Muse of Fire

Muse of Fire is a collection of the four-time Tony Award-winning playwright’s meditations on the power of theater to change minds by first changing hearts, and on the responsibilities of the playwright as a member of the theater community.

Terrence McNally is five-time Tony Award-winning playwright. Raymond-Jean Frontain is professor of English at The University of Central Arkansas and author of The Theater of Terrence McNally.

Editor's Preface Introduction: "'Flights of the Imagination, Journeys of the Heart': McNally's Idea of Theatre" by R-J. Frontain Prelude: "Make the Future Our Friend" I. "The things that connect us and make us human": McNally on the Theater Arts * "The World Needs Artists: Juilliard Commencement Address" * "Where Are the Producers?: Address to the League of American Theater Producers" * "The Current State of Off-Broadway Theatre" * "The Perils and Pitfalls Awaiting the Playwright" * "Random Thoughts of a Librettist, or, Quick! Who Wrote the Libretto for Aida?" * "Monsters and Pussycats" * "Zoe Caldwell, Tyne Daly and Other 'McNally Actors'" * "Gay Theater? No, Just Life" II. "Writers write": McNally on Playwrights * Oscar Wilde * Tennessee Williams * Arthur Laurents III. "Art with restrictions is a contradiction in terms": McNally on Censorship * "Art and My First Dirty Word" * "A Word from Terrence McNally" * "Remarks Delivered at a Rally to Support the NEA" * "Open Letter to Sa