Keala Settle on Her Upcoming Concert as Part of the SETH CONCERT SERIES, and More on Backstage LIVE With Richard Ridge

BroadwayWorld's Richard Ridge is keeping up with all of their latest projects on Backstage Live, bringing you in-depth interviews twice weekly. On October 15, he chatted with Broadway beltress Keala Settle.

Keala will soon join Seth Rudetsky for two very special concerts on Sunday, October 18 (8pm) and Monday, October 19 (3pm). She discussed the concert in the interview!

"I'm very excited because there are things that people don't know I sing," she said. She talked about how she had the opportunity to perform a solo concert in London and Melbourne, and she's is excited to do it again, albeit virtually, and this time with Seth.

"We had a lot of fun because he hadn't talked in a while, because we're all trying to survive and get through," Settle said.

She then went on to give a bit of a hint as to what she will be performing.

"It's stuff that made me sing as a kid," she said. "Some of them as Broadway things. Some of them are Disney things. Some of them are random movies that I saw and I heard a song and I thought 'where did this song come from?' and I committed to memory. Gospel stuff. The list goes on."

Settle said that she loves performing with Seth because so much of the show is off the cuff.

"We don't have an order, I don't want an order, he probably won't have an order," she said. "It's like, just start playing."

Throughout the rest of the interview, she talked about the importance of the arts, voting, and more.

Watch the full interview below:

Keala Settle received world-wide attention for portraying Lettie Lutz, a bearded lady, in 2017's musical film The Greatest Showman, alongside stars Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, and Zendaya. The song "This Is Me" from the film, principally sung by Settle, won the 2018 Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song.

Keala originated the role of Norma Valverde in Hands on a Hardbody, which ran on Broadway in 2013, and was nominated for the Outer Critics Circle Award, Drama Desk Award, and Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. She was also awarded the Theatre World Award for Outstanding Broadway or Off-Broadway debut performance during the 2012-13 theatrical season. She has also been featured on Broadway as Madame Thenardier in the 2014 revival of Les Misérables, and originated the role of Becky in the 2016 musical Waitress, after premiering with the original cast at the American Repertory Theater in 2015. She made her Broadway debut in 2011's Priscilla, Queen of the Desert as Shirley and in the ensemble. Keala performed in the 2013 Encores! concert staging of Violet with Sutton Foster, but did not move on to the Broadway revival due to taking the role Madame Thénardier in the revival of Les Misérables. She played the role of Tracy Turnblad in the national tour of Hairspray, and appeared in the national tour of the Lincoln Center production of South Pacific as Bloody Mary. Other notable roles include Mrs. Fezziwig in the Pioneer Theatre Company production of the musical A Christmas Carol, the Narrator in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the Ogunquit Playhouse.