Rob Becker is staying close to home for his next stage monologue. The author and star of Defending the Caveman, said he will retire the Caveman after the current tour in 2003, but is in the process of writing a sequel of sorts, one dealing with the "Cave Dad."

Becker uses Defending the Caveman to put forth his theory that men are not the clods sometimes depicted in women’s magazine and popular self-help books, but simply have a different way of looking at the world and approaching relationships.

In an interview on the "Radio Playbill" show, Becker said the same applies to being a modern father. "Next, I want to do a show called Cave Dad, and I want to talk about how we parent differently. I believe that men and women parent very, very differently… I’m going through the same struggle that I went though in my early marriage, I felt I was doing a lot of defending myself and explaining myself. I felt I was always on the hot seat. I felt like the culture was always supporting my wife and I had no support."

Becker mentions, for instance, roughhousing with his kids. "Why do all guys do that? Is there a screw loose somewhere? All day long from women our intentions are being questioned, like we have bad intentions, you’re trying to be a mean guy. So I did some research and it turns out that all that jostling and tossing that guys do with small children – it’s good for them! The tactile stimulation alone is good for their immune system…"

Defending the Caveman runs at New York’s Town Hall through Oct. 20, then returns Nov. 13-24. The complete "Radio Playbill" interview will be aired the week of Nov. 12 on Sirius Satellite Radio. Developed as a standup comedy routine starting in 1988, Becker’s Defending the Caveman struck a chord.: It opened at Broadway’s Helen Hayes Theatre in March 1995 and, at 702 performances, remains the longest-running non-musical solo show in Broadway history. The show has had a long life on tour as well. It has played to an estimated two million people over the past 14 years.

The farewell tour of Defending the Caveman is booked through May 11, 2003. Becker gave no date for the new play’s debut.

—Robert Viagas