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‘Defending the Caveman’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
THEATER REVIEW: “Defending the Caveman.” Through March 27.
Its claim to fame is that it surpassed Lily Tomlin’s “The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe” a few years ago as the longest-running solo event on Broadway.
Rob Becker’s 10-year-old “Defending the Caveman,” now installed at the 14th Street Playhouse, is a glorified stand-up comedy routine that attempts to turn a single joke into a full evening of theater: Namely, men are swine and women are their sensitive, long-suffering truffles.
Though most of this material has been relentlessly exploited on late-night TV, performer Isaac Lamb turns it into a winning and likable evening that will prompt spouses to nudge their partners in recognition. Bearded and beer-bellied, Lamb’s a chipper physical comedian with a next-door neighbor’s charm. (Oops, there goes the neighborhood.)
The next time you’re at a party, keep your eyes on the bowl of dip and watch who replenishes it. Men are hoarders; women are gatherers. Men negotiate; women cooperate. Men are afraid of intimacy; women crave it. With little more than some home videos, a ratty-looking chair and a clunky TV that seems to have been plucked full form from a “Flintstones” cartoon, Lamb keeps the audience chortling for nearly two hours.
But if women speak 7,000 words a day and males utter a couple thousand, why is this man indulging in a rant that seems to go on for 30,000? Ultimately, “Defending the Caveman” doesn’t follow its own logic. Of course with ticket prices in the $35-$45 range, maybe it’s under a self-imposed word count.
That said, this is a harmless excuse for downing a couple of cocktails and enjoying a few chuckles. No thinking required. Clean underwear optional for the guys.
THE 411: $35-$45. 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays; 5 p.m. Saturdays; 3 p.m. Sundays. (No shows Sunday, March 6 and 13.) Through March 27. 14th Street Playhouse, 173 14th St. N.E., Midtown. 404-733-4754, www.woodruffcenter.org.
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