Sienna Miller gears up to sing in Cabaret on Broadway

In just over one month’s time, film star Sienna Miller will be taking over from Emma Stone in the singing role of Sally Bowles in the Broadway revival of Cabaret. But the 33-year-old actress has admitted she hasn’t exactly done much singing before.

During an appearance on the Today show on Wednesday, Sienna was asked about her past experience of vocal performances, and joked: ‘It’s karaoke and vodka fuelled!’ Sienna Miller talked about playing Sally Bowles in Cabaret on Broadway when she appeared on the Today show on Wednesday

She added: ‘I’ve never publicly sang or danced unless mildly intoxicated so this is going to be an interesting experiment.’ However Sienna, who looked great in brown culottes and a black jumper over a white blouse, then backtracked a little, as she explained that the character isn’t supposed to be the greatest singer.

‘I’m really underselling it,’ she told Matt Lauer. ‘They’ve heard me sing, and Sally Bowles – the original play is based on a book by Christopher Isherwood – and the real Sally Bowles, who was a real woman, was supposed to be rough around the edges.’ Sienna added: ‘Not the Liza [Minnelli] version. She’s supposed to be not great, and that’s the truth. So I’m doing that version.’

Not an expert then?: The actress joked that her past singing experiences have been ‘karaoke and vodka fuelled’.
‘I’m terrified’: Sienna said she is very nervous about taking on the role in just over a month’s time. The Factory Girl star isn’t feeling hugely confident however, and shrieked when Matt reminded her that her first night, on February 17, isn’t that far away.

‘I’m terrified, of course I am,’ she said. ‘By the way, if I wasn’t, I’d be really worried because it’s singing and dancing on Broadway. This is a big deal.’ Sienna also chatted about her new movie American Sniper, in which she plays Taya, the wife of the late US Navy SEAL Chris Kyle (portrayed by Bradley Cooper). The British beauty formed a friendship with the woman she plays in the film, and said ‘it was very clear’ how much the couple loved each other, adding: ‘We were sobbing over Skype, before we met. It was very emotional and lovely.’ ‘Rough around the edges’: Sienna explained that Sally Bowles isn’t supposed to be as fantastic a singer as Liza Minnelli, and added that she is ‘doing that version’

Sienna revealed: ‘It was really daunting because when we first had a conversation, her husband had been murdered a year before, and I knew that the things I had to ask would be kind of prying into memories and romantic stories, and also the complicated things that you have to investigate.

‘And it was daunting, the idea of bringing that up for her. But she was so open and loving. I mean, we talked about how they met, and how she felt, and each scene was pretty specific to moments that had happened in their life.’ Sienna admitted she ‘can’t imagine’ going through what Taya did, ‘raising children not knowing if your husband will survive every single day’.

She added: ‘I think the most interesting thing about playing this part was realising that really when people are away at war and in active combat, there are also people at home who are making enormous sacrifices, and that’s a kind of war in itself, and I had never even considered that before.’