Once upon a time, Auliʻi Cravalho walked the halls of her school in Hawaii and couldn’t escape fellow students calling her “Moana.” Eight years and 4,959 miles later, she’s just trying to survive living in New York City.
“I almost got run over by a biker today. Sorry! I don't wear contacts all the time,” says Cravalho, who starred in Disney’s animated musical adventure “Moana” when she was 16 and is playing Sally Bowles seven shows a week in the Broadway revival of “Cabaret.” "It's a city that keeps me on my toes, for sure. I also can't wait to go back to Hawaii and be on island time. I need everyone to be like 10, 15 minutes late. Not the case here.”
Her animated alter ego sings about how far she’ll go, and Cravalho herself has come a long way in less than a decade. “Moana 2” (in theaters now) finds the title wayfarer on a new quest to connect her people and the ocean, while in real life, after teen roles in movies like “All Together Now” and “Mean Girls,” she’s reveling in finally portraying someone befitting a 24-year-old thespian.
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Sally Bowles is “so very different from Moana,” Cravalho says. “I’ve been very vocal in wanting to play characters that are out of the high school realm, and Sally allows me to descend into madness every night. So I got exactly, and more, than what I asked for.”
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Cravalho talks about her animated return, being an executive producer on the upcoming live-action “Moana” movie and what’s next.
Question: Take us back to your life pre-"Moana." What was that like?
Auliʻi Cravalho: My mom and I lived in a one-bedroom apartment. I remember practicing the music for “Moana” (there). Very thin walls. My neighbors downstairs had a newborn, so we had to text them and figure out their schedule so that we didn't wake up the baby. But I remember they cheered along with me after that song of the ancestors: "I am Moana!" They knew before anyone else the whole soundtrack.
What aspect of that teenage you is still very much prevalent?
So much of myself is who I was when I was 16, 17. The theater kid in me was finally able to be fully unleashed. One of my favorite things about being in a recording booth is I'm not worried about a camera. I just act like a little gremlin, trying out new voices, new inflections.
I also am still close with my mom. I’m an adult, I get myself to where I need to be on time, and she's very proud of me. But that doesn't mean that I don't still ask her to help me out by Instacarting me food or sending me Uber Eats. She ordered me pimple patches off of Amazon the other day. Invaluable, things that only a mom could know.
What did you connect with the most in Moana’s story in the sequel?
If our first film was about connecting with the past, this is about connecting with the future. So I loved seeing (Moana's little sister) Simea. Every time she's onscreen, I cried and it just pulled at my heart. And I really like this theme of growth that when Moana thinks that she's on the right path, she says, “OK, this is going to be easy, right?” Wrong. As much as (she) would like to control her path and her future ahead of her, it's something that's out of her hands.
“Moana” has become a staple. Describe what that's been like to inspire a whole generation of little girls and musical theater fans.
I could have never expected that, at 24, I would have played a character so impactful, not only for young girls but for parents, for young people who are also finding their way, for people who are looking to be the main character of their own story and not needing a love interest. I absolutely love it. I'm in “Cabaret” right now, and I met two young ladies at the stage door, one of whom sang “How Far I'll Go” for their middle school talent show and the other ... for their senior showcase.
What's life like as a Broadway star?
It's actually very difficult and very humbling. I lost my voice. I am getting, as my castmates would say, love bites or theater bites, aka bruises. I'm just getting bruised everywhere from choreography. My legs hurt, I'm still managing to forget a line every now and again, but it's so much fun. It is truly an honor to get my butt kicked by Broadway.
And meanwhile you’re also producing a “Moana” movie.
Why are there so many emails? How does anyone answer that many emails in a day? (Laughs) I’ve been really grateful to the team to teach me this new role. I’m quite honestly used to being catered to − I'm talent. And to be on the producing side means that I'm in it.
I'm glad to be moving in that direction. There's so many stories to tell from a young Pasifika lens, but also I don't want to be acting for the rest of my life. I'm starting with emails and then I will get into budgeting. That's a big step but I'll get there.
Where are you off to after “Cabaret”?
If you want to send me my next script that I should read ... I'm booked out till March. I'm rooming with my very best friend. We've been manifesting living in New York City since we were in middle school. Honestly, I haven't even been to the Met yet, I haven't been to MoMA. I hope with my time after the show I get to just kind of settle and do a victory lap.
