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Of New York’s big nonprofit theaters, none has a weakness for star casting like the Roundabout Theatre Company. They seem incapable of mounting a show without a celebrity, however minor or unsuited to the task. But sometimes it actually works, as with "After Miss Julie," starring the lovely and unexpectedly potent Sienna Miller.

From her first entrance, Miller embodies sex and privilege as the bored and restless Miss Julie, daughter of the manor to which John and Christine are servants. Playwright Patrick Marber sticks closely to his source, the 1888 August Strindberg classic.

Miss Julie has been dancing with servants, drinking too much, and the way she ogles John, you know this spoiled rich girl is up to no good. Marber relocates the action to an English country estate in 1945, on the eve of the historic vote that swept Labour into power. The change of period makes perfect sense -- the British caste system is crumbling and lower-class Britons such as John want more out of life than shining boots on the farm.

High-born but frustrated Miss Julie sees a kindred spirit chafing against the status quo. Watching from the sidelines is pious, hardworking Christine, played by Marin Ireland, engaged to marry John. With these spare ingredients, Marber spins a deadly web of sexual cruelty, power games and class tension. Mark Brokaw’s staging is mostly clean and propulsive, except for a few overly pregnant pauses. And Sienna Miller may benefit from low expectations, but she’s a precise and emotionally raw Miss Julie. Yes, she has movie-star glamour, but Miller doesn’t rest on her curvaceous laurels. She goes on a harrowing journey that ends in tragic despair.

Matching her for passion and rage is Jonny Lee Miller, athletic and forceful, but capable of shrinking into childlike terror as John. Together, they dance a toxic tango that’s sexy, dangerous and thrilling to watch.

After quite a few lukewarm revivals, it’s nice to see the Roundabout revive a classic beyond period dress-up. Although casting Miller may have been a gamble, it’s one that pays off.