Not-so-primitive afternoons

  The cave will now open in the afternoon — and a couple of evenings — as “Defending the Caveman” strikes a deal to remain at the Excalibur, working around the schedule of comedian Louie Anderson.
  The one-man play performed by Kevin Burke, will spend the year with an eight-show-per-week schedule, with shows at 3 p.m. except on Friday and Saturday when it gets to also run at 7 p.m. on Anderson’s nights off.
  “Caveman” is a long-form comic monologue, a format previously not seen on the Strip. It’s a cross between stand-up comedy and the likes of “Mark Twain Tonight!” with Burke connecting and sustaining ideas more than he plays a specific character. Informed by real anthropology, this look at the roles and behavior of men and women is headier stuff than any other afternoon attraction on the Strip. But producer John Bentham said matinees did well at both the Golden Nugget — where the show closed last month to make way for impressionist Gordie Brown — and during its holiday run at the Excalibur (which was considered temporary until the new deal was made).
  Burke, who also does his own comedy-magic act at Fitzgerald’s when he’s not performing the “Caveman” script written by Rob Becker, will be involuntarily forced to curb his insatiable work ethic and take a day off. The Excalibur did not want the staff the showroom seven days per week.