EVERY ACT of LIFE Introduction 2020

Home , Alan Cumming, Audra McDonald, Billy Porter (actor), John Benjamin Hickey, John Glover (actor), Jon Robin Baitz

“OVERFLOWING WITH LOVE AND WIT.” – The New York Times “RIVETING AND REVEALING.” – Entertainment Weekly

“INSIGHTFUL AND MOVING.” – Newsweek “I WASN’T PREPARED FOR THE EMOTIONAL RELEASE OF THIS FILM.” - The Village Voice JUNE 14, 2019 PREMIERE TERRENCE MCNALLY: EVERY ACT OF LIFE With F. Murray Abraham, Lynn Ahrens, Jon Robin Baitz, Christine Baranski, Dominic Cuskern, Tyne Daly, Edie Falco, Stephen Flaherty, John Glover, Anthony Heald, John Benjamin Hickey, Sheryl Kaller, John Kander, Roberta Kaplan, Tom Kirdahy, Larry Kramer, Nathan Lane, Angela Lansbury, Paul Libin, Joe Mantello, Marin Mazzie, Audra McDonald, Terrence McNally, Peter McNally, Lynne Meadow, Rita Moreno, Jack O’Brien, Billy Porter, Chita Rivera, Doris Roberts, Don Roos, John Slattery, Micah Stock, Richard Thomas, John Tillinger, & Patrick Wilson, plus the voices of Dan Bucatinsky, Bryan Cranston, & Meryl Streep The son of an alcoholic beer distributor, Terrence McNally grew up in conservative southern Texas, went to Columbia University at 17, traveled the world as tutor to John Steinbeck's children (Steinbeck’s only advice was, "Don't write for the theater, it will break y o u r h e a r t ” ) ; a n d s t a r t e d a l 7 - y e a r relationship with Edward Albee when Terrence was in college and Albee was writing “Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf.” Terrence had his first play open on Broadway in 1965 at age 24 (it was an infamous flop), a n d w e n t o n t o w r i t e d o z e n s o f groundbreaking plays and musicals about sexuality, homophobia, faith, the power of art, the need to connect, and finding meaning in every moment of life. The first openly Gay major American playwright (Albee, Tennessee Williams, Thornton Wilder, and William Inge were all in the closet when he began his career), Terrence also wrote, to quote producer Paul Libin, “The first Broadway play with a positive, confident, openly gay character.” That is a significant but largely unheralded milestone. Tony and Emmy winner Billy Porter says in the film, “We might forget this today because we’ve come so far, but Terrence was really cutting edge. Like the character Kerry in Noon (1968), he’s gay and he’s out, with no shame. We stand on his shoulders!” Attorney and activist Roberta Kaplan said, “Terrence started so early to show Americans who gay people are. He did it before anyone else. He did it better than anyone else.”

Terrence has won an Emmy Award, 5 Tony Awards, 4 Drama Desk Awards, and 2 Obies. He lost a lover and many friends to AIDS; had a love afair with playwright Wendy Wasserstein; stopped drinking through the intervention of Angela Lansbury; helped launch the careers of James Coco, Nathan Lane, F. Murray Abraham, Audra McDonald, Doris Roberts, Patrick Wilson, and Joe Mantello; was an early champion of marriage equality and faced violent protests for his play Corpus Christi; survived a brutal ﬁght with lung cancer; and ﬁnally found lasting love with his now-husband, producer Tom Kirdahy. “I never really quite understood before what it was to have a hero, but this

ﬁlm made me realize Terrence McNally is mine. Not just as the unmistakable, always prescient, deceptively simple but piercing to the very core of humanity playwright, but ofstage too: this is a man who has been utterly himself when others feared to even say they knew him. Out and proud doesn’t even begin to describe him or the good he has done for us all. His spirit has soared across decades of the American cultural scene like a beacon of hope, provocation and aspiration.”

- ALAN CUMMING

“EVERY ACT OF LIFE is a beautiful ﬁlm in many revelatory ways. It’s a must for anyone who loves the theatre, cares about the struggle for LGBTQ rights, and enjoys a good love story.”

- LILY TOMLIN Terrence McNally’s plays, musicals, operas, and screenplays include: And Things That Go Bump in the Night (1964), Sweet Eros (1968), Noon (1968), Next (1969), Bad Habits (1974), The Ritz (1975), Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune (1982), The Rink (1984), It's Only a Play (1986 / 2014), Andre's Mother (1990), The Lisbon Traviata (1989), Lips Together, Teeth Apart (1991), Kiss of the Spider Woman (1992), A Perfect Ganesh (1993), Love! Valour! Compassion! (1994), Master Class (1995), Ragtime (1996), Corpus Christi (1998), Dead Man Walking (2000), The Full Monty (2000), Mothers and Sons (2014), and Anastasia (2017), and Fire and Air (2018).

“Theater is collaborative, but life is collaborative. We need more of that spirit more than ever in the days ahead. We need what connects us, what makes us human beings. We need to bring the barriers down, break them down, not build walls, but tear them down. I really hope we’re very aware of the decisions we’re being asked to make as a country, but it starts with the individual. We need to start loving one another more, and seeing how connected we all really are. The stakes are really high now, higher than ever. And I think that’s the message of art.” - TERRENCE MCNALLY JEFF KAUFMAN produced, directed, and wrote the documentaries Nasrin, Every Act Of Life, The State of Marriage, Father Joseph, The Savoy King: Chick Webb and the Music That Changed America, Brush With Life, and Education Under Fire, plus programs for The Discovery Channel and The History Channel. He also edited / designed a book based on Every Act Of Life, contributed cartoons to The New Yorker, and illustrations to The Los Angeles Times and The New York Times, wrote / illustrated several children's books, and hosted a daily radio talk show.

MARCIA S. ROSS produced Nasrin, Every Act Of Life, The State Of Marriage, Father Joseph, and The Savoy King. As a casting director, she has been involved in hundreds of ﬁlms and TV series. She served for 16 years as EVP for Casting at Walt Disney Motion Pictures, and 5 years as VP for Casting and Talent Development at Warner Brothers Television. Her credits include Clueless, 10 Things I Hate About You, thirtysomething, The Princess Diaries, Enchanted, Parental Guidance, and Oblivion.