Sienna Miller in Cabaret

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

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".

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".

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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

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???

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.

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.

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.

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."