by erin thursby scopes1925@msn.com
What: Defending the Caveman
When: January 20th, 21st, 27th & 28th @ 8PM on Sat., 5PM on Sun.
Where: Terry Theater at Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts
This irreverent look at the gender wars strikes back against the oft held opinion that “All men are assholes.” In fact, the show begins with a short film illustrating the gender differences and a whole chorus singing “All men are assholes.” Everybody laughed, but, as our host pointed out, starting the show with a phrase like “women are bitches” just wouldn’t fly. We are inundated with books and television telling us that men are completely insensitive jerks. In all reality they really are just different than women and operate on a different wavelength. The short film featured the Philadelphia-born, Vince Valentine, who also stars in the one-man show.
The stage was dressed with a TV set right out of the Flintstones, letting us know right off the bat that stone-age logic would be applied to modern circumstance. Tech wise, it was a fairly smooth show. Minor glitches on the first performance of a traveling show are expected, and Valentine rode through them with professionalism.
Valentine has experience as an East-coast stand-up comedian, something that suits him to the loose format of the show. In 2002, Valentine was cast in The Soapranos, an interactive parody of the HBO TV series. Valentine also qualified as a finalist in Philadelphia’s 93.3 WMMR’s Philly’s Last Comic Standing and in 2004 appeared in the Philadelphia Fringe Festival as a member of the Sketch Comedy Troupe Skitzoids. Although Vince Valentine only filled in for Michael Van Osch because Osch had a bout of food poisoning, the core of the material and all the major bits will be the same.
Valentine puts his own Philly wise-guy spin on Caveman, making it his own. He’s one of several comedians that are part of the “Caveman Team.” Each of the Cavemen put on the one-man-show in different cities using the format of the show that writer and performer Rob Becker perfected.
The show has its share of clichés and some of the lines are so predictable that audience members were mumbling them before Valentine got to the end of many of his phrases. Of course, that’s part of the charm of the show. It’s not avant-garde by any means, but it is fun, which is really the point. The show also gets repeat customers. The couple behind me had seen the show a few years ago, but commented that the show was different because the performers add their most recent experiences.
Allegedly, the play is supposed to defend men and absolve them of the title of “asshole.” Apparently men are completely incapable of wrenching their attention away from the television unless a woman shakes them. That’s not because they’re assholes—they’re just made that way, because they’re programmed to be hunters, to be focused on one thing and one thing only. “A man doesn’t just watch the TV,” says Valentine “a man actually becomes TV.” Women, on the other hand, are programmed to be gatherers, so they notice details and can multi-task, so it’s hard for them to understand that men aren’t wired the same way.
I didn’t laugh as much as I would have because these rules of behavior don’t necessarily apply to me. For example, Valentine talked about how women shop, with no particular goal in mind, while men simply “hunt down” the shirt that just wore out. When I go Christmas shopping, I POWER SHOP. I have a list of who I’m shopping for and what store I’m most likely to find a gift for them. Sometimes I even have an exact item with two alternates for each person. I actually map out the most expedient route so that I can get everything done in one day. Maybe it’s funniest to the people that are most typical of their gender. The audience laughed because the stereotypes were familiar, repeated on the hundreds of sitcoms that air daily. They air daily because the majority of people do find them humorous.
I did think the show was funny and I must say, it’s solid date material for couples. You can laugh about what doesn’t apply to you, and laugh about what does apply. Many couples in the audience were giving each other knowing looks or nudging their mate when Valentine came to something they had experienced. This show has had phenomenal staying power since it opened in 1991 in San Francisco, and later became the longest running non-musical solo show on Broadway. Since that two and a half year run, Caveman has come to cities across the world. The show has traveled to a staggering 30 countries around the world and found a receptive audience in each of them.
If you’re searching for a fun, light weekend show you can enjoy with friends or a date, Caveman is an excellent choice. It will be running through the 28th at the Terry Theater at the Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts. Call the FCCJ Artist’s Series at 904-632-3373 for showtimes and tickets.
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