My Name Is Barbra

Streisand discusses how close she becomes with Virginia Kelley, who is unafraid to express her love for Streisand and thinks of her as a daughter. When Virginia dies not long after Streisand’s concert, Streisand dedicates an album to her that focuses on her core tenets of love and kindness.

The loss of Virginia inspires Streisand to take her concert on tour. In each US city where she performs, she donates money to schools whose funding for art and music has been cut. She doubles the number of shows at her first stop in London to try to accommodate demand. Prince Charles attends a show, leading them to become friends. After her shows in Detroit, Streisand contracts viral tracheolaryngitis; she feels terrible when she has to postpone a few concerts. She films and edits the concert for a TV special, which wins five Emmys.

Streisand continues to be involved in politics; she always asks experts questions to better understand the state of the world and the nation. At this time, she sees “how [her] political consciousness and [her] creative life were converging” (1003) and considers scripts that would address this convergence. One film does not get made, but Streisand does make the controversial film, Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story (1995), a drama that addresses anti-gay bias and discrimination in the military.