Petite women reveal enormous hearts

[Michelle]

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July 31, 2007
BY HEDY WEISS Theater Critic

As someone who stands a towering 5 feet 2 inches (not including such essential enhancements as platform shoes and high heels), the attraction of a show titled "The Big Adventures of Little Women" was all but irresistible. So I headed off to Live Bait Theater, where Martie Sanders and Gloria Coco -- two certifiably "petite" actress-writers -- are holding forth on the subject as part of this summer's Fillet of Solo series.

Does size really matter? That is only part of the question here. As it turns out, the real issue on the minds of both these women turns out to be: Does gender matter? And of course it does.

None of the three monologues on the bill -- two by Sanders (under the direction of Daria Grubb), and one by Coco (directed by Gerrit O'Neill) -- is particularly earth-shattering, but each has the ring of truth.

Sanders' opener, "Mighty Martha," begins with a comic recitation of the results of an unscientific survey conducted with a large group of women 5 feet 3 inches and under (the fashion world's definition of "petite"), and then moves on to recount her very particular interpretation of Dr. Seuss' Horton and the tiny, almost imperceptible Who. But the real focus here is a high-spirited, richly self-mocking reenactment of Sanders' attempt, at age 13, to run for student council president. Her opponent was a super-cool, six-foot-plus guy with a biting wit. Enough said.

Coco takes up the storytelling with "The Wee World," talking about her Sicilian roots (a family of small but mighty women) and how she was railroaded into work as a grade school teacher where she was tested daily. More crucial is her reflections on her second career as a lawyer and former prosecutor for the Cook County States Attorney and Illinois Attorney General -- jobs in which she confronted sexist attitudes on the part of offenders, fellow lawyers and even a female judge.

Sanders closes the evening with "Swoop," a meditation on the survival instincts of pigeons, and on her own valiant attempt to save the life of a total stranger who collapsed while she was in line at a Subway shop. The stranger was a very large African-American preacher, and Sanders used her own breath and compression power to try to bring him back to life before the arrival of an ambulance. Few men, even twice her size, would have given so much.

Both actresses will no doubt grow more confident as they perform these modest but deeply personal pieces.
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'THE BIG ADVENTURES OF LITTLE WOMEN'
SOMEWHAT RECOMMENDED
When: Aug. 4 and 24
Where: Live Bait Theater, 3914 N. Clark
Tickets: $10
Phone: (773) 871-1212