A triple threat is a special phenomenon. To be a triple threat, you have to be really, really good at singing, and dancing, and acting. You can't be passable in one area and good in the others. It's more like: There has to be the sense that you could do *any one* of the three full-time, and the world would still be dazzled by your gift.
My husband asked (jokingly) if Madonna and Taylor Swift count as triple threats--and I said, whoa, no, not by a long shot--and I knew that a post was necessary.
The ultimate triple threat is Sutton Foster. There's no question, if she were simply a mute featured dancer in various Broadway shows, she would still be a *celebrated* mute featured dancer. And the singing and acting are admirable. As much as I resent "Younger" for taking Foster away from the Broadway stage, I'm grateful that the show allows me to contemplate Foster's grace and actorly intelligence on a regular basis.
Chita Rivera, obviously, is a triple threat. Would you see Chita giving a one-woman show in which she didn't dance at all, but just relied on her magnetic acting skills? Yes. Yes, you would.
Bebe Neuwirth: clearly, a triple threat. America was watching "Frasier," and enjoying Neuwirth's acidity, and few people could guess that "All That Jazz" was in the future.
Karen Olivo, of "In the Heights": classic triple threat. Olivo seemed to retire, after the "West Side Story" revival, to become a vegan-living-in-Wisconsin, but the theater kept beckoning. "Murder Ballad" happened. And then "Moulin Rouge!" Ms. Olivo belongs on stage.
Lady Gaga: *maybe* a triple threat. If I had to choose between Olivo's inspired dancing and Gaga's competence, I would choose Olivo. But I will leave the question of Gaga's dancing ability to the experts. (Gaga's acting is also questionable; yes, she was compelling in "A Star Is Born," but how far was she really stretching herself there?)
Jane Krakowski: I don't think she's Bebe Neuwirth-esque, in the dancing department, but we might be looking--here--at a triple threat.
Gwen Verdon: iconic triple threat.
Charlotte d'Amboise: Maybe people don't really go wild for her acting, but I'm giving the title to her. She's a triple threat.
And Patina Miller, as well.
The weird thing about all this: You don't have to be a triple threat to be exciting. I wouldn't trade Meryl Streep for Patina Miller. I'm not even sure that *triple threat* makes you *better* than a really fierce double threat, or single threat. The phenomenon of the triple threat is just something that exists in the world. Something to be celebrated. Please add your nominees in the comments below!
My husband asked (jokingly) if Madonna and Taylor Swift count as triple threats--and I said, whoa, no, not by a long shot--and I knew that a post was necessary.
The ultimate triple threat is Sutton Foster. There's no question, if she were simply a mute featured dancer in various Broadway shows, she would still be a *celebrated* mute featured dancer. And the singing and acting are admirable. As much as I resent "Younger" for taking Foster away from the Broadway stage, I'm grateful that the show allows me to contemplate Foster's grace and actorly intelligence on a regular basis.
Chita Rivera, obviously, is a triple threat. Would you see Chita giving a one-woman show in which she didn't dance at all, but just relied on her magnetic acting skills? Yes. Yes, you would.
Bebe Neuwirth: clearly, a triple threat. America was watching "Frasier," and enjoying Neuwirth's acidity, and few people could guess that "All That Jazz" was in the future.
Karen Olivo, of "In the Heights": classic triple threat. Olivo seemed to retire, after the "West Side Story" revival, to become a vegan-living-in-Wisconsin, but the theater kept beckoning. "Murder Ballad" happened. And then "Moulin Rouge!" Ms. Olivo belongs on stage.
Lady Gaga: *maybe* a triple threat. If I had to choose between Olivo's inspired dancing and Gaga's competence, I would choose Olivo. But I will leave the question of Gaga's dancing ability to the experts. (Gaga's acting is also questionable; yes, she was compelling in "A Star Is Born," but how far was she really stretching herself there?)
Jane Krakowski: I don't think she's Bebe Neuwirth-esque, in the dancing department, but we might be looking--here--at a triple threat.
Gwen Verdon: iconic triple threat.
Charlotte d'Amboise: Maybe people don't really go wild for her acting, but I'm giving the title to her. She's a triple threat.
And Patina Miller, as well.
The weird thing about all this: You don't have to be a triple threat to be exciting. I wouldn't trade Meryl Streep for Patina Miller. I'm not even sure that *triple threat* makes you *better* than a really fierce double threat, or single threat. The phenomenon of the triple threat is just something that exists in the world. Something to be celebrated. Please add your nominees in the comments below!
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