A Weekend With Legendary American Playwright Terrence McNally Announced at ZACH Theatre

ZACH Theatre, in partnership with the Harry Ransom Center, announces a weekend of star-studded events celebrating four-time Tony Award-winning playwright and LGBT activist Terrence McNally. McNally will be in attendance at the events celebrating his 80th birthday and legendary career from November 10 to 12. Monday, November 12 event to feature Tony Award winner John Glover, Golden Globe winner F. Murray Abraham, and Emmy winner Richard Thomas.

The celebratory events begin Saturday, November 10, with a VIP dinner party honoring McNally at the home of sponsors Carolyn and Marc Seriff. On Sunday, November 11, the Ransom Center hosts a screening of the acclaimed documentary "Every Act of Life" at the Texas Union Theater on The University of Texas at Austin campus, followed by a post-screening conversation with McNally and ZACH Theatre's Producing Artistic Director Dave Steakley. Guests are invited to see selections from McNally's archive, which is held at the Ransom Center, in the Center's galleries. The weekend concludes Monday, November 12, at The Topfer at ZACH Theatre with a star-studded performance highlighting moments and work from McNally's illustrious decades-long career.

Terrence McNally Celebration Weekend Schedule of Events:

· Saturday, November 10, 2018 | 7 p.m. - VIP Dinner Party

Honoring Terrence McNally

Location: Home of Carolyn and Marc Seriff
Admission: $300 per individual, extremely limited availability

· Sunday, November 11, 2018 | 2 p.m. -"Every Act of Life" Film Screening

Screening and post-screening conversation with playwright Terrence McNally and Dave Steakley, ZACH Theatre's Producing Artistic Director.

Location: Texas Union Theater on The University of Texas Campus.
Admission: Free ticket required

Guests are invited to a free reception at the Harry Ransom Center following the screening to see selections from McNally's archive.

· Monday, November 12, 2018 | 7:30 p.m. - Terrence McNally 80th Birthday Gala Performance

A star-studded performance featuring Tony Award winner John Glover, Golden Globe winner F. Murray Abraham, and Emmy winner Richard Thomas will highlight favorite moments from Terrence McNally's career. Additional lineup to be announced.

Location: The Topfer at ZACH Theatre
Admission: Standard Admission $80 per individual | VIP Admission $200 per individual
VIP Admission includes open bar all evening, post-show reception access, and complimentary reserved parking.

Tickets to all events are available, prices vary. To RSVP and purchase tickets, visit www.zachtheatre.org/mcnally. For sponsorships, contact Cathleen Berdan, ZACH Theatre's Associate Director of Development at cberdan@zachtheatre.org or 512-476-0594 x260.

The Terrence McNally Celebration Weekend Sponsors are Carolyn and Marc Seriff and Bobbi and Mort Topfer. Terrence McNally Celebration Gala Sponsor is Dan Jackson and Terrence McNally Commemorative 80th Birthday Sponsors are Larry Connelly, Will Coombes and Brian Luna, Mindy Ellmer and Charlie Geren, Maxx Judd and Donn Gauger, and Brian McCall.

About Terrence McNally

Terrence McNally has had a remarkably far-ranging career spanning six decades. He is a recipient of the Dramatists Guild Lifetime Achievement Award and the Lucille Lortel Lifetime Achievement Award, and he is a 2018 inductee of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He has won four Tony Awards for his plays Love! Valour! Compassion! and Master Class and his musical books for Kiss of the Spider Woman and Ragtime. He has written a number of TV scripts, including Andre's Mother, for which he won an Emmy Award. He has received two Guggenheim Fellowships, a Rockefeller Grant, four Drama Desk Awards, two Lucille Lortel Awards, two Obie Awards, and three Hull-Warriner Awards. In 1996 he was inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame.

He wrote the book for the Tony-nominated musical The Visit, which opened on Broadway in the spring of 2015 with music and lyrics by John Kander and Fred Ebb. He wrote the libretto for the operas Great Scott and Dead Man Walking, both with music by Jake Heggie. He is the writer of the book for the musical Anastasia, which is currently playing on Broadway. His newest play, Fire and Air, opened at Classic Stage Company in 2018. Other plays include Tony-nominated Best Play Mothers and Sons; It's Only a Play; Where Has Tommy Flowers Gone?; The Lisbon Traviata; Lips Together, Teeth Apart; A Perfect Ganesh; Corpus Christi; And Away We Go; Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune; The Ritz; and Deuce.

About the Harry Ransom Center

The Ransom Center is an internationally renowned humanities research library and museum at The University of Texas at Austin. Its extensive collections provide unique insight into the creative process of writers and artists, deepening our understanding and appreciation of literature, photography, film, art, and the performing arts. Among its holdings is McNally's archive, and selections from the archive are on view in the Center's galleries through February 10, 2019. Visitors engage with the Center's collections through research and study, exhibitions, publications, and a rich variety of program offerings including readings, talks, symposia and film screenings.

About ZACH Theatre

A non-profit organization, ZACH creates intimate theatre experiences that ignite the imagination, inspire the spirit, and engage the community. As Austin's leading professional producing theatre, ZACH employs more than 250 actors, musicians, and designers annually to create its own diverse array of nationally recognized plays and musicals under the leadership of Producing Artistic Director Dave Steakley and Managing Director Elisbeth Challener. Each year, ZACH serves nearly 128,000 Central Texans - 55,000 of which are children and youth who participate in our education and outreach programs, as well as inspiring camps and classes. ZACH Theatre is honored to host private and community events across the beautiful rental-ready spaces on our three-stage campus located in the heart of Austin. Founded in 1932, ZACH is the longest continuously running theatre company in the state of Texas, and one of the ten oldest in the country. Visit www.zachtheatre.org for more information.

ZACH Theatre's 2018-19 Season is sponsored in part by The Moody Foundation, Baylor Scott & White Health, Dell, and Holiday Inn-Lady Bird Lake; and by grants from The Shubert Foundation, Applied Materials, Junior League of Austin, The National Endowment for the Arts, Texas Commission on the Arts, and the Cultural Arts Division of The City of Austin Economic Development Department