Graboyes to perform play for Beebe and Children’s Beach House

Actress and singer Trudy Graboyes will perform an original play, “Her Strength, Our Story,” at Children’s Beach House Sunday, Oct. 27, to raise funds for the Beebe Medical Foundation’s Cancer Patient Special Needs Fund and Children’s Beach House. 

The one-woman play tells the story of Graboyes’ grandmother, Ida, fleeing her home in Ukraine, and traveling through Poland and Germany to reach the United States. Graboyes will sport an old-fashioned Russian dress and sing four original songs. She’s already taken her show to senior centers and music theaters across Delmarva and Philadelphia.

“It was a horrible, horrifying story of my grandmother and her family and how they came over here, but turned into something beautiful,” Graboyes said.

Graboyes moved to Milton from Pennsylvania in April 2022. After completing an annual mammogram in September 2023, Graboyes was diagnosed with breast cancer. Although it was caught in its early stages, the cancer was aggressive, leading to chemotherapy, radiation and multiple surgeries. One surgery led to blood clots and therefore Graboyes was put on blood thinner, which was not covered by insurance. 

Graboyes stopped working to keep up with her medical calendar and Graboyes’ husband left his job to care for her. During treatment, Graboyes’ social worker informed her about Beebe’s Special Needs Fund that assists cancer patients with covering critical expenses like medications, medical supplies and essential living costs. Now, Graboyes’ only fight is against breast cancer instead of additional financial battles. 

The show’s proceeds will benefit both the Special Needs Fund and Children’s Beach House, where Graboyes taught an afterschool program and worked throughout the year. 

“I just think it’s important that the funds get to the children and that the Special Needs Fund keeps going on for people that need help like I did,” Graboyes said.

Graboyes’ grandmother was a breast cancer survivor herself and was very well acquainted with her granddaughter. While she was in college, Graboyes flew down to Florida where her grandparents were living at the time. During the visit, her grandmother explained her journey from Europe to America, and the story is coming to life once again. 

“It actually makes me feel like I’m closer to my grandmother than I’ve ever been before, and it helped me to understand why she was the way she was,” Graboyes said. 

At the end of the show, Graboyes will hold a Q&A before performing her final song. She enjoys this time because the audience has the chance to share their immigration stories. 

“I like to connect, because almost everybody in the audience has relatives that have immigrated here, and it brings back those memories and they get to talking,” Graboyes said. 

Graboyes has acted in familiar favorites such as “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Gypsy” and “Funny Girl.” She served as the understudy for Wanda Sykes in the part of Miss Hannigan in “Annie” at Media Theatre in Media, Pa. Graboyes’ role as Schneider in “Cabaret” earned her a nomination for the Perry Award by the New Jersey Association of Community Theaters. 

Locally, Graboyes performed in “Damn Yankees” at Clear Space Theatre in Rehoboth Beach, “Ragtime” at Possum Point Players in Georgetown and “White Christmas: The Musical” at the Candlelight Theatre in Wilmington. Graboyes also co-produced concert versions of musicals like “Man of La Mancha” and “Bye Bye Birdie,” the latter of which brought original Hugo Peabody actor Bobby Rydell to the audience. However, no performance is as personal to Graboyes as playing her grandmother. 

Tickets for “Her Strength, Our Story” will be sold for $20 at the door for the 3 p.m. show. Donations can also be made as a check to the Beebe Medical Foundation for “Cancer Special Needs Fund” or “Graboyes Concert.”