Sienna Miller in Cabaret

[Broadway Flash]

Posted: 5/1/20 at 8:35pm

She was the best Sally Bowles there ever was.  Who else saw this incredible performance?

[n2nbaby]

Posted: 5/1/20 at 8:50pm

I was pretty disappointed with her honestly, but I saw her early on in her run.

Emma Stone on the other hand gave one of the best performances I’ve ever seen on stage.

I also REALLY loved Michelle Williams, but not counting her since I didn’t see her performance live. She was out when I went to see her.

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 5/1/20 at 8:58pm

I really wish Jane Horrocks could have done it in New York. Hers is my favorite interpretation.

[TheGingerBreadMan]

Posted: 5/1/20 at 9:18pm

Natasha Richardson is my favorite Sally, followed by Emma Stone.

[Highland Guy]

Posted: 5/1/20 at 9:37pm

The only "Sally" I've seen on stage was Judi Dench; and I think it would be hard to improve on her performance.  Here are Sienna and Emma, sitting on a couch, talking about the hazards of appearing in "Cabaret".

 

 

[Stephen75]

Posted: 5/1/20 at 10:48pm

All three Sally's were terrific, and all managed to make the roles completely their own. Sienna was brash, rugged, sexy, and ferocious. A great performance indeed.

[zainmax]

Posted: 5/1/20 at 11:46pm

I heard Richardson was the best by far...

I thought Sienna was fine.

[Broadway Flash]

Posted: 5/2/20 at 4:39am

It didn't seem like acting to me when I saw Sienna Miller.  Throughout the show when she was getting drugged up, I really believed it.  I also thought she was so funny and heartbreaking. The other two sally's of the 2014 revival didn't do it for me.

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 5/2/20 at 1:16pm

Highland Guy said: "The only "Sally" I've seen on stage was Judi Dench; and I think it would be hard to improve on her performance. Here are Sienna and Emma, sitting on a couch, talking about the hazards of appearing in "Cabaret".
 

Love this interview.

"

 

[batboysings]

Posted: 5/2/20 at 4:23pm

I would absolutely love to hear a recording of Michelle Williams in this.

[quizking101]

Posted: 5/3/20 at 12:11am

I saw Michelle Williams and, though I loved her singing and dancing, she just seemed too downtrodden and sad the whole time, as if she gave up on life a long time ago.

Emma Stone was stellar and would have been guaranteed a Tony had she opened the show like planned.

My friends saw Sienna Miller and though she was appallingly bad

[BeNice]

Posted: 5/3/20 at 12:35am

To me, Emma Stone was SO impressive in that she really understood every beat and moment of that show and character. A terrific and smart actress.

Sienna Miller "is" Sally Bowles: a not-super-great singer and a party girl. So she was perfectly cast.

Michelle Williams was out the night I was supposed to see her.

Natasha Richardson can be seen on the Lincoln Center Archives video and even though it is a video, boy was it impressive.  

[zainmax]

Posted: 5/3/20 at 1:32am

quizking101 said: "I saw Michelle Williams and, though I loved her singing and dancing, she just seemed too downtrodden and sad the whole time, as if she gave up on life a long time ago.

Emma Stone was stellar and would have been guaranteed a Tony had she opened the show like planned.

My friends saw Sienna Miller and though she was appallingly bad"

Why didn’t she open the show?? What happened???

[broadway86]

Posted: 5/3/20 at 9:21am

Saw the revival many times, although I was too young to have seen Natasha, and I’ve only seen clips of Sienna. Emma Stone was just phenomenal, my favorite of the bunch.

[quizking101]

Posted: 5/3/20 at 10:43am

zainmax said: "quizking101 said: "I saw Michelle Williams and, though I loved her singing and dancing, she just seemed too downtrodden and sad the whole time, as if she gave up on life a long time ago.

Emma Stone was stellar and would have been guaranteed a Tony had she opened the show like planned.

My friends saw Sienna Miller and though she was appallingly bad"

Why didn’t she open the show?? What happened???"

If I remember correctly, Anne Hathaway was originally announced, but dropped out well before previews. Then they courted Emma Stone, but I remember her saying in an interview that she had too much stage fright at the time and was afraid to open on Broadway in her debut, especially with all the machinations of awards season, so she chickened out.

[nasty_khakis]

Posted: 5/3/20 at 11:28am

I've said it countless times but all three had drastically different interpretations.

Michelle was a butterfly already that already hit the windshield. Deep in the throes of drug addiction pretending everything was alright and forcing herself to have fun and lying about possibly everything including being English. Her version of the title song was saying goodbye finally. My least favorite but by no means a bad performance.

Emma was fiddling while the world was on fire and actually having a good time. Her Sally was smart,  charming, but also manipulative. One of the smartest and most breath-taking performances I've seen. Her long pause before saying the word "died" is seared into my brain. Her "Cabaret" was making her mind up that she knows it's over but she's going to keep dancing. Going to America would just delay the inevitable.

Sienna just...was Sally. She was the only time I never doubted a word Sally said, She was free, quirky, and truly herself. She was a fun girl out to have fun and enjoy herself, the world be damned. Her final song was almost like the first time Sally realized something bad was happening.

[LarryD2]

Posted: 5/3/20 at 1:57pm

quizking101 said: "zainmax said: "quizking101 said: "I saw Michelle Williams and, though I loved her singing and dancing, she just seemed too downtrodden and sad the whole time, as if she gave up on life a long time ago.

Emma Stone was stellar and would have been guaranteed a Tony had she opened the show like planned.

My friends saw Sienna Miller and though she was appallingly bad"

Why didn’t she open the show?? What happened???"

If I remember correctly, Anne Hathaway was originally announced, but dropped out well before previews. Then they courted Emma Stone, but I remember her saying in an interview that she had too much stage fright at the time and was afraid to open on Broadway in her debut,especially with all the machinations of awards season, so she chickened out."

Hathaway was never attached; that was just a rumor. The revival was supposed to open with Stone and Cumming, but Stone ended up filming ALOHA instead. So Michelle Williams opened the revival.

As for Miller: her performance wasn't perfect, but as others have said, she had a very specific interpretation of the character. It definitely wasn't to everyone's taste, but it's inaccurate to say she was struggling in the part.

 

[Zion24]

Posted: 5/3/20 at 2:17pm

michelle williams was directed to play the role in a new direction- refreshing considering the rest of it was a complete recreation of the prior version. she nailed it- and i thought she sang impressively, but without tweaking Cumming's performance, it didnt work perfectly. No fault of hers though, and I thought she should have been nominated for a Tony. 

 

 

[Stephen75]

Posted: 5/3/20 at 3:42pm

nasty_khakis said: "I've said it countless times but all three had drastically different interpretations.

Michelle was a butterfly already that already hit the windshield. Deep in the throes of drug addiction pretending everything was alright and forcing herself to have fun and lying about possibly everything including being English. Her version of the title song was saying goodbye finally.My least favorite but by no means a bad performance.

Emma was fiddling while the world was on fire and actually having a good time. Her Sally was smart, charming, but also manipulative. One of the smartest and most breath-taking performances I've seen. Her long pause before saying the word "died" is seared into my brain. Her "Cabaret" was making her mind up that she knows it's over but she's going to keep dancing. Going to America would just delay the inevitable.

Sienna just...was Sally. She was the only time I never doubted a word Sally said, She was free, quirky, and truly herself. She was a fun girl out to have fun and enjoy herself, the world be damned. Her final song was almost like the first time Sally realized something bad was happening."

This is pretty much spot on. I think Emma gave the most "accessible" performance, and probably would have won a Tony. She found SO much humor in the role. In the final scene when she tells Cliff "I would have ran away with the first exciting man who came along...or you would" the audience burst out laughing, and how she managed to find a genuine laugh in such a emotional scene always stayed with me. Also, the the "jolt" back into the final verse of Cabaret was stunning. She completely zoned out until the band came back in. 

Miller has the most Sally energy, and Brantley summed up her performance beautifully in his review. He specifically highlighted the moment where Cliff slaps her and she recoils like it's nothing, and it's a moment I won't forget either. 

Williams is my favorite actress, and she always takes big swings with her roles (what she did in the final moments of Blackbird specifically is seared into memory) and her Sally was no exception. Am I crazy, or did she drop the thick accent on "remember to dedicate your book to me?" I could have sworn she did, hinting at the fact that Sally has been lying about everything, including being English.

[nasty_khakis]

Posted: 5/3/20 at 6:15pm

Michelle's accent came and went both times I saw it but it felt more like the actress vs a character choice. Maybe a mix of both?

I too always tend to judge a Sally on her very last line "Dedicate your book to me." Some say like they're about to go to the gallows. Some say it through tears knowing her (probably fake) name printed on a page will be her only legacy. Some say it like it's no big thing, just a flippant comment to yet another man walking out on her. Some use that same scenario but with an air of artifice and show a little of how much she's actually hurting. It really is a litmus test in any production. 

[Stephen75]

Posted: 5/3/20 at 6:24pm

Does anyone know how Richardson said it? Or have any details from her performance remembered? I have to get the the library and watch one day.

[jbird5]

Posted: 5/3/20 at 6:28pm

Emma seemed to me like a homecoming queen performing in her high school production of Cabaret. Too squeaky clean.

Sienna had lived the part.

[Broadway Flash]

Posted: 5/3/20 at 10:09pm

I think Sienna is the only one that would have had a chance to win the Tony. I agree Emma Stone would have been nominated, but I still think she would have lost to Jessie Mueller who was brilliant in Beautiful! Sienna said she felt like she artistically peaked doing Cabaret. I  didn't know much of her work going in, but I was blown away by her!! Ben Brantley said "I hate to keep telling people to go back to the cabaret, old chum, but Ms. Miller is a revelation here, the most realistic Sally since Natasha Richardson won a Tony for the part 17 years ago." 

[Zion24]

Posted: 5/3/20 at 11:41pm

Stephen75 said: "

Williams is my favorite actress, and she always takes big swings with her roles (what she did in the final moments of Blackbird specifically is seared into memory) and her Sally was no exception. Am I crazy, or did she drop the thick accent on "remember to dedicate your book to me?" I could have sworn she did, hinting at the fact that Sally has been lying about everything, including being English."

 

Great description. And yes, she distinctly said the line with a sigh and an American accent, as if she was giving up on the whole damn charade. It was subtle but very moving. 

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 5/4/20 at 10:35am

How were the half a dozen or so sally replacements from the 1998 revival? Were any of them standouts in the role? I’m particularly interested in Susan Egan and Kate Shindles take on the role and how they were.