{"id":371976,"date":"2025-09-15T09:12:03","date_gmt":"2025-09-15T13:12:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/?p=371976"},"modified":"2025-09-24T10:55:43","modified_gmt":"2025-09-24T10:55:43","slug":"rayanne-gonzales-returns-to-damn-yankees-20-years-wiser","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/09\/15\/rayanne-gonzales-returns-to-damn-yankees-20-years-wiser\/","title":{"rendered":"Rayanne Gonzales returns to \u2018Damn Yankees,\u2019 20 years wiser"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"460\" height=\"345\" src=\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Rayanne-Gonzales-800x600-1-460x345.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-371977\" style=\"object-fit:cover\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Rayanne-Gonzales-800x600-1-460x345.jpg 460w, https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Rayanne-Gonzales-800x600-1-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Rayanne-Gonzales-800x600-1-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Rayanne-Gonzales-800x600-1.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 460px) 100vw, 460px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Rayanne Gonzales (at right as Sister in \u2018<em>Damn Yankees\u2019<\/em> at Arena Stage 2005\/06 season, photo by Scott Suchman).<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>When Rayanne Gonzales first auditioned for Arena Stage 20 years ago, she didn\u2019t even know what \u201csides\u201d were. By the time she stepped into the role of Sister in <em>Damn Yankees<\/em> in 2005, she was still figuring out where she belonged. \u201cI thought, \u2018Oh my gosh, it\u2019s a speaking role. This is new. Wow,\u2019\u201d she recalls. That leap into unfamiliar territory would transform her career and eventually bring her full circle \u2014 back to Sister, two decades later, older and wiser.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the time, Gonzales was fresh back in the DMV after 12 years in Boston. She was a classically trained opera singer with a master\u2019s from the Longy School of Music, a r\u00e9sum\u00e9 that included the Boston Lyric Opera Chorus, and dreams of building a career in Europe\u2019s subsidized opera houses. Instead, opportunity found her at Arena Stage in 2004 with <em>Se\u00f1or Discretion Himself.<\/em> It wasn\u2019t opera, but it earned her an Equity card. A year later, Arena called her back for Sister in <em>Damn Yankees<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That role shifted her path entirely. One of her castmates was leaving acting to become an agent. \u201cHe called me and said, \u2018Hey, I want to send you out on your next audition. Follow these instructions.\u2019\u201d She followed them but had learned the wrong notes \u2014 studying from the vocal selections book instead of the score. But the music director liked Gonzales\u2019 version better and changed the music to match. That so-called mistake won her the role of Bloody Mary in <em>South Pacific <\/em>in North Carolina and at Casa Ma\u00f1ana in Texas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>From there, musical theater claimed her. She turned down an opera apprenticeship, realizing, \u201cmusical theater found me.\u201d Soon she was on the train to New York constantly. \u201cI would wake up before dawn in Woodbridge, get on the earliest train, make it to Union Station, and by noon I\u2019d be in New York auditioning. Then I\u2019d catch the 4 p.m. train back home and be in my own bed that night. And I did that all the time. It became second nature.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Momentum built quickly. In 2008, as a nursing mom with a six-month-old, she auditioned for <em>The Phantom of the Opera <\/em>on Broadway \u2014 and booked it. \u201cI went from being a single mom at home, piecing together gigs, to making my Broadway debut. One day I was nursing my baby, the next day I was signing a pink contract. A Broadway chorus contract is basically the equivalent of a government job. You\u2019re set as long as the show is running. <em>Phantom <\/em>saved me<em>.<\/em> It changed the trajectory of our lives.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But the hustle came with hard lessons. After finishing back-to-back tours, Gonzales collapsed with vertigo, sidelining her for a year. \u201cMy instinct wasn\u2019t to call 9-1-1. It was to call my agent and tell them I couldn\u2019t make the audition.\u201d That scare taught her to resist overcommitting. \u201cIf it\u2019s always a scarcity mindset, then you hustle for everything. But trust that the work will still come. Might it take longer? Sure. Might it get desperate? Absolutely. But trust and have faith that the universe will provide.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"368\" height=\"460\" src=\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Rayanne-Gonzales-800x1000-1-368x460.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-371978\" style=\"object-fit:cover\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Rayanne-Gonzales-800x1000-1-368x460.jpg 368w, https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Rayanne-Gonzales-800x1000-1-240x300.jpg 240w, https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Rayanne-Gonzales-800x1000-1-768x960.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Rayanne-Gonzales-800x1000-1.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 368px) 100vw, 368px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">TOP: Rayanne Gonzales (Sister), Kay Walbye (Meg Boyd), Cindy Marchionda (Gloria Thorpe), and Lynn McNutt (Doris); ABOVE: Matt Bogart (Joe Hardy), Rayanne Gonzales (Sister), and Kay Walbye (Meg Boyd), in \u2018<em>Damn Yankees\u2019<\/em> at Arena Stage 2005\/06 season. Photos by Scott Suchman.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Now, two decades later, Gonzales returns to Sister with new tools. \u201cWhat feels different is that I understand comedy better now. Comedy is a strategy. It\u2019s timing, it\u2019s listening, it\u2019s landing the joke so the audience responds. I didn\u2019t know that 20 years ago. Being able to revisit a character with that knowledge is a gift. Back then, I don\u2019t think I had the intelligence or the skill set to really set things up. Now I do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She also knows exactly who she is. \u201cTwenty years ago, I doubted myself. I let intrusive thoughts about my talent get the best of me. Now I know who I am. I know my skill set. I don\u2019t need validation of it. What I can do now is bring that confidence into the room, bring positive energy, and make sure the younger actors feel supported. Because I\u2019ve gone from being the rookie to being the elder.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Her advice to younger performers comes from lived experience. \u201cIn this career, you will miss things \u2014 birthdays, weddings, family events. But make sure you prioritize the people who matter most to you. Because at the end of the day, the work will come and go. But those relationships? That\u2019s what you keep.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Returning to Sister now, Gonzales finds joy in the character\u2019s boundless enthusiasm. \u201cSister is an enthusiastic fan of baseball with a particular devotion to the players \u2014 especially the good-looking ones,\u201d she laughs. \u201cShe\u2019s effusive in her enthusiasm for the game, and Doris [her sister] and she are peas in a pod.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What feels different in 2025, she says, is her ability to harness that enthusiasm with precision. \u201cBeing able to revisit a character and think, <em>How am I going to set this up?<\/em> Whereas 20 years ago, I don\u2019t even know that I had the intelligence or the skill set to actually do that. That\u2019s the gift of being able to revisit this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And in true theater fashion, the audience remains her scene partner. \u201cThe audience is as much of a player in this as I am. There is energy we receive from them. Some days, if they\u2019re not giving it, they\u2019re not giving it. But when they are, it\u2019s magic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For Gonzales, Sister in 2025 is no longer just a role she once took on nervously \u2014 it\u2019s a role that mirrors her growth as an artist and a person. From rookie to veteran, from opera singer to Broadway actor, from self-doubt to self-assurance, Gonzales\u2019 return to <em>Damn Yankees<\/em> is proof of how much can change in 20 years \u2014 and how much joy can come from stepping back into the same shoes, this time with confidence and grace.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"400\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/DamnYankees_KeyArt_400x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-371979\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/DamnYankees_KeyArt_400x225.jpg 400w, https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/DamnYankees_KeyArt_400x225-300x169.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Running Time: Approximately two hours and 10 minutes, including one 15-minute intermission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arenastage.org\/tickets\/damn-yankees\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong><em>Damn Yankees<\/em><\/strong><\/a> plays through November 9, 2025, in the Fichandler Stage at Arena Stage,1101 Sixth Street SW, Washington, DC. Tickets start at $49 (fees included) and are available<a href=\"https:\/\/www.arenastage.org\/tickets\/damn-yankees\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> <strong>online<\/strong><\/a> or through<a href=\"https:\/\/todaytix.pxf.io\/ra3nnj\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> <strong>TodayTix.<\/strong><\/a> Tickets may also be purchased through the Sales Office by phone at 202-488-3300, Tuesday through Sunday, 12-8 pm, or in person at 1101 Sixth Street, SW, D.C., Tuesday through Sunday, two hours before the show begins on performance days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Arena Stage\u2019s many savings programs include \u201cpay your age\u201d tickets for those aged 35 and under; military, first responder, and educator discounts; student discounts; and \u201cSouthwest Nights\u201d for those living and working in the District\u2019s Southwest neighborhood. To learn more, visit <a href=\"https:\/\/u51859044.ct.sendgrid.net\/ls\/click?upn=u001.MjXEOHZ9zwimx8WrUFWQl1ttcYZeZhQUYPvaqy4Rms-2FmdHJLwsRBjhpcgJ-2F74GJh3wGg5AM2ATIjslVaREqk9A-3D-3DvjCW_bjqfwP8iB93pedGVJtr8H4sEfHtsAOdyFNyVn4-2BuNFqDKd8O4MExKhVOZvZTqRd9edFSngec3GWvMN55ykhOgusUwph4reJNpccecE5aS9AVmuVSFR6p1q82kI66DVXhCwyvh03X86UQBJhDtVuybzQrEOfQ9kcPiWeQYiNSlaib2K3Jb-2FZFls8nTrt1ZIWU9D5hzvEg1-2BkCd1eUdKBwpNQIaAsQhkCy1G-2Bsg5pZtJ9e1my0XNZ38yiinzoppkE3LPULTc-2FKZw89RjnepaB-2BZCNrpm59wcqDXEzFqnHK0U55WzmLTjwdztBqHspbMC4H0qtW770b6R1UTnkVmDoaCZFLbbEAy3d-2BfOkqN87jwkI-3D\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">arenastage.org\/savings-programs<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;The <em>Damn Yankees<\/em> program is<a href=\"https:\/\/www.arenastage.org\/globalassets\/tickets\/202526-season\/01-damn-yankees\/fy26_damn-yankees_programbook_toprint_digital.pdf\"> <\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arenastage.org\/globalassets\/tickets\/202526-season\/01-damn-yankees\/fy26_damn-yankees_programbook_toprint_digital.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Reprising the role of Sister at Arena Stage, Gonzales finds joy in the character\u2019s boundless enthusiasm.   By TENIOLA AYOOLA<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":371977,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-371976","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-interviews"},"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v21.0 (Yoast SEO v26.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Rayanne Gonzales returns to \u2018Damn Yankees,\u2019 20 years wiser - DC Theater Arts<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/09\/15\/rayanne-gonzales-returns-to-damn-yankees-20-years-wiser\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Rayanne Gonzales returns to \u2018Damn Yankees,\u2019 20 years wiser\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Reprising the role of Sister at Arena Stage, Gonzales finds joy in the character\u2019s boundless enthusiasm.  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