Since last September 6 Cuban actor and comedian Alexis Valdes presents the monologue “Defending the Caveman” in the Trail Theatre in Miami. The repeated applause amid the staging and the ovations at the end of every function, have facilitated the piece to remain in theaters until January 19 , although at the time of its release it was scheduled for only a month.
This is not the first time that Valdes performs on the Trail successfully. In his view the space has “an ideal dimension for mood and is conveniently located in downtown Miami, in 8th and 37th”. For the occasion the actor assumes the monologue with greater permanence in Broadway history, seen by over 8 million people in 45 countries and translated into 15 languages.
The Caveman, whose title in English is Defending the Caveman, is a comedy written by American actor Rob Becker in 1991, the same year he received the Laurence Olivier Award for best work of entertainment.
The piece, extremely funny, investigates through a sociological and anthropological perspective how men and women may be better understood. In addressing the differences between the two with humorous overtones intended to expose the reasons of their lack of understanding.
Alexis Valdés adds to the original libretto a “Cuban – Miami” seal that causes constant laughter of the audience, to represent the most common and widespread situations between couples , various tastes and habits in the home and the different interpretations from each gender , circumstances arise or similar phenomena.
In interview given to OnCuba last November, Alexis said: “Guillermo Alvarez Guedes influenced me with that one way to tell a joke and a word that is supposedly rude, and still be stylish. That is also mastery”and is the student learned the lesson well, and it shows in the Caveman .
With a predominantly Cuban public, outside the theater is common tripping diverse comments: ” stomach hurts laughing, everything you say is true, Alexis is the candela, for your mother is so comic Oh, I almost …! . , “and many others, which bound to the constant influx of public works corroborate the ” Cuban Miami “version of the Caveman by Alexis Valdés, and predict that it will remain in the tables beyond January 19 .
Photos: Courtesy of the author