'Caveman' on defense at the Gallo

MODESTO -- A one-man show lampooning the battle of the sexes returns to the region when "Defending the Caveman" takes over the Gallo Center stage.

Cody Lyman, who also performed the show at Turlock Community Theatre in 2010, brings the popular comedy about the different ways men and women relate to each other to the Modesto center on March 22.

Created by Rob Becker, the show debuted in San Francisco in 1991. After a year in Dallas, "Caveman" went on to sold-out engagements in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and Chicago before opening on Broadway in 1995. After running 2½ years, playing 702 performances, it became the longest-running solo play in Broadway history. It has been performed in more than 30 countries in 16 languages.

The show features comic takes on contemporary feminism and masculine sensitivity, as well as gender preferences in communication, compliments and conversation.

Raised in Durango, Colo., Lyman got involved in theater at Colorado State University. In 2000, he moved to Chicago, where he attended the Second City Conservatory. He has been performing "Caveman" since 2004 and continues to act in other projects in his downtime. He's one of eight "cavemen" who tour with the play around the world.

The Gallo Center show begins at 8 p.m. March 22. Tickets are $10-$45 and can be purchased at www.galloarts.org by phone at (209) 338-2100, or at the Gallo Center,1000 I St. in downtown Modesto.