 "Rob Becker's Defending The Caveman," written
by and starring Rob Becker, is a humorous exploration of the differences
between men and
women and how those differences make us misunderstand each other. The one-person
show has played to sold out audiences around the world.
"Defending The Caveman" opened at the Helen Hayes Theater on Broadway
March 26, 1995, and earned a place in the theatrical record books after
its 399th performance on July 17, 1996, when it surpassed Lily Tomlin's "Search
For Intelligent Life in The Universe" and Jackie Mason's "The
World According To Me." At that point, "Defending The Caveman" became
the longest-running solo play in Broadway history.
In honor of this milestone, New York City Mayor, Rudolph Guiliani, proclaimed
July 18, 1996, "Caveman Day" in New York City and renamed the
city's West 44th Street "Caveman Way". The show eventually had
over 700 performances before leaving New Your City to embark on a national
tour.
"Rob Becker's Defending The Caveman" was first staged in 1991 and has been performed before over five million people worldwide in over 20 countries in 15 different languages. "Caveman" has had hit productions in London, South Africa, and Iceland breaking records for longevity, and is currently in Germany, Australia, Mexico City, Israel, Czech Republic, Scandinavia and many more. Prior to Broadway, Caveman enjoyed extended sold-out runs in San Francisco, Dallas, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, and Chicago.
 "Defending the Caveman" was written over a three year period
between 1988-1991, during which time Rob made an informal study of anthropology,
prehistory, psychology, sociology, and mythology.
A San Jose, California native, Becker started performing in the Bay Area
in 1981. He appeared on Late Night with David Letterman in 1989 and has
since been a frequent guest on national television and radio programs including
Good Morning America, The Today Show, CNN, NPR's "Weekend
Edition," "Talk of The Nation," and "Wha'd Ya Know" with
Michael Feldman. In July 1997, Becker appeared on the "Oprah Winfrey
Show."
Rob has been married to his wife Erin for 21 years, they have three children, Callaghan, McKenna and Tierney. When they are not touring, they live in a small town in Northern California.
A
Caveman Timeline
(A.D.1981 - A.D.2005) The Beginning
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|
1981
|
Rob
Becker begins to perform around the San Francisco area as a stand-up
comedian. Rob
on his start: "I used to play the guitar and sing. In between songs,
I would speak to the audience and they would laugh. After awhile
people began to tell me I should cut the whole guitar/singing thing
and just talk. It was disheartening at first. 'What do you mean?
Are you saying I can't sing or play?' It turns out they were right.
I am really better at comedy. But I still could play!"
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|
1987
|
Rob
works on the idea for "Defending The Caveman" and begins to put
parts of it in his stand-up routine.
Rob on Caveman: "I was always interested in the way that men
and women perceive each other. I began to think of them as
two different cultures,
with different customs and rituals. It makes sense that we would evolve
differently."
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1989
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Rob
performs on "Late Night with David Letterman"
Rob on Letterman: "I did pretty well. If I had not focused
on Caveman, I probably would have returned. They wanted more
stand-up material and
weren't really interested in the Caveman premise."
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|
1991
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"Rob Becker's
Defending The Caveman" makes its debut at "The Improv" Comedy Club
in San Francisco. The club is failing and asks Rob to perform "Defending
The Caveman". It was an instant sensation despite virtually no advertising.
Rob on San Francisco: "Word of mouth began the first week.
People would tell me that they had seen the show earlier in
the week and had returned
with friends. It was phenomenal."
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|
1992
|
After
several months, "The Improv" closes in San Francisco and Rob moves
to their Dallas club. Again, the show is a success and stays there
close to
a year.
In Dallas, "Defending The Caveman" makes its theater debut.
New Year's Eve, 1992, Rob sells out the Majestic Theater. Robin
Tate, with Contemporary
Productions, produces the show sight unseen.
Says Tate on taking the risk: "Rob's agent said that the show
had sold out for eleven months in Dallas, and Rob wanted to
go to a theater. I said
fine. 'Where's the risk?' Two years later we took the show to Broadway."
Jason Lindhorst joins the show. Later, he will become Lighting Designer
and full time Production Stage Manager.
Rob on Dallas: "After San Francisco, I was told that this show
was a West Coast thing and that the South would not embrace
this kind of theme. Fortunately,
they were wrong."
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1993
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The
show moves to Washington, D.C. and another "Improv". The club has already contracted
Rob, putting a return to the theater on temporary hold. By the middle
of 1993, "Caveman" returns to Dallas' Majestic Theater and is quickly
followed by sell-out performances at the Warner Theater in D.C.,
the Movement Theater in Philadelphia and the larger Merriam Theater
in downtown Philly.
Rob on D.C.: "In D.C. they said that the show was a Southern
thing and that the beltway people wouldn't go for a grassroots
Texas show. This began
quite a pattern for us."
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|
1994
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The
year begins with return visits to Philly, D.C. and Dallas. An extended
run in
Chicago is planned. The Briar Street Theater on Chicago's North side
is booked for five months and the show explodes. After three months,
not a single ticket is available for the remainder of the run. Caveman's
move to the Shubert Theater downtown in July sells out. With these
audiences, it is clear "The Caveman" is headed for Broadway.
Todd Grove joins the show as the Company Manager. He soon dons
the additional hats of General Manager, Business Manager, and
Public Relations Representative.
Kenny Phillips begins working for the show as the sound designer and equipment
specialist. Kenny's experience with one-man shows in large venues attracted
the interest of Caveman. He has a Grammy Award in sound for "Robin William's:
Live at the Met" in New York City.
Rob on Chicago: "In Chicago, we had to pay the rent on the
theater for the entire five months up front because they thought
we were crazy. We
were an unknown show with nothing but some ads, and a few cities under
our belt. We asked the producer to be our partner but he declined. We have
been very fortunate to have lucked into keeping the show to ourselves over
the years."
Rob on Chicago: "When we got to Chicago we were told, you guessed
it, that this was an East Coast thing, and that the meat and
potatoes Midwest would
not go for something like this."
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Broadway
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1995
|
"Rob Becker's
Defending The Caveman" opens for previews March 26th on Broadway
at the Helen Hayes Theater on 44th Street. It runs for almost 2 years.
The show had over 700 performances and is still the longest running
solo play in Broadway history.
Rob is nominated for a Drama Desk award for his performance
in "Defending
The Caveman".
Rob appears on "Good Morning, America", "The Today Show", and "The Charles
Grodin Show", and Michael Feldman's "What d'ya Know" on NPR.
Rob on Broadway: "We were going to go off-Broadway, but a deal
for a theater could not be reached. The Helen Hayes Theater
approached us and since it
was the right size (597 seats), we agreed. Once again, we were very lucky
because we had planned on going to Broadway at some point, but this helped
us skip a step."
|
The National Tour
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January 1997
|
The national
tour begins and audiences love "The Caveman". The show begins to
sell out theaters as large as 3000 seats.
Rob appears on the "Oprah Winfrey Show" in June.
Miami (Jackie Gleason Theater)
Ft. Lauderdale (Parker Playhouse)
Tampa (Performing Arts Center Playhouse)
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February 1997
|
Baltimore (Lyric
Opera House)
Washington D.C. (Warner Theater)
Norfolk, Va. (Chrysler Hall)
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March 1997
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Denver (Auditorium
Theater)
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April 1997
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Seattle (Moore
Theater) Columbus, Ohio (Palace Theater)
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May 1997
|
Cincinnati (Arnoff
Theater)
Milwaukee (Riverside Theater)
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June 1997
|
Chicago (Shubert
Theater)
Dallas (Majestic Theater)
Cleveland (Ohio Theater)
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September 1997
|
Salt Lake City
(Capitol Theater) Minneapolis (State Theater)
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October 1997
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Boston (Wilbur Theater)
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November 1997
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Buffalo (Shea's
Theater)
Philadelphia (Merriam Theater)
Baltimore (Lyric Opera House)
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December 1997
|
Columbus (Capitol
Theater) Newark, New Jersey (New Jersey Performing Arts Center)
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1998
|
Rob
on South Africa: "We
found out through an actor, who was in South Africa recently, that
the show is being performed there without our knowledge. Weird. Someone
gave them the rights, without our knowledge, and we find out later
that it's a hit. We contacted the producer and everything worked
out. But that was strange."
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January 1998
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Indianapolis (Clowes
Hall)
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February 1998
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San Francisco (Golden
Gate Theater)
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March
1998 |
Washington D.C. (Warner
Theater)
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April 1998
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Houston (Brown
Theater) Seattle (Moore Theater)
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May 1998
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Ft. Lauderdale
(Parker Playhouse)
New Haven, Conn. (Palace Theater)
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June 1998
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Charlotte, N.C. (Performing
Arts Center)
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September 1998
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Cupertino, Calif. (San
Jose)
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October 1998
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Chicago (Rosement Theater)
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November 1998
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Minneapolis (State
Theater)
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December 1998
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Boston (Colonial Theater)
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1999
|
Producers
from London visit with Mark Little, who is the star of the West
End's "Defending
The Caveman"." The show goes up in London's West End at the Apollo
Theater.
Rob on Iceland: "We find out through a random E-mail that the show is being
performed in Iceland without our knowledge. Apparently, again, it is a
hit and has been since June 1998. Once again, we contact the producer and
everything works out. We translate the show from Icelandic, it's the first
time "Caveman" has been performed in another language, at least to our
knowledge."
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February 1999
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Detroit (Fisher Theater)
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March 1999
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Denver (Auditorium
Theater)
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April 1999
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Toronto (Elgin Theater)
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June 1999
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Dallas (Majestic Theater)
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October 1999
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Los Angeles (Pantages
Theater)
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November 1999
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Philadelphia (Merriam
Theater)
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December 1999
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Baltimore (Lyric Opera
House)
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January 2000
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Atlanta (Fox Theater)
Portland (Performing Arts Center)
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February 2000
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San Francisco (Curran
Theater)
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March 2000
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Pittsburgh (Heinz Hall)
Providence, RI (Performing Arts Center)
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April 2000
|
Indianapolis (Murrat
Theater)
Richmond, VA
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May 2000
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Seattle (Paramount
Theater)
Rochester, NY (Memorial Auditorium)
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September 2000
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Salt Lake City
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October 2000
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Washington DC (Warner
Theater)
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November 2000
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Nashville, TN (Tennessee
Performing Arts Center)
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December
2000 |
Sacramento, CA (Sacramento
Musical Theater)
Sacramento grosses almost a million dollars for one week. The show
has now been performed over 2500 times and has grossed over 20 million
dollars making it
the "Most Successful Comedy Show in History"
Rob on the
staying power of the show:
" I am as surprised as anyone. We continue to book the show as the
demand continues. The fact that the people who love the show return
and
bring others each time we return to a city is
the best part"
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January 2001
|
Chicago, IL (Oriental
Theater)
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February 2001
|
Rosemont, IL (Rosemont
Theater)
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March
2001 |
Denver, CO (Auditorium
Theater)
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April
2001
|
Detroit, MI (Fisher
Theater)
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June
2001
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Toronto (Pantages Theater)
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September 2001
|
Raleigh, NC (Performing
Arts Theater)
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October 2001
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Minneapolis, MI (Historic
State Theater)
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November 2001
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Tempe, AZ (Gammage
Auditorium)
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December 2001
|
San Diego, CA (Civic
Theater)
Caveman is now being performed in 10 different countries in 8 languages.
Rob: "Without
our input these international shows, especially in Germany, seem to flourish.
I will eventually retire from doing the show and from
the examples oversees, cast other actors in the role here in the U.S. for
tours."
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|
January 2002
|
Newark, NJ (NJPAC)
Jacksonville, FL (Times Union Center for Performing Arts)
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February 2002
|
San Francisco, CA (Curran
Theater)
Portland, OR (Keller Auditorium)
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March 2002
|
Cupertino / San Jose,
CA (Flint Center)
Columbus, OH (Palace Theater)
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|
April
2002
|
New Orleans, LA (Saenger
Theater)
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|
May
2002
|
Reno
Cincinnati
Dallas
|
| September 2002 |
Grand Rapids, Michigan |
| October 2002 |
New York City |
| November 2002 |
Orlando, Florida |
| January 2003 |
Houston, Texas
Rob on the future: "There will be a tour with the actors Chris
Sullivan and Kevin Burke going out this fall. These guys are great.
I guess I am lucky, but the fact that the show is as good or better
without me is a blessing. I knew the show was good, but I was always
afraid that without me it would not do as well."
|
| February 2003 |
Fort Lauderdale, Florida |
| March 2003 |
Louisville, Kentucky
Baltimore, Maryland |
| April 2003 |
San Antonio, Texas |
| May 2003 |
Boston, Massachusetts |
June
2003 |
Cerritos (Los Angeles),
California |
| October 2003 |
Washington, DC |
| November 2003 |
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Rob: "I will quit performing Caveman as this year marks the
12th year of doing the show and the beginning of our final tour.
Others will continue in the role and hopefully we will get to the
cities that I had no time to get to. We want to solicit 200-500 seat
theater owners to have Caveman sit down for open runs soon with other
actors.The power of this show has always been the word of mouth,
and like most shows, if you stay there they can know you will be
there, and will tell others and help the show grow." |
| December 2003 |
Sacramento, California |
| February 2004 |
Kansas City |
March
2004 |
Fort Worth, Texas,
Chicago (Rosemont) |
April
2004 |
Seattle |
| October 2004 |
Minneapolis |
| November 2004 |
Denver |
| Feburary 2005 |
Portland |
| March 2005 |
San Francisco |
| April 2005 |
Cupertino (San Jose) |
| October 2005 |
Dallas |
|
