When Rayanne Gonzales first auditioned for Arena Stage 20 years ago, she didn’t even know what “sides” were. By the time she stepped into the role of Sister in Damn Yankees in 2005, she was still figuring out where she belonged. “I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, it’s a speaking role. This is new. Wow,’” she recalls. That leap into unfamiliar territory would transform her career and eventually bring her full circle — back to Sister, two decades later, older and wiser.
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’s from the Longy School of Music, a résumé that included the Boston Lyric Opera Chorus, and dreams of building a career in Europe’s subsidized opera houses. Instead, opportunity found her at Arena Stage in 2004 with Señor Discretion Himself. It wasn’t opera, but it earned her an Equity card. A year later, Arena called her back for Sister in Damn Yankees.
That role shifted her path entirely. One of her castmates was leaving acting to become an agent. “He called me and said, ‘Hey, I want to send you out on your next audition. Follow these instructions.’” She followed them but had learned the wrong notes — studying from the vocal selections book instead of the score. But the music director liked Gonzales’ version better and changed the music to match. That so-called mistake won her the role of Bloody Mary in South Pacific in North Carolina and at Casa Mañana in Texas.
From there, musical theater claimed her. She turned down an opera apprenticeship, realizing, “musical theater found me.” Soon she was on the train to New York constantly. “I would wake up before dawn in Woodbridge, get on the earliest train, make it to Union Station, and by noon I’d be in New York auditioning. Then I’d 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.”
Momentum built quickly. In 2008, as a nursing mom with a six-month-old, she auditioned for The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway — and booked it. “I 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’re set as long as the show is running. Phantom saved me. It changed the trajectory of our lives.”
But the hustle came with hard lessons. After finishing back-to-back tours, Gonzales collapsed with vertigo, sidelining her for a year. “My instinct wasn’t to call 9-1-1. It was to call my agent and tell them I couldn’t make the audition.” That scare taught her to resist overcommitting. “If it’s 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.”
Now, two decades later, Gonzales returns to Sister with new tools. “What feels different is that I understand comedy better now. Comedy is a strategy. It’s timing, it’s listening, it’s landing the joke so the audience responds. I didn’t know that 20 years ago. Being able to revisit a character with that knowledge is a gift. Back then, I don’t think I had the intelligence or the skill set to really set things up. Now I do.”
She also knows exactly who she is. “Twenty 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’t 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’ve gone from being the rookie to being the elder.”
Her advice to younger performers comes from lived experience. “In this career, you will miss things — 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’s what you keep.”
Returning to Sister now, Gonzales finds joy in the character’s boundless enthusiasm. “Sister is an enthusiastic fan of baseball with a particular devotion to the players — especially the good-looking ones,” she laughs. “She’s effusive in her enthusiasm for the game, and Doris [her sister] and she are peas in a pod.”
What feels different in 2025, she says, is her ability to harness that enthusiasm with precision. “Being able to revisit a character and think, How am I going to set this up? Whereas 20 years ago, I don’t even know that I had the intelligence or the skill set to actually do that. That’s the gift of being able to revisit this.”
And in true theater fashion, the audience remains her scene partner. “The audience is as much of a player in this as I am. There is energy we receive from them. Some days, if they’re not giving it, they’re not giving it. But when they are, it’s magic.”
For Gonzales, Sister in 2025 is no longer just a role she once took on nervously — it’s 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’ return to Damn Yankees is proof of how much can change in 20 years — and how much joy can come from stepping back into the same shoes, this time with confidence and grace.
Running Time: Approximately two hours and 10 minutes, including one 15-minute intermission.
Damn Yankees 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 online or through TodayTix. 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.
Arena Stage’s many savings programs include “pay your age” tickets for those aged 35 and under; military, first responder, and educator discounts; student discounts; and “Southwest Nights” for those living and working in the District’s Southwest neighborhood. To learn more, visit arenastage.org/savings-programs.
The Damn Yankees program is here.