About

Meet Johana

Johana Gracia Lara is a singer/actor/mover. A proud Latina raised in New York City, she fell in love with musical theatre at the age of five when she watched her first show Beauty and the Beast on Broadway. Since then, Johana has continued to participate in her school musical productions and attended summer theatre programs.

She was accepted to the American Musical and Dramatic Academy during her third year in High School but could not attend due to her family’s financial circumstances. However, she did not let that stop her and later gained a full scholarship to study Music and Vocal performance at Lehman College, where she graduated with top honors and a Bachelor of Science in Music (Vocal Performance). While earning her undergraduate degree, Johana had extensive training in classical singing, ear training, theory and more. She was accepted to Act First Studios in NYC and is a proud graduate of the Musical Theatre Program (2025).

As a soprano soloist, she performed major works including Haydn’s Nelson Mass, Faure’s Requiem, Vivaldi’s Gloria, Brahms’ Requiem, and Mozart’s Requiem. Johana was selected to sing the national anthem at Yankee Stadium. She was also selected to perform for Carnegie Hall’s West Side Story and other venues such as Roundabout Theater, Circle in the Square Theater, and Lincoln Center.

Johana landed the role of Cinderella in an original 2021 Cinderella musical written by Penny Prince, and it has won the 2022 National winner in The American Prize in Musical Theater. She was in an Off-Broadway production of Oh Soledad at the Actors Temple Theater, directed by Melissa Lewyn and Produced by Rob Hinderliter. Other performance credits include A Little Night Music (Mrs. Anderssen), Beauty and the Beast (Belle), Cinderella (Cinderella), Urinetown (Hope Cladwell), and Evita (Eva Peron).

Outside of Acting

When Johana is not performing, she is behind the scenes. She is a freelance video editor and digital media producer who is passionate about visual storytelling through videography, photography, content creation and illustration. She enjoys telling a story even if it’s not on the stage. She streams video game content on YouTube and Twitch and engages with a live audience.

She is a recent graduate of the Made in New York Post Production Training Program, where she learned professional skills in editing/post production to use in TV/Film. Her certification was awarded by the New York City Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre & Broadcasting.