Settle shot to fame as Lettie Lutz,the bearded lady,in the 2017 Hugh Jackman film,and will star alongside Ariana Grande in the big-screen adaptation ofWickedlater this year.
But first,she will join the&Julietcast for the final performances of the show’s Sydney tour from June 19. She will replace homegrown star Casey Donovan,who departs the show having nabbed the lead inSister Act.
Kealsa Settle (right) will replace Casey Donovan in the final few weeks of& Juliet.Supplied
Settle previously played Angelique during a run on London’s West End in 2022 and was part of the very first table read for the musical in 2017.
“It was really interesting to watch how they were putting all the songs together and what the story was about because it was so groundbreaking,” Settle says.
Written by David West Read,an Emmy award-winning writer and producer ofSchitt’s Creek,the play imagines a world in which Juliet doesn’t die at the end of Shakespeare’s most famous play,instead going on a journey of self-discovery and empowerment—set to a soundtrack of contemporary pop hits.
Rob Mills and the cast of& Juliet at Melbourne’s Regent Theatre.Eddie Jim
“There is this nervy feeling around Shakespeare,as if we mustn’t touch it,but[creator] David West Read took a chance doing it and did it successfully,” says Settle.
“I was so excited to make my debut on West End with this show,and now to experience it with Australian audiences is a dream come true;Australia has always felt like a second home to me!”
That’s the kind of thing performers tend to say without really meaning it,but in the case of Keana Settle,you can’t help but suspect it’s true. Born and raised in Hawaii,the eldest of five siblings,Settle’s mother is from New Zealand,and she remains connected to Maori culture.
“We grew up speaking the language,and so much of my family remains in New Zealand,and I’ve never had the chance to perform even close to them,” she says.
Her connection to Australia was forged through none other than national treasure,Hugh Jackman. Settle appeared alongside Jackman in the 2017 film,The Greatest Showman,with Settle’s Academy Award-nominated rendition of the anthemic balladThis Is Me,cementing her status as one of the film’s breakout stars.
“He really is a national treasure;you guys should lock him up,you’re so lucky to have him,” laughs Settle.
“We’re still in touch,and he remains the most down-to-earth man I know;he’s the kind of man who really enjoys life. You’ll be walking along a beach,and he will just run and jump into the water without notice.”
While there’s no word on whether Jackman will be in the audience for Settle’s first&Juliet show on Australian soil (“I suspect he doesn’t need me to wrangle free tickets”),audiences are being treated to a rising star.
Following the final&Juliet show in Sydney on July 12,Settle will return home to Manchester in the UK and begin preparing for the release of theWicked film.
Ariana Grande,left,and Cynthia Erivo,cast members in the upcoming film “Wicked.”Supplied
Universal’s film adaptation of the Tony-winning Broadway musical was first announced back in 2016 and has been the subject of much hype. Settle appears alongside Grande in a cast that also includes Cynthia Erivo,Michelle Yeoh and Jeff Goldblum.
“It’s been spectacular,Ariana taught me how to meditate on set so that was fun,” says Settle. “People have no idea what they’re in for withWicked;Ariana will blow them away.”
“The day of my costume fitting,I was with director John Chu,and Ariana was doing her first camera test,and she asked him to play it back,and we all watched it together,” recalls Settle.
“There were no lines of dialogue,it was just Ariana looking into the distance and what you saw in her eyes,as Glinda is the hope of what the world could be,she is a star.”
&Juliet is now playing at the Sydney Lyric Theatre,Pyrmont until July 12.
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