Photography & Interview by Alison Engstrom

I know I’m not the only one who shares in the joy of the return of Broadway. Can you describe that moment of when you first returned to the stage?

Getting on stage again felt like coming home. As a kid, the theatre was my safe place, my happy place. Coming back to Broadway—at this moment in history, and leading such a legendary show which I have so much respect for—feels like giving my younger self a hug. I’m telling little nine-year-old Ana that she wasn’t crazy for dreaming all these seemingly impossible things back then; and now it’s for the second time! I definitely feel wiser. I’m reclaiming this space which totally changed my life when I first made my Broadway debut. The first time would have been enough. I keep making sure to slow down and enjoy the hell out of every moment, especially after all the heartbreak and uncertainty of surviving a pandemic!

It’s like you are giving everyone the gift of performing, something that we were sorely missing during the pandemic. It also seems like a very reciprocal event with the audience giving energy to the performers and vice versa.

It’s that intangible chemistry that happens from the outside and from the inside. I always tell people, if I am a glass of water and I am pouring it out, it’s equally being filled at the same time and that’s just magical.

Can you share a bit more about your background, I know you mentioned you wanted to be a veterinarian when you were little. How how did you stumble into the world of performing?

I was a very energetic kid and I was obsessed with animals. I was outdoorsy too but then I started singing when I was nine, kind of out of necessity. I needed to express myself and singing and painting became the ways to do that. Then I did my first musical because when you are a kid and you can sing, you do the school shows and choir. I did a professional musical in Miami and my fourth-grade class came out to watch the show. For the first time, I felt proud of myself but I also felt attention for reasons that got me excited. It wasn’t because of anything else or who I was at school, socially. I was an awkward kid and I considered myself to be an outcast or misfit but then all of a sudden, I wasn’t within the context of this thing called musical theater. I remember talking to a friend back in math class after they saw the s how and feeling so special and that was it, to be honest with you. I had a very normal childhood, I didn’t know anyone in the entertainment industry but I had this wild dream and a lot of courage for a little kid. I slowly but surely showed that was my priority.

Was there a role or opportunity that shifted things for you?

I have an interesting story. I was signed by a manager after he saw me perform in Cats, as Grizabella, in my high school play. I didn’t go to a performing arts school but for some reason this guy was in the audience, he saw me, and he had me go in for a Lifetime movie. I didn’t get the movie but they offered me a contract. I flew to LA and got an agent and it all happened so naturally and organically. My parents came along for the ride and trusted that it was supposed to be happening because this just didn’t happen. I wouldn’t say a role changed my career but it changed my life because it accelerated an actual career. When I was out in LA going to school, it was easy to fall into certain traps but what was a game-changer was I would prioritize auditions and work over other things. I would go out but it wasn’t the priority for being there. Since I had an agent when I moved out there, I didn’t take that for granted because I knew so many people who move out there looking to get any representation. I would be so rude, I guess to not take advantage of that. I was balancing auditions with getting a degree in opera.

When On Your Feet was casting, my team sent a video of me singing to the Estefan camp, two days later the production flew me to New York. I had an audition on a Monday evening, I had my callback on Tuesday, and I got the job. I had two weeks to pack up and move to New York; it’s been an absolute fairytale and beyond. I had gone my whole life dreaming about New York but life took me to LA first where I stayed for six years and started out. I moved to New York in 2014 as a Broadway star.

Can you describe auditioning in front of Gloria Estefan? What a legend!

The most terrifying experience of my life. It was my first Broadway audition and when I went in for my callback, there was this long table with the creative team, and at the center of the table were Gloria and Emilio Estefan. I was trembling from the deepest parts of my body; I actually missed the entrance for Rhythm Is Going to Get You—God bless whoever the pianist was because he just repeated it. It allowed me to catch my breath. I did this turn of something I had seen in all of my four days I had to prepare (laughs). She did this move in Vegas that was very distinct. Before going in, I was obsessing over videos of her in concert on YouTube and I worked on getting as many Gloriaisms as I could to embody this woman who I had looked up to for my entire life. I did it, landed it, looked at her, and that was it.

That’s so amazing! now to talk about your newest project, Congratulations on landing the lead of Roxie Hart in ‘Chicago’ on Broadway! How did the part come to you?

For whatever reason, whenever it’s meant to be in my life, it just seems to fall into place in a very surreal way. I just have to close my eyes and jump. I had been in LA in July shooting a pilot and the day I got back to New York, my theatre agent called me and said, Ana, I have an offer for you to open Chicago on Broadway. I asked, are you sure, because I had never gone into a casting for the show. My agent said he was sure and that they’d love for me to meet with the director, Walter Bobby. I went and met with him and I was honest, I said I had never seen the show but I knew the music my whole life. Chicago is required reading for musical theater (laughs). They sent me the script and I was very interested in it because it’s relevant to now. The themes of fast fame and how you can curate your persona and make people believe whatever they want, especially with the influencer culture we live in and social media. He asked me if I wanted to play Velma or Roxie—he was concerned that vocally, Roxie wasn’t going to be enough of a showcase and he didn’t want to misuse my voice. I had the night to think about it, I chose Roxie and then we started rehearsals. I wanted the opportunity to show people what I am capable of other than Gloria because everyone knows me from On Your Feet. I felt so welcomed and championed by this community, and New York as a whole and to get to be in the fairytale that brought me here. Also, to star in America’s longest-running musical as this iconic role sounded like a delicious challenge and great experience. I was not wrong!

You seem to be really in tuned andconnected with the universE. Are you someone who believes in the power of manifesting?

I definitely allow myself to think that I can and I try not to limit my own capacity. I’m very aware and in tuned. I am an empath and feel everyone’s feelings and my own are ten-fold. I meditate, do yoga, journal, and run. I have learned to listen to my gut. Even with the whole Velma versus Roxie thing, I was like, I don’t need to prove to people how talented I am, it’s not about wanting to play Velma because she has the bigger notes. I didn’t want it to be that type of showcase. I felt called to show because of the vulnerability that Roxie goes through emotionally and the opportunity to bring her to life in a new way. I felt very empowered to do it. When I told Walter (Bobby) I had never seen the show, he was actually glad because he said I wouldn’t be intimidating anybody.

How do you take care of your well-being on your days off so you don’t burnout and your body and mind stay healthy?

It’s a full-time job for anyone to take care of themselves but with performing and Broadway’s schedule, it’s very hard to have a work-life balance, so I don’t think I consider ‘off time’ to be truly ‘off’. Everything goes toward what I need to do, to get through the next chunk of shows, especially since we have two shows on Saturdays and two shows on Sundays. You have to be ready by Friday for that type of work. I learned quickly with On Your Feet that it takes a village—I don’t say that as a cliché because if I didn't have my voice coach, my ENT, my acupuncturist, my physical therapist and all of the other ‘ists’ are required than I could implode, burnout and injure myself. It’s better to prevent injury rather than wait for it to happen. This time around, I am older and wiser and have gone into it with more wisdom. It’s important for me to work out consistently and keep my diet very disciplined—I don’t eat dairy or gluten. I also love going on runs and getting out of my own bubble for a minute.

Ana’s New York

Favorite restaurant

I love wandering into different sushi places, it’s one of my favorite things. But during the pandemic I discovered this placed called Khiladi in the East Village. It’s owned by this incredible woman who moved here—she’s had four different career paths, got out of a toxic marriage, left India and decided to open a restaurant with all of her mom’s recipes. It feels like home-cooked Indian food. It’s incredible, she is there all of the time. It’s such great food, it warms your soul.

Favorite coffee shop

I love Ludlow Coffee Supply. They have macadamia nut milk, I don’t even know if it’s very good (laughs), I just love ordering it.

Favorite neighborhood?

I love the East Village. I moved here during the pandemic and it makes me feel like I am in Rent because it’s artsy and grungy. I moved here from the Upper West Side, which I also loved for different reasons, but the East Village let’s my freak flag fly more (laughs).

New York is…

alive!

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This interview was edited slightly for clarity

Ana Villafañe Takes A Walk in the Central Park Conservatory Garden