Rattlestick Will Rename Theater in Honor of Terrence McNally

Rattlestick Theater will rename its longtime home at 224 Waverly Place as the Terrence McNally Theater when it reopens following its ongoing renovation.

The company already honors McNally’s legacy through its Terrence McNally New Works Incubator, a program that provides early-career writers with time, space, and support to develop new plays.

Built in 1854, the Waverly Place building has housed Rattlestick since 1999. The current renovation will significantly upgrade the facility, adding elevators and new restrooms to improve accessibility, expanding backstage and front-of-house areas, and transforming the auditorium into a more flexible performance space.

One of the most influential American playwrights of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, McNally was known for his emotionally rich, groundbreaking plays including Love! Valour! Compassion!, Master Class, Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, and Lips Together, Teeth Apart, along with musicals including Ragtime, Anastasia, and Kiss of the Spider Woman

Over a career spanning more than five decades, he earned multiple Tony Awards and helped shape the voice of contemporary American theater.