The one-man comedy “Defending the Caveman” is not couples therapy, but it could be.
“We tell people that if you see the show, you will not fight less, but your fights will be funnier,” said Ben Tedder, who will perform the show at 8 p.m. Jan. 20 at the Paramount Theatre in Aurora.
“Defending the Caveman” explores the gender gap. The comedy discusses the ongoing battle for understanding between the sexes.
“The show allows you and your spouse to walk in each other’s shoes,” Tedder said. “It’s therapy. Marriage counselors have suggested that couples see the show. I think the show has saved a few marriages.”
The basis of the show is that in the caveman days, men were hunters and women were gatherers.
“Men and women see the world differently,” said Tedder, who has been performing the role for 14 years. “The men are not talking in the woods while they are hunting. If women go into the woods together, they have to talk about the gardening and the plants.”
“Defending the Caveman,” which was written and performed by comedian Rob Becker beginning in 1991, has been presented countless times over the past 26 years. The show opened on Broadway in 1995 and stayed there for 2 1/2 years, racking up 702 performances and becoming the longest-running solo play on Broadway. Becker last performed the show in 2004. Currently, six actors are each touring the country performing the same show, according to Tedder.
“We are all friends,” Tedder said of the other performers. “We have a Facebook group. We will discuss different aspects of the show. ‘What do you think about this part in the show?’ ‘Do you think this works?’ “
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The “cavemen” even had a reunion of sorts in October of 2015.
“We all got together at The D Las Vegas Casino Hotel in downtown Las Vegas, where the show has been playing for a while,” Tedder said. “All six of us got on stage and did like a round-robin of the show. One guy would do five minutes, then another guy would do 10 minutes. It was like an ensemble piece. I think we had more fun than the audience did that night.”
Tedder said he has to adjust to audiences slightly when he plays different venues. On Jan. 20, he will perform at the Paramount, but in 2015 he appeared in the show at the Copley Theatre in Aurora for three weeks.
“In a small space, like the Copley, it is like being in a living room and telling stories,” he said. “You can hear the people and see their faces and reactions. In a big theater, the response is bigger. Laughter is very contagious. In a big theater, the laughter is bigger, and it comes more often. It plays differently.”
But “Defending the Caveman” has been playing to audiences for 26 years, and Tedder does not see the interest in the show waning.
“The show has been around so long that people can now bring their kids,” he said. “They can give them an engagement present and say, ‘You need to see this.’ “
‘Defending the Caveman’
When: Jan. 20
Where: Paramount Theatre, 23 E. Galena Blvd., Aurora
Information: Tickets, $35; 630-896-6666, www.paramountaurora.com