Hawaii’s Auli‘i Cravalho, best known for voicing the titular role in Disney’s “Moana” animated film, will co-star with Adam Lambert, the one-time finalist of “American Idol,” in “Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club” on Broadway.
She will portray Sally Bowles, opposite his Emcee enactment, in the hit musical at the August Wilson Theatre in New York.
They open Sept. 16, succeeding Gayle Rankin and Eddie Redmayne, whose last performances will be on Sept. 14. It will be the Broadway debut for both performers and a real challenge: the show is staged in the round, with a constantly rotating stage.
It’s a bold leap and a huge break for Cravalho, to flex her musical muscles, in a demanding but engaging realm, where she performs seven of eight shows a week. She was a high school teen at Kamehameha Schools, when Disney tapped her in 2016 to voice the Moana character, enabling her to sing the musical’s huge hit song, “How Far I’ll Go.” She since has done a few films, including the recent “Mean Girls: The Musical,” and will return to her Moana roots when she reunites with her co-star Dwayne Johnson as Maui the Demigod in Disney’s animated “Moana 2” Disney project. A live-action fill also is in the works, but Cravalho will not be in it.
Lambert is the flamboyant rock/blues star, a pop fave in concerts and recordings, with an immense presence. His films include “Bohemian Rhapsody.”
Cravalho and Lambert are contracted through March 30.
In recent years, Hawaii actors have proudly performed in Broadway hits. Loretta Ables Sayre portrayed Bloody Mary in “South Pacific” and earned a Tony nomination in 2008; Ruthie Ann Miles played Lady Thiang in “The King and I” and was rewarded with a Tony award in 2025 and was nominated for her Beggar Woman role in “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” in 2023.
Two other islanders are now in hit Broadway shows: Ezekiel Kekuna is cast as Young Simba in “The Lion King,” since November, and will wind up his role Aug. 8. Zare Anguay is currently a swing actor in “Aladdin.”
Further, another islander will be featured on Broadway this fall: Nichole Scherzinger will portray Norma Desmond in “Sunset Boulevard,” previewing from Sept. 28 and premiering Oct. 20 at the St. James Theatre…
‘Lion King’ retains lead in grosses
All is calm in the Pridelands: “The King” retains its No.1 spot on the chart of grosses, for the week ending July 21.
The Top 10:
1—”Lion King,” $2,355 million.
2—”Wicked,” $2.158 million.
3—”Hamilton,” $1.987 million.
4—”Hell’s Kitchen,” $1.616 million.
5—”Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club,” $1.616 million.
6—” Aladdin,” $1.526 million.
7—”MJ the Musical,” $1.471 million.
8—”The Outsiders,” $1.432 million.
9—”The Wiz,” $1.355 million.
10—”Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” $1.340 million.
The complete list, courtesy the Broadway League:
And that’s Show Biz…
Really enjoy your column. Just letting you know that Janel Parrish will be singing at the Blue Note Sept 27 and 28. It will be the first time in a long time that Janel will be performing again in Hawaii and she is very excited to sing for a Hawaii audience.