Broadway Settle made her Broadway debut in 2011 in
Priscilla, Queen of the Desert as Shirley and in the ensemble. Settle originated the role of Norma Valverde in
Hands on a Hardbody, a musical which ran briefly on Broadway in 2013, and is based on the 1997 documentary about real people competing to win a new truck. The
TheatreMania reviewer wrote: "Settle, as Norma, steals every scene she's in. The spectacularly bizarre lead-in to her big number, 'Joy of the Lord,' is more difficult to pull off than most Shakespearean monologues, and her solo vocals reveal a soulful, oversized gospel range that drives the Holy Spirit straight to the back of the theater. When she tearfully realizes what her faith in God may have wrought, it stings like a chigger bite. Settle's touching performance should go on the shortlist for every Best Featured Actress prize in town." For this role, Settle was nominated for the
Outer Critics Circle,
Drama Desk, and
Tony Award for
Best Featured Actress in a Musical. Additionally, she was awarded the
Theatre World Award for Outstanding Broadway or Off-Broadway debut performance during the 2012-13 theatrical season. Settle played the role of Madame Thenardier in the revival of
Les Misérables, starting in March 2014, and ending on March 1, 2015. Settle originated the role of Becky in the musical
Waitress, which opened on Broadway on April 24, 2016, at the
Brooks Atkinson Theatre after premiering at the
American Repertory Theater in August 2015.
Other work Settle played the role of Tracy Turnblad in the national tour of
Hairspray. In the review of the tour stop at the
Kennedy Center in 2005, the
Washington Post reviewer wrote: "As for Settle, she is a fine Tracy, even if she looks too old for graduate school, let alone high school." She appeared in the national tour of the
Lincoln Center production of
South Pacific as
Bloody Mary, starting in 2009. The reviewer for the
Pioneer Press, Massachusetts, wrote: "Better cast is Keala Settle, who plays the conniving Tonkinese trader lady Bloody Mary with a rolling gait, the venom of viper and—buried deeply but achingly visible in strategic moments—the maternal fierceness of a lioness." In November through December 2012, Settle played the role of Mrs. Fezziwig in the Pioneer Theatre Company (
Salt Lake City) production of the musical
A Christmas Carol. She played the role of the Narrator in
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the Ogunquit Playhouse,
Ogunquit, Maine from July 31 to August 25, 2013. Settle performed in the
Encores! concert staging of
Violet on July 17, 2013, with
Sutton Foster, but did not move on to the Broadway revival due to taking the role of in the revival of
Les Misérables; she was replaced in
Violet by
Annie Golden. Settle discussed her career path, noting that "I really am not a musical theatre performer. I'm more an
R&B singer and have been doing that my whole life. My mother is—well, was—also an R&B singer, in New Zealand....I was too busy wanting to sing backup or doing studio work singing chorus stuff, and singing backup for
Gladys Knight in Vegas." Further, after her run in
Hairspray, she stated that she "didn't know how to live in that world..." and so for several years worked backstage with designers until she was cast in
South Pacific. In 2017, Settle portrayed Lettie Lutz, a
bearded lady, in the biographical musical drama film
The Greatest Showman, alongside
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. On December 22, 2017, she released an
extended play entitled
Chapter One. In 2018, she was featured in
Forbidden, the newest
Todrick Hall visual album, especially in the song called "Forbidden", a song against
homophobia. In 2019, Settle played the role of Cy (a gender-flipped version of Paul from the original, also combined with soloist 1) in Fox's
Rent: Live. Also in 2019, Settle toured with
Hugh Jackman during his
The Man. The Music. The Show. concerts globally, performing the song "
This Is Me" from
The Greatest Showman. On this tour Settle performed her original song
Harder to a live audience for the very first time. She performed "
This Is Me" at the 2021
Royal Variety Performance. In January 2022, it was announced that Settle would make her
West End debut performing the role of
Angelique/Nurse in the musical
& Juliet for a three-month run from March 29 to June 18, 2022. In 2022, Keala Settle sang "How Many Sleeps 'till Christmas" for the
Numberblocks. Settle made her pantomime debut in 2022, playing the role of Fairy Sugarsnap in Jack and the Beanstalk at the Royal Derngate Theatre, Northampton. In 2022, it was announced that Settle will play the role of Miss Coddle in the movie adaptation of the musical
Wicked. Directed by
Jon M. Chu, the movie includes stars such as
Cynthia Erivo,
Ariana Grande-Butera,
Jonathan Bailey,
Michelle Yeoh,
Jeff Goldblum and
Ethan Slater, as well as feature the voice of
Peter Dinklage as Doctor Dillamond. In February 2024, Settle participated in the
fifth series of
The Masked Singer UK as the character "Air Fryer". She was eliminated and unmasked in the semi final, taking fifth place. On June 19, 2024, Settle returned to the role of Angèlique in
& Juliet at the
Sydney Lyric Theatre, after
Casey Donovan left the cast to star as Deloris Van Cartier in the
Sister Act musical. ==Filmography==