Interview: Theatre Life with Rayanne Gonzales

Today’s subject Rayanne Gonzales is currently living her theatre life onstage at Signature Theatre in a role she is very familiar with. Through May 4th in Signature’s MAX space, Rayanne is portraying Abuela Claudia in In The Heights.

As just mentioned, Rayanne is very familiar with this role having played it on tour and regionally. Past productions include Walnut Street Theatre, and Olney Theatre Center among others. Signature Theatre’s production marks Rayanne’s sixth company of In The Heights. To date she thinks she has logged over 300 performances in the show. You might think she would be tired of playing Abuela Claudia after all those performances, but trust me, Rayanne is delivering a performance for the books in this current version.

Rayanne has worked in many of our top DC area theatres over the years. Past credits include Daphne’s Dive, Passion, The Bridges of Madison County, and Sweeney Todd at Signature Theatre, Oliver, My Fair Lady and Destiny of Desire at Arena Stage, and A Christmas Carol, and Ragtime at Ford’s Theatre.

Broadway credits include Hands on A Hard Body and The Phantom of The Opera.

Regional credits include the World Premieres of Mystic Pizza and Anastasia at Ogunquit Playhouse and Hartford Stage respectively.

You might have seen Rayanne on the big screen in the movie version of In The Heights or in your living rooms in The Sound of Music Live!

Rayanne Gonzales lights up the stage with every performance she gives to be sure. Grab yourself some tickets (and a piragua) to Signature Theatre’s production of In The Heights and see how this very versatile performer is living her theatre life to the fullest.

When did it become apparent to you that performing was going to be your chosen profession?

 I was in high school. I had the opportunity to go to the Virginia Governor's School. It was the summer before my junior year of high school. I had already been active in my drama and choral departments at school but at the Virginia Governor's School, I had the opportunity to study with a woman by the name of Eddye Pierce Young. She was an opera singer and that opened up a window in a world that I hadn't otherwise known, and it basically changed the trajectory of what I wanted to do with my life and how I wanted to spend it.

Where did you receive your training?

My undergraduate degree is a Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies from Boston University. It was followed by a certificate in opera performance from the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, Massachusetts. 

What was your first professional job as a performer?

I was hired to be in the chorus of Boston Lyric Opera’s production of Aida.

Can you please tell us a little something about your character in In The Heights

Abuela Claudia is a woman of a certain age, a seasoned elder, as I like to call her. A Cuban immigrant who has worked hard all of her entire life. Her needs and joys are simple, and her presence is eternal on the block with each and every person she encounters. Her relationship with Usnavi is an extension of the mothering, uh, and care that connects her and keeps her will to live and to go on.

How does Signature Theatre’s production of In The Heights differ from other stagings of the show?

 The intimacy of the space allows it to feel immersive in a way thatis an advantage over a traditional proscenium staging Depending on where you are sitting in the house, particularly in the orchestra, you've got characters walking right next to you, and dancing right in front of you. I've seen some close calls with some kicks and some lifts, which actually is pretty thrilling. If you're in the dress circle, then you've got this wonderful bird's eye view taking in the entire block. But what absolutely sets it apart is this alleyway street where the entire life of the story happens, uh, that from various angles.

You were on the first national tour of In The Heights and have played in several companies regionally since. What is it like to revisit the show again?

 Each and every time I’ve done the show I have been in a different age, of course, but also a different phase and experience of life and what it offers me.

It’s another chance to step into a space where I see myself on the stage and tell a story that is deeply meaningful as part of my own family's history and their connection to leaving home and moving to a different country in order to. To start something new, create a new chapter, and pursue a dream whatever that might be, whatever that becomes as it still continues to unfold with each generation thereafter.

My parents are from Trinidad and Tobago and my brother was born there as well and they came to the United States in 1967.  They started an absolutely new timeline for our family that was immediate as well as extended and continues to grow and evolve today.

You were part of the Broadway musical Hands on a Hardbody. The show, in my opinion, had an undeserved short run. What do you think audiences missed by not attending that show?

Audiences missed the opportunity to see a documentary turned musical that was a snapshot of life I think would be very successful in 2025 because of the sense of struggle, the desire for wanting more, and the spirit of competition enveloped by the most incredible score by Trey Anastasio and Amanda Green. It was unlike anything that anyone had heard in a very long time on a Broadway stage.

You have worked extensively at some of our top local theatres. What do you find most enjoyable about performing in the DMV?

It’s that I am home. It's where I grew up.  it's where my family is. It's where I'm raising my daughter.

The scene in DC is so incredibly rich and gives the ability to make a life, to make a creative life and still have the access of going anywhere in the country where work might call.

What I have found is that for what is important to me in terms of a quality of life is that off the stage, it is enriched by the fact that I can work and pursue my career as an actor and singer right here in this incredible area.

Of all the roles you have played thus far, are there any that stick out as favorites?

In 2021, as theatre started to return, I had the extreme pleasure of originating the role of Leona the pizza shop owner in Mystic Pizza at Ogunquit Playhouse in Maine. The theatre built a tent that was stadium length. Think Wolf Trap on a smaller scale.

Playing that role was empowering. She had a breakout moment in Act 2 that allowed me to lean into the image of the great video vixens from the 80’s. Women of a certain age don’t get exhibit that on stage nor do they get the chance to play these types of roles regularly.

The director Casey Hushion drew things out of me that I never knew I wanted to do. It was also great to reprise the show a few months ago at La Mirada Theatre in California.

After In The Heights concludes its run in mid-2025, what does the rest of the year hold in store for you?

The universe has yet to tell me that. I would like to put out there the possibility of booking a TV job or a movie. Of course, the stage is my first home so maybe something on Broadway or regionally would be great as well.

 Art is essential. It is vital to the culture, to society, and civilization. I consider myself a fervent disciple of storytelling in music and dramatic form. I truly and earnestly hope to be able to continue to do that until I absolutely cannot anymore.

Special thanks to Signature Theatre's Publicist and Marketing Manager Zachary Flick for his assistance in coordinating this interview.

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