(LifeWire) - Location: Ballroom Theater at the Golden Nugget
129 Fremont St.
Las Vegas, Nev. 89101
Phone: (866) 946-5336
Website: http://www.defendingthecaveman.com/
About Defending the Caveman: So we're less hairy (well, most of us) and use more words, but have we really changed that much since the days of the caveman? Not according to this play, written by Rob Becker, that explores the relationship between men and women by comparing them to our prehistoric ancestors.
The show is set in a Flintstones-style living room, complete with stone table and television, where actor Kevin Burke ponders the differences between girls and boys. How, for example, can girls play with a jump rope and resist the urge to tie people up with it, he wonders aloud. Not long after, a caveman appears to help him understand the differences among genders.
"To me, it was like looking at two different cultures," Burke says to the audience. And that's the crux of the play.
In essence, he says, men are hunters and women are gatherers. Men are more singularly focused on tasks, while women imagine and arrange things in life, collecting details and talking about their feelings.
"Women get together with their friends and have those creepy talks," says Burke. "Men don't have those creepy talks." By creepy, he's referring to emotions. Rather than having heart-to-heart talks, he observes, men prefer to call each other derogatory names.
In Defending the Caveman, he analyzes such behavior as using the remote control and purchasing towels, exploring gender stereotypes as he goes. Burke is witty and insightful, and approaches the material in a caring and humorous way. Judging from the audience's response, the show resonates with the caveperson in each of us. Couples in the audience howl and poke one another throughout, nodding while wiping away tears of laughter.
The response has been the same since Defending the Caveman opened in 1991 in San Francisco. It toured three other cities before spending nearly three years on Broadway, where it became the longest-running solo play in history. Defending the Caveman has played in 30 different countries and has been translated into 15 languages - proof that it cuts to the core of the human spirit, regardless of the geography.
Show times for Defending the Caveman: The show plays nightly at 8 p.m., with Saturday and Sunday matinées at 3 p.m.
Tickets for Defending the Caveman: Prices start at $34.95 plus applicable taxes and fees.
