Entertainment

Broadway’s tiny wonders

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It began as the season of hunky men in T-shirts, with Ricky Martin and Blair Underwood leading a pack of six-packs. But when all was said and sung, Broadway’s most powerful performances came from women—short women. Not since 4-foot-11 Kristin Chenoweth blew everyone off the stage in “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” have so many tiny dynamos dominated the Tony nominations: This year’s include Tracie Bennett, Stockard Channing, Linda Lavin, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Cristin Milioti and Spencer Kayden—all of them scarcely taller than Helen Hayes, the 5-foot First Lady of Theater. We asked some of our shortest stars to put their height into perspective. CELIA KEENAN-BOLGER Height: 5-feet-zilch The part: Molly, the only girl in “Peter and the Starcatcher” Short shrift: Constantly hearing, “ ‘She can’t play that part—she doesn’t look like a grown-up.’ I’m 34!” Whom she looks up to: her younger sister, “who’s even shorter,” and brother Andrew, who’s “a little taller”—and a star of “Newsies.” Biggest payoff: “If you’re playing powerful people, nobody notices [how short you are] until you come offstage and sign autographs. Then they say, ‘OMG, you’re so much smaller than I thought!’ ”

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ELENA ROGER Height: 5 feet The part: Eva Perón, first lady of Argentina, in “Evita” Short shrift: “There was a director who said once I was too short to be a leading lady. I’m still laughing.” Biggest strengths: “Lots of energy, and I’m easy to lift!” Whom she looks up to: Argentine ballet star Julio Bocca, “and he’s tiny, too!”

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TRACIE BENNETT Height: 5-foot-2½ The part: Judy Garland, near the end of her days, in “End of the Rainbow” Short-sighted thinking: “That if you’re short, you’ll never play the lady of the manor, just the maid. My friend Janet McTeer, who’s 6 feet, always gets classic stuff like ‘Hedda Gabler’ and ‘A Doll’s House.’ People think that if you’re tall, you’re an authority figure.” Whom she looks up to: “At my height, everybody. Especially Al Pacino, who’s a little taller than me.” Long view: “Garland was 4-foot-11. I saw her costumes at the Judy Garland Museum, and they looked like doll’s clothes!”

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LINDA LAVIN Height: “5-foot-3 and shrinking” The part: the mother who roars in “The Lyons” Short-sighted remarks: “The nicknames—pint-size, little widget. I got so many there was a song about it for me and Lynn Redgrave for [the TV special] ‘Linda in Wonderland.’ You get tired of it, but it certainly hasn’t held me back.” Biggest stretch: “Playing someone who’s deeply angry and frustrated, yet funny at the same time. It takes a lot of energy.” Long view: “Everybody onstage looks bigger than they are. And if I have to reach something on a shelf, for that I have a very tall husband!”

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SPENCER KAYDEN Height: 5-foot-3 The part: an intrepid French maid in “Don’t Dress for Dinner” Previous career highlight: “Playing the queen of the elves in ‘The Hobbit,’ at age 8, with all my minions towering over me.” Whom she looks up to: co-star Ben Daniels, when they tango. He’s 9 inches taller. “My stride . . . has to be deep, or he’ll stomp all over me.” Long view: “Even though I’ve wondered what life would be like as a tall, leggy blond, my life’s been pretty great as a short brunette Jew. I don’t feel vertically challenged at all!”