Ug, the Caveman Musical July 17, 2010

The Celebration Company presents 'Ug, The Caveman Musical' by Jim Geoghan, Vivian Rhodes, and Rick Rhodes, directed by David Barkley. 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.