CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Liv Warfield was an athlete growing up in central Illinois. Music really wasn't on her radar until much later.
"I was a runner and a gymnast. I went to college on a track and field scholarship. I didn't sing in church. I kinda kept it a secret. Nobody knew I could sing," she laughed.
"I actually thought I'd be in the Olympics one day."
In 2006, a certain artist happened to see her singing in a YouTube video.
"When I moved to Portland, I started singing at a bar. I started a band. Then one day, I got a call from Prince. I was actually sitting in a salon chair getting a full weave done when he called," she laughed. "He said, 'I love your voice, you want to come to LA, do you want to come sing with the band?' I was like, 'uh yeah!'"
She toured with Prince for about eight years.
"I initially saw the show in Seattle and I was blown away," she recalled. "I saw all these performers, I was moved by the performances, the music. I was in right away."
She plays Madame Zinzanni as part of the new cast that debuted this year.
"Some of these people are circus performers. Some of them come from generations of circus performers. They are insanely talented. I've never done anything like this before," Warfield said.
Warfield said being back in the Midwest is extra special.
"I feel very blessed to part of this cast. I really do, because it's something else. Oh, I've fallen in love with this show. I'm here forever, okay? Teatro Zinzanni has got me forever," Warfield said.