Defending the Caveman, Rob Becker's long-running one-man Broadway comedy, could reopen this season with a new man in a new cave, according to a report in the New York Post.
A production spokesperson would neither confirm nor deny the report, but said that no contracts have been signed.
Becker is scheduled to play his last New York performance of Defending The Caveman at the Helen Hayes Theatre Jan. 4, followed by a U.S. tour. The Post reported that the show will reopen at the end of that month at the Booth Theatre with a new star, Michael Chiklis. Best known as ABC-TV's cuddly "Commish," Chiklis would be the show's new comic philosopher on relations between the sexes.
The Post story said Becker has long sought a replacement, and by the time he found one, the Helen Hayes Theatre was already booked for Alfred Uhry's Last Night Of Ballyhoo. The Booth Theatre will come available when Jackie Mason takes his own one-man show, Love Thy Neighbor, on a national tour.
When Caveman closes, it will have played 26 previews and 545 performances -- a record for a non-musical solo show on Broadway. Caveman hit the 500 mark Saturday, Nov. 16. Stand-up comedian Becker's ruminations about the differences between men (hunters) and women (gatherers), have drawn a strong word-of-mouth audience at Broadway's Helen Hayes Theatre, and remains the longest running comedy currently on Broadway.
Here are the tour dates announced so far:
* Miami, FL: Jackie Gleason Theatre, Jan. 14-19
* Fort Lauderdale, FL: Parker Playhouse, Jan. 21-26.
* Tampa Bay, FL: Playhouse, Jan. 28 - Feb. 2.
* Baltimore, MD: Lyric Theatre, Feb. 3-9
* Washington DC: Warner Theatre, Feb. 11-23
* Norfolk, VA: Chrysler Hall, Feb. 25-March 2
* Denver: Auditorium Theater, March 4 - 29.
* Cupertino, CA: Flint Center, March 31-April 5
* Columbus, OH: Palace Theater April 22-27.
-- By David Lefkowitz and Andrew Ku
