Interview: In Damn Yankees, Whatever Ana Villafañe Wants, Ana Villafañe Gets

Ana Villafañe is stepping up to the plate as she takes on the iconic role of Lola in Damn Yankees at Arena Stage.

Directed and choreographed by Tony winner Sergio Trujillo, with a newly adapted book by Will Power and Doug Wright and additional lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, this 2000s-set “revisal” of the 1955 classic Adler and Ross musical is swinging for the fences through November 9, and Villafañe is bringing far more than just “a little brains, a little talent” to the proceedings.

For Villafañe, who scored a Broadway home run as Gloria Estefan in On Your Feet! and was an uncanny AOC off-Broadway in N/A, playing Lola isn’t just about proving she’s back in the game after a total hip replacement in 2022. It’s about giving the “Shoeless Joe” of musicals a new life and learning how to trust the universe to pitch a perfect game in the process.

This conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity.

Lola is a heavy dance role, and you’ve been very open about your struggles with Arthritis and your total hip replacement in 2022. How are you doing as you immerse yourself in Damn Yankees?
Oh, I’m feeling great. My hip is great. You know, you go through something like that, and it takes you out for a little while. I was really interested and curious to see what would be bringing me back on my feet, for lack of a better phrase. It’s really special for it to be this.

I feel like the universe sometimes just provides. When Sergio called me about Damn Yankees and about playing Lola, it had never crossed my mind. Especially after something like getting a new body part, to have someone who knows me well [think I could] do this made me say “Maybe I can.” Maybe this is mine.

How did he pitch it to you?
His exact words were, it’s not going to be a revival, it’s going to be a revisal. That really piqued my interest. When they sent me the writers who are working on this adaptation — Will Power and Doug Wright and Lynn Ahrens — I got excited and I did what I normally do when I’m at a crossroads professionally, which is text Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Is Lin one of your mentors?
Yeah. He became almost like that older cousin because we were right next door [during Hamilton and On Your Feet!]. Watching all the Hamilton anniversary [celebrations], it’s so wild to recognize that I was 24 years old, and I was the next-door neighbor.

It’s been 10 years since On Your Feet! too. Tell me about looking back on that whole experience.
It’s still one of those things that I have to pinch myself about. The example that I received from Gloria Estefan and Emilio Estefan, being who they are, being global icons, and being so down to earth, never really sacrificing their authenticity for the sake of commercial success, yet still reaching the amount of commercial success that they’ve so rightfully earned, that was such a formative experience.

Most people don’t move to New York in the context of leading a Broadway show playing a global superstar. I had a very interesting fairytale scenario, but I had this example of how to do it right, and how to have a long and meaningful career.   

What can people expect from Damn Yankees?
First of all, it’s in the round, so there is not a bad seat, and the storytelling is 360 degrees, which is really its own challenge, but it’s absolutely thrilling. The movement that’s being done is intense and the cast is remarkable.  

Also, you hear these familiar songs, and it takes you to this nostalgic place. However, it’s been redefined in a genius way without losing the essence, but also adjusting what was there for a modern audience. It lands in a different way and it’s topical.

Being brave enough to continue to tell stories and continue to take up space, especially for those of us who the space wasn’t originally intended for, is beautiful.

The very essence of this show is a discussion on humanity and free will and there’s a morality aspect to it. How do we continue to choose the better part of ourselves? How do we navigate the human condition? Damn Yankees is saying, let’s see how we can make this apply today and how we can transform it to speak to everything that’s going on now.