THE STORY: Ug and his feisty tribe of Neanderthals are feasting on a tasty dinner of wild boar when he decides to tell one of his many feats of bravery by reenacting the event. “Pretend it isn’t now,” he tells them, “pretend it is then.” Without knowing it, Ug has invented theatre, an entirely new way of telling stories. The tribe all agrees that this thing Ug calls a “play” is so lifelike and gripping, no one will ever want to have a story told any other way. When the tribe decides to perform their play for a rival tribe due to visit, rehearsals cause nothing but friction. “I am standing upcave!” gripes one of Ug’s cast members. “You’re downcave from me!” Meanwhile, Ug has dumped his woman and moved the tribe’s babe into her role, the director and costume designer are also unhappy, and rewrites are driving him mad. It looks like modern-day problems in theater have roots that go way back.
“Primitive man has discovered fire, learned to fashion crude tools and is grappling with the culinary art of cooking boar. What could possibly come next? Why, show business, of course."—Los Angeles Times.
“Hilariously clever Stone Age musical comedy.” —Goldstar.
“Cleverly written, romantic comedy takes a prehistoric look at show business when there was no business—coquettish cavewomen, fame-seeking Neanderthals and grouchy bearskin designers vie for fame and fortune, making comical discoveries along the way. With tongue firmly in cheek, the inside look at the acting business through the eyes of a caveman discovering the theater world is hilarious.” —NewsReview.
