Playwright Terrence McNally has died aged 81 following complications from coronavirus

Playwright Terrence McNally has died aged 81, a representative has confirmed.

McNally's works include Master Class, Love! Valour! Compassion! and Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, and he was also the book writer on a vast number of musicals including The Rink, Anastasia, Kiss of the Spider Woman, The Full Monty and Ragtime.

Over the course of his life he won four Tony Awards, three Drama Desk Awards and one Emmy, as well as being nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in 1994. He received a Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2019.

Spokesperson Matt Polk said that McNally died today at Sarasota Memorial Hospital in Florida, following compications due to coronavirus. He is survived by Tom Kirdahy, his husband.

McNally's Master Class was seen in the West End in 2012, while award-winning productions of The Rink and Ragtime were both recently mounted in London. The UK premiere of McNally's The Lisbon Traviata at the King's Head Theatre won the 2004 WhatsOnStage Award for Best Off-West End Production.

Master Class producer Sonia Friedman said:

Absolutely devastated to hear of the loss of the great playwright Terrence McNally. A giant of theatre, and one of the kindest souls you could ever hope to meet. My thoughts are with all those who love him, and with my dear friend Tom, his beloved husband, always. Sonia x