This book about Terrence McNally is less a biography (although we do earn aspects of his growing up and relationships), and more about his long career with its successes and failures. To learn he was influenced by Kukla, Fran and Ollie growing up (there is an opera singer puppet) was really interesting to me. In general, this book does a great job of showing how different relationships influenced his writing. A very poignant section is the influence of his high school English teacher, Mrs. Mac, who saw his potential and encouraged him. A really funny scene was when a TV special he wrote was rejected and he found out immediately because Norman Lear had a fax machine in his car! It also touches on his romantic relationships (most famously with Edward Albee) but with others (some of whom stayed closeted due to career pressures). There is good detail here on his creative process -- he liked to write and then collaborate to shape it during rehearsal. There are interviews with Nathan Lane, Kathy Bates and Christine Baranski, (and many others) who all worked with him and passages about James Coco which I enjoyed reading too. The author had access to his archives at the University of Texas. His impact on theater is impressive. An enjoyable read.


Thank you to Netgalley and Globe Pequot, Applause for an ARC and I left this review voluntarily.