Isaac Lamb stars in 'Defending the Caveman' Rob Becker's one-man show "Defending the Caveman" played recently in the Scherr Forum at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, and if the audience reaction is any indication, it's easy to understand why the show has been a smash hit for the past eight years.

"Caveman" is a hybrid: part anthropological study, part performance and part stand-up comedy routine. It took Becker three years to write the show, a humorous analysis of why men and women behave the way they do. After opening in San Francisco in 2000, it took to the road and is now acclaimed in more than 35 countries. It has become a franchise act, as Becker-clones take on his role in a variety of cities.

Portland, Ore., native Isaac Lamb was the star of the T.O. show, one of eight actors now performing the play in the U.S. The 30-ish Lamb portrays the male everyman and makes Becker's lines come alive with his impeccable timing, friendly demeanor and priceless facial expressions.

The idea of examining malefemale relationships is certainly not a new one. Comedians such as Bill Cosby, Tim Allen, Jerry Seinfeld and Ray Romano have made careers out of looking at the battle of the sexes in humorous ways.

The difference is that "Caveman" is a standup routine masquerading as a show featuring an actor using someone else's thoughts rather than his own. Performers like Lamb are merely actors performing Becker's material, which differentiates the show from a Cosby stand-up routine. Also, much of Cosby's humor results from exaggeration, but "Caveman" presents relationships in familiar, universal ways.

In "Defending the Caveman," male and female behaviors stem from that of their ancient ancestors. Boiling it down to its barest essence, the key motivating factor for men is "negotiation" and for women, "cooperation."

According to Becker, in prehistoric times, men were the hunters, concentrating on their prey with an intensity so great that today's male is completely unable to focus on more than one thing at a time. Women, on the other hand, stayed behind to deal with the complexities of housework; thus they were the gatherers.

Becker's simplistic logic expands on these constructs to explain everything from dating to mating. Serious sociologists probably don't give much credence to any of this, but one can find some sensible thought processes at work, and much of it actually makes a good deal of sense.

The show starts out with a very funny home movie of a typical male/female relationship. The man in the movie turns out to be Lamb, who comes on to explain that all behavior in relationships can be traced back to that of prehistoric humans.

The idea works because it isn't taken seriously, and it is neither misogynistic nor misandric in its thinking.

If "Defending the Caveman" saves a handful of marriages through its heightened mutual understanding of the sexes, then it's a victory for observational sociologists like Becker.

Meanwhile, the show continues its unending run; it is said to be the longest running solo play in Broadway history, a questionable claim since Hal Halbrook's "Mark Twain Tonight" played for half a century. Still, it's a funny and sweet show that left the audience in a good mood and holding hands.

And what could be wrong with that?