KEVIN
BURKE ON RELATIONSHIPS, CAVEMAN STYLE
Kevin
Burke is one busy man. The comedian/performer is currently juggling
two shows, sometimes back to back, in two different locations. Add
to that a “move” to a new venue, and you’ve got
the makings of a slapstick movie, though he’s not complaining.
In fact, he’s taking it all in stride and on the contrary,
quite excited about this turn of events. “I really enjoy working
seven days a week. I worked 15 years in showbiz to get to this point
and I want to enjoy it while I can; and while it lasts,” he
adds.
Not
that he’s going anywhere, at least not for a long time. The
show is on contract for a year at the Excalibur. Initially running
on a six to eight week contract at the new venue, after it moved
from its original home for almost two years at the Golden Nugget,
it’s now become a permanent fixture on the property and on
the Strip.
When
Defending the Caveman debuted in Las Vegas in June 2007, it was
an evening show. We asked if the show has had to make adjustments
because it now plays in the afternoon, but Burke hasn’t noticed
any difference, saying, “It seems to be pretty much the same
crowd. There’s a sort of different energy to a show, when
you do it in the afternoon and in the evening, but we get the same
wonderful mix of people as we did downtown,” adding, “It’s
hard to pin a demographic – we get people in their twenties
and eighties.”
He
is quick to point out, however, that the show does cover material
for those who are a bit older, “Put it this way, if it were
a movie, it would be rated PG-13,” so he advises audiences
not to bring in anyone under the age of 13. Always the funnyman,
he quips, “Some of the advice they “get,” though
I’d like to think some of them would be getting a better jumpstart
on relationships that they might not have gotten otherwise.”
Age-limit
or not, Defending the Caveman has beaten the odds in Las Vegas.
As far as landmarks go, it’s now on its third year, and just
passed its 700th show mark. As Kevin Burke puts it, “In an
era where conventional wisdom says that Broadway doesn’t make
it here, we’re the ‘the little show that could.’”
From
the get-go, he was confident that the show would be a success. “Look
back at the history of Vegas shows – two German guys doing
a magic show with tigers? Everyone said, “No one’s gonna
see that…” but its always the show that is completely
different in Vegas that succeeds. We’re one of a kind and
I knew there was room for a show that was thoughtful and emotional.”
You
might think that doing this day-in and day-out might make him a
master of relationship advice and a guru to lovelorn couples, but
Kevin shares that they don’t get too much people asking for
advice. “The other day, a woman on her way out had tears in
her eyes. She threw her arms around my neck and said, “Thank
you! You fixed everything that was wrong,” and I was thinking
to myself, ‘Well, great, though all I wanted to do was make
you laugh.’”
And
that is perhaps the best advice he has given, whether you’re
13-going-on-30, or a veteran of love in its many forms and guises,
“Don’t take things too seriously. A good laugh goes
a long way in making relationship problems work.” Well, there
is that, and, “We are the perfect Valentine’s Day show,
especially if you find yourself in a last-minute situation where
you forgot to get Valentine’s Day presents. A couple of tickets
to “Defending the Caveman” would go a long way to fix
that.”
-Rachel
M. Sugay
Defending
the Caveman
Excalibur Hotel. Show times are 3 p.m., Tuesday-Sunday; with additional
7 p.m. shows, Friday and Saturday. Tickets are $39.95, $49.95 and
$69.95; $34.95 and $44.95, matinees. For tickets, call 702-597-76
00.
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