Video: Auli'i Cravalho Shares How She Perfected Her CABARET Accent

These days, Auli'i Cravalho has a lot going on. With her role as Sally Bowles in Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club and Moana 2 breaking box office records, the performer admits that she has been "burning the candle at both ends." However, she is grateful for the juxtaposition of the two roles, with each offering a different challenge.

"I love doing voices," Cravalho told Stephen Colbert on a recent visit to The Late Show, adding that her voice for Moana is crisp and clear, a stark difference from her British Sally Bowles. "[It's] been really mind-melding because [singing] in a British accent is very different," she explained. Along with a dialect coach, she credits her polished accent to listening to BBC radio, adding that she "wanted it to sound real."

She also talked about the consistency and joy of playing eight shows a week, despite the difficult schedule. "I'm really glad to be a part of it even when doing press for Moana. That show feels really important to me."

Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club is currently running at the August Wilson Theatre, starring Adam Lambert and Auli'i Cravalho as 'Sally Bowles'.  The cast also includes Bebe Neuwirth as ‘Fraulein Schneider;’ Calvin Leon Smith as ‘Clifford Bradshaw,’ 2024 Tony Award nominee Steven Skybell as ‘Herr Schultz;’ Henry Gottfried as ‘Ernst Ludwig,’ and Michelle Aravena as ‘Fritzie/Kost.’ 

Walt Disney Animation Studios’ epic animated musical Moana 2 reunites Moana (voice of Cravalho) and Maui (voice of Johnson) three years later for an expansive new voyage alongside a crew of unlikely seafarers. With music by Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear, Moana 2 opened in theaters on November 27, 2024.