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Since 2003, Kevin Burke has been starring in the Broadway tour of DEFENDING THE CAVEMAN to critical acclaim. A native of Chicago, Kevin has been featured on OPRAH, THE CBS MORNING NEWS, NPR's TALK OF THE NATION, THE DR. LAURA BERMAN SHOW on XM Satellite Radio, NBC-TV's FRIDAY NIGHT, and ABC-TV's AMERICA'S FUNNIEST PEOPLE which awarded Kevin its grand prize. In oldest battle, the men cave By Jerry Fink, Las Vegas Sun It figures that women better appreciate the humor in "Defending the Caveman." It fits perfectly with playwright Rob Becker's premise that the chasm between men and women dates to the caveman. Becker says men are hunters and focus on their prey to the exclusion of everything else around them, making them unaware of their shortcomings - ignoring their wives, poor housekeeping, underwear dropped on the floor. Women are gatherers and, over thousands of years of evolution, have become tuned in to everything in the world around them. When you're a gatherer , you have to be super alert so you won't miss anything that is worth gathering. That's why women are shoppers and men watch TV. And why they are more aware of men's faults than men are. At least that's the argument that runs through "Caveman," a 75-minute monologue featuring stand-up comedian Kevin Burke. It elicits plenty of nudging elbows and murmured "Oh yeahs" among female audience members. Meanwhile, men scratch their heads and wonder what's so funny. It's all funny, from start to finish - a hilarious look at the differences between the sexes. Burke - whose body resembles Ralph Kramden but whose sentimentality resembles one of those '80s Alan Alda types who are sensitive to the needs of the opposite sex - does a masterful job in his role of everyman. His seamless monologue is part sociology, part psychology, part history, part philosophy and all humor. "It's just so weird how the caveman had that 'bonk them on the head and drag them back to the cave' reputation," Burke says, "because the truth is the caveman never did that. The truth is the caveman actually worshipped women." But he still can't understand why women always want to warm their cold feet against a man's warm legs. The stage is so simple it looks like it's snatched off the screen of "The Flintstones." There are a couple of sofas, a TV carved out of stone, a statue of a nude woman, a painting of a prehistoric cave drawing, a painting of a statue of another naked woman. "Defending the Caveman" is the Golden Nugget's latest effort to lure folks from the Strip to downtown. It's a difficult task. The attractions on the Strip are so awesome you can't see them all in three or four days. But "Caveman" is a nice invitation to come on down. More Than Just Grunt Work: 'Defending the Caveman' what: "Defending the Caveman" when: 8 p.m. Wednesdays-Mondays; 3 p.m. Saturdays-Sundays where: Golden Nugget, 129 Fremont St. tickets: $46.45-$62.90 for 8 p.m. shows, $40.95-$51.95 for matinees (386-8100) More than one person has asked me if "Defending the Caveman" is tied into the popular Geico caveman ad campaign. This could be good or bad news for the show at the Golden Nugget. On the plus side, the confusion proves stand-up comedian Rob Becker created a timeless analogy for his comparison of men and women. Timeless in a relative way, for Becker took his history and anthropology seriously in writing the one-man show. On the other hand, the Nugget's current production of "Caveman" sometimes makes you wonder if the Nugget should have vaulted ahead and snagged the rights to the Geico characters, as ABC did for a sitcom due this fall. This version of "Caveman" doesn't specifically tip its hand to its early '90s origins. In fact, it tries very hard not to, by name-checking current TV shows such as "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?" But as a whole, the comic monologue cannot escape a vague nostalgia for the early, happier years of the Clinton administration and evenings spent watching "Home Improvement." Perhaps significantly, the Tim Allen sitcom was popular during the four years Becker polished his work for What is fresh, for Las Vegas at least, is the form and presentation. Local producer John Bentham has pulled Performed here by another comic, Kevin Burke, "Caveman" negotiates a thin line between stand-up comedy and the type of theater seldom seen here, beyond occasional visits of "Mark Twain Tonight." Burke wears street clothes as he paces a living room set right out of "The Flintstones," complete with rock-chiseled TV set. Lighting and musical cues help him make his point, breaking up what is essentially a long comic lecture -- trimmed to a painless 70 minutes plus an amusing opening video -- tracing male and female behavior back to the earliest societies. He begins by recapping the crumbling respect for American men as women gained equality in the '70s and '80s. Today, Becker's central theory is that behavior and essential misunderstandings still tie back to the male's early role as hunter and the female as gatherer. Channel-surfing is a dude's way of "killing the channels." A woman lingers on each station before clicking to the next because she is "gathering information." Women come home from parties full of new updates about their friends, and get upset because "I gathered nothing. We (men) don't mean to be dicks, we just don't have the details." The theory extends all the way into the bedroom, where sex forces each partner to make the ultimate sacrifice of role reversal: The woman has to "narrow her focus" and the men need to "wonder and discover." Burke has been performing "Caveman" for more than three years and delivers this occasionally heady stuff with a relaxed authority. He's the likable schlub direct from the John Goodman wing of Sitcom Central Casting. Yes, he leaves his dirty socks and underwear all over the place. But can you really get mad at him? The material might even be edgier and less predictable if women had to warm up to someone who wasn't so But the Nugget's casino demographic still weighs more toward married grown-ups with their own kids to worry about. And said grown-ups still are likely to walk away from "Caveman" with more insight than they'll get from a Geico spot, let alone any asshole comedian on the Strip. Defending the Caveman
By Judith Newmark Post-Dispatch Theater Critic 10/29/2004 The new Playhouse at West Port Plaza debuted Wednesday night with "Rob Becker’s Defending the Caveman," a show that could have been made to order for its agreeably clubby atmosphere. Like the comedy, the theater is comfortable, extremely accessible and designed for the audience more than for theatrical art. (”Caveman” is) a one-man show about the differences between men and women. Written and originally performed by Rob Becker, Kevin Burke is a low-key, beefy guy whose genial style is well calibrated to the show, a long shtick that explains human relationships in terms of cave survival. Men are hunters, focused on a single goal at a time; women are gatherers, multitasking like mad for the good of all. This leads to hilarious explanations of differences in all kinds of behavior: shopping, lovemaking, handling the remote control. It's the kind of observation that doesn't tell you anything you didn't already know but guarantees a lot of knowing laughter. OK, you knew it, but you never put it so well before. Becker's point is underscored by the clever design, a Flintstone-esque armchair and TV set under big cave-style drawings of a bison hunt and a fertility goddess. It's a relaxing, fun evening with wide appeal. KDHX Theatre Review - Rob Becker’s Defending the Caveman starring Kevin Burke
The Playhouse at Westport Plaza Reviewed by Drew Somervell As I sat down in my seat at the Westport Playhouse, I didn't know exactly what I had in store for me with this one-man show. Sure, I knew it was a commentary on the relationships between men and women, husbands and wives, caveman and cavewoman, and like many of you I assumed that I was pretty knowledgeable about that subject. But, fortunately, both for me and an appreciative Westport audience, I found there was more to the longest running one-man show in Broadway history than one might think. The stage set is directly out of the Flintstones, with two cave paintings on the wall, a stone lazy-boy, and a full color stone television set (Sorry, no remote control, fellas. Remember, this is about the caveman, who didn't have this technology yet). The first words spoken are "men are assholes". Then we are treated to a short montage of video and still footage of a typical couple, struggling with typical couple stuff - fights over clothes on the floor, and control of the remote. Suddenly, the featured performer, the hilarious Kevin Burke, steps out onto the stage. He's wearing a pair of blue jeans and a dark gray golf shirt, and is the quintessential everyman. Burke pops the question "Why are men the way they are, and why are women the way they are"? 'Defending the Caveman' is educational and entertaining By Emily Brown, Potomac News Thursday, January 20, 2005 For a story written in the late 1980s, with a prehistoric man as a protagonist, Rob Becker’s “Defending the Caveman” is very modern. Oh, and hilarious. It’s all very simple. There’s one man onstage. The monologue is to the point. The set is little more than a stone chair and television. The plot: Men are not jerks, they’re just misunderstood. The show starts with a shoddy video montage showing Kevin Burke doing the generic things women shame men for: drinking beverages straight from the refrigerator, hogging the remote, misplacing keys. Appropriately blaring through the speakers is Paula Abdul’s “Opposites Attract.” In the show Burke is himself: a middle-aged guy, comfortable in his relaxed jeans and loosely fitting black shirt, uncomfortable in the way women refer to all men as a body part associated with the rear end. He took over the show for Chris Sullivan when its stay was extended at the Rosslyn Spectrum Theatre indefinitely. He schools the audience in the ways of the caveman - a man whose impact is very much a part of everyday life. There are differences in men and women that are apparent from the time they are young boys and girls. It all stems from the idea that cavemen were hunters and cavewomen were gatherers. This affects anything and everything from recreation to social settings and relationships. Men and women should be looked upon as two different cultures with different customs and histories. To Burke, it’s as obvious as the elbow nudges and “mmhmms” coming from the audience. The hunters collectively focus on a target until they’ve reached their goal. When boys play games, strategy may not go beyond: Rough up the boy with the ball. Gatherers multitask. In a group they collect things to nourish themselves and the ones they love, paying attention to all things around them as it could benefit the group. Girls swap skills for the future doing chores in a game-playing way called “house.” This baffles Burke. If the TV is on, a hunter can see and hear the TV and only the TV. He flips through the channels quickly, killing each one with the touch of a button. The gatherer moves slowly through the channels, picking up bits of information from each. At a social gathering, men may not talk much, but they can sit and watch a game together, just like the cavemen would sit quietly in the field watching their prey. Women support one another, constantly Burke adds, with compliments and words of advice. They pay attention to details and collect as many as they can from their friends’ stories. Everything goes back to the caveman, Burke said, and the caveman is not a bad guy. But as he’s defending the caveman, he is not bashing women. He worships them, actually, and hopes they can understand his species. He’s a convincing guy, complete with tighty-whities strewn across the stage. He uses hand gestures to fill in for props and actors. He doesn’t preach, and Burke, a former circus clown and stand-up comic, feels more like a friendly storyteller, or a beloved professor, than performer. This, the longest running solo play in Broadway history, could be an educational experience as much as entertainment. Brand-new star, same old ‘Caveman’ Kevin Burke Joins the cast Of ‘Defending The Caveman’ BY DENISE PRINGLE Special to the Examiner “Rob Becker’s Defending the Caveman” is enjoying an indefinitely extended run at the Rosslyn Spectrum. It’s now featuring a new star, Kevin Burke, but he seems so comfortable in his cave that you would only know about this recent change by reading the program. In an attempt to explain why the sexes struggle to relate to each other, Burke settles into his carved-from stone easy chair within a circle of underwear, and channels the spirit of an alley oop type who proceeds to shed some historical/hysterical light on this matter. Hunters and Gatherers Different Approaches Fair to the fairer sex
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Page last updated on Sept. 22, 2006.
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