by hearing McNally’s words performed. Passersby stopped on the corner more than once, taking videos of the performers — and even shedding a tear.  

“Today, his works will be performed in theaters and opera houses, and tomorrow I will wake up to another message from a total stranger, telling me how he changed their lives,” Kirdahy said. “It happens every single day of my life, without fail, a parent who finally accepted their child's sexuality, a young person coming out, a playwright finding inspiration in his work, an audience member recounting a memory of a particularly magical night in the theater.” 

After the sign was unveiled, Caissie Levy and Brandon Uranowitz performed “Our Children,” accompanied by Stephen Flaherty. To close the ceremony, Brian Stokes Mitchell, who was in the original cast of Ragtime, gave a powerful rendition of “Make Them Hear You.” 

McNally and Kirdahy lived together on East 9th Street for many years — though Kirdahy said McNally was plenty settled on the block when they met in 2000. McNally “loved nothing more” than taking their dog on walks to Washington Square Park, and living amongst “so many artists and thinkers and students and dreamers in this neighborhood.”

“The village is known for its radical art, its defiant spirit. It has long been a home for people from all over the world who never really felt like they fit in until they found a place here in New York City,” said New York City Council member Carlina River, who passed the legislation to rename the street. “It's so fitting that we're co-naming this street in Terrence's honor, who embodies the spirit of our great city and this wonderful neighborhood.