“The Kennedy Center is my favorite place to work in the U.S.,” crows Randy Graff. “Two of the most meaningful shows in my professional life happened there and the Opera House is where it all began for me as a musical theater actor.” The year was 1986, with the pre-Broadway American premiere of Les Miserables. And Graff played the pivotal role of Fantine, whose “I Dreamed a Dream” is one of the musical’s biggest, most heartbreaking, showstoppers. The second moment came sixteen years later, in 2002, with A Little Night Music, the closing production of the Sondheim Celebration festival, in which Graff played Charlotte.
Graff’s one-woman cabaret, Made in Brooklyn, will include a nod to her KenCen roots. “I am singing ‘I Dreamed a Dream,'” she notes, in honor of Les Miz. But the October 30 appearance — her fifth in the venue — is mainly a tribute to the place where she spent her childhood.
“It’s the story of me growing up in Brooklyn, singing on street corners and eventually getting to Broadway,” she says. “Every song I sing was either written or made famous by a Brooklynite — foremost Barbra Streisand, but so many composers, lyricists and movie stars.”
Graff has appeared in countless hits on the Great White Way, including 1989’s City of Angels, for which she won a Tony, 1992’s Falsettos and revivals of A Class Act and Fiddler on the Roof. Through it all, she’s noticed her “very large gay fanbase” is among the most engaged.
“They’re the most accepting — perhaps that comes from living their own self-acceptance,” she says. “No matter what I do — I could fall on my face, I could crack on a high note, whatever I do, they’re just with me for the ride. I just so appreciate it.”
Randy Graff performs as part of the Barbara Cook Spotlight series on Friday, Oct. 30, at 7 p.m., at the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater. Tickets are $50. Call 202-467-4600 or visit kennedy-center.org.
If you need relief from these stressful and angst-ridden times, you're sure to find something to salve your soul in this section. If you crave a good laugh attack, for starters, look to the "Because They're Funny Comedy Festival," or seek out specific comedians and eccentrics known to get the job done, be it John Waters or Paula Poundstone (both coming to the Birchmere), or Jessica Kirson or Margaret Cho (coming to the Warner), or Leslie Jones, who will be at The Clarice later this winter. To name only five.
Of course, if you'd prefer to get serious and really contemplate and converse about our woeful state of affairs, you'll find plenty of ways to do that, as well. Start by consulting the lineup of noted authors coming to local bookstores and even a certain historic synagogue.
Little by little, year after year, from one season to the next, there have been some subtle yet certain shifts in programming among local classical music organizations -- in both good and not-so-good ways, depending on whether you like, say, holiday sing-alongs come Christmastime. If you do, well, good for you, but boo hoo for the rest of us, because that's definitely on the uptick this season, as in previous years. Similarly, if Halloween is more your jam, you're also in luck, because there's also been a slight increase in the number of eerily inspired, scary-themed shows.
There's also more diversity all around, and in multiple senses of the term -- from slightly more female composers with works being performed around town, to more genre- and boundary-pushing works and programs overall, to seemingly more out, LGBTQ-identified people in this particular genre.
'Tis a season for celebrating significant milestones in dance, including an amazing honor for one of the most revered names ever to be associated with the art form. The Martha Graham Dance Company, appearing in 2026 at the Kennedy Center, will be marking its 100th year sharing founder Graham's singular vision of movement.
The company's major anniversary, along with many others over the 2025-26 season, offers sweet reassurance that dance is forever and shall remain. Meanwhile, a full menu of new works on tap represents what keeps dance moving forward.
Audiences can relish revisiting beloved perennials, like some of the most exciting Nutcrackers you'll find anywhere, and catch up with companies who've been doing this for decades -- from Mark Morris Dance Group and Pilobolus, visiting twice this season, to the Washington Ballet.
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
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