West Village Off-Broadway Venue Renamed and Renovated
- The Rattlestick Theater, a prominent Off-Broadway venue in New York City's West Village, is being renamed The Terrence McNally Theater.
- The announcement was made during a gathering on March 31, 2026, at the apartment the late McNally shared with his husband, producer Tom Kirdahy.
- The renaming coincides with an ambitious $5.3 million renovation of the 99-seat venue located at 224 Waverly Place.
The Rattlestick Theater, a prominent Off-Broadway venue in New York City’s West Village, is being renamed The Terrence McNally Theater. The renaming honors the late Tony-winning playwright, who was a significant figure in the American theater and a gay icon.
The announcement was made during a gathering on March 31, 2026, at the apartment the late McNally shared with his husband, producer Tom Kirdahy. The renaming is intended to deepen the existing relationship between the Rattlestick and the Terrence McNally Foundation.
Facility Renovations and Accessibility
The renaming coincides with an ambitious $5.3 million renovation of the 99-seat venue located at 224 Waverly Place. The project is being led by Architecture Outfit and aims to modernize a space previously described as charmingly ramshackle, where the bathroom was located on the stage.
The renovation includes several key infrastructure and accessibility upgrades:
- Installation of an elevator to replace the previous flight of weathered stairs
- New bathrooms
- Expanded dressing rooms
- Sound-proof windows and flooring
- An expanded lobby and ticket counter
The official dedication of the theater is scheduled to take place later in 2026.
Legacy of Mentorship and the New Works Incubator
The partnership between the theater and the Terrence McNally Foundation has been active since 2023 through the Terrence McNally New Works Incubator. This multi-pronged program serves as a continuation of McNally’s legacy of mentorship for early-career playwrights.
The incubator provides emerging writers with professional mentorship from established playwrights, dedicated time and space to develop new work, and access to the artistic community at Tom Kirdahy Productions, and Rattlestick.
Artistic Director Will Davis, who became the first transgender person to run a theater in New York in 2023, noted that McNally was with Rattlestick from its inception. Davis stated that for 32 years, the company has provided a downtown refuge for artists to work on their own terms.
Will Davis, Artistic Director
As the first transgender person to run a theatre in New York, it is the honor of a lifetime to name the Rattlestick building for Terrence McNally, a towering artist and a gay icon of the American Theater
Historical Context of the Venue
Founded in 1994, the Rattlestick Theater has established itself as a critical venue for new work. The space has hosted plays by a wide array of notable writers, including Annie Baker, Jesse Eisenberg, Diana Oh, Sam Hunter, Jose Rivera, David Adjmi, Sheila Callaghan, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Lucy Thurber, and Adam Rapp.
Terrence McNally himself had a direct connection to the stage, presenting his work Corpus Christi
there in 2008. Tom Kirdahy emphasized the importance of the location, noting that McNally was a Village guy
and a gay trailblazer
, making the West Village the ideal neighborhood for the building bearing his name.