MANILA, Philippines ? Rob Becker?s ?Defending the Caveman? holds the record as the longest-running one-man comedy show on Broadway. Now, this smash hit about the battle of the sexes is being produced here, with performances on Feb. 13 and 14, 7 p.m. at the Insular Life Auditorium in Alabang.

Challenge

The play stars Joel Trinidad, who says that the play is an extended version of stand-up comedy, something he admits he?s never done before. ?I love the challenge that comes with the role?I wanted to push myself,? shares Joel.

The first difficult step was memorizing the lines. ?It was brutal,? recalls Joel. ?I had to deal with a 33-page monologue. So, I had to master the lines by section.? He says he has memorized longer dialogue before, but there were other characters onstage that he interacted with. This time, he?ll be all by himself.

For many theater people, acting is reacting. That?s difficult to do when you?re the only one performing. ?If you stop, the audience will know that you forgot your lines,? he shares.

Joel needn?t worry. Along with other invited guests, I watched him at a recent rehearsal, and he managed to pull it off. Although some of the material covered topics like baseball and fishing, the show?s comedy had universal appeal as it dealt with male-female relationships. The play didn?t feel like a boring 90-minute monologue.

It took Becker three years to finish writing the play, based on his observations on the differences between men and women. His experiences as a stand-up comic helped in getting the job done.

Joel started memorizing the script last Dec. 15, shortly before leaving for the States to get married in Las Vegas. ?Oh, did I mention that Joel got hitched after many years of bachelorhood? His bride is also a stage actor, Fil-American Emerita Alcid, who was based in New York before she accepted Joel?s proposal. She appeared in the US tour of ?Miss Saigon? as Gigi and played Kim in New Jersey. They were married last Jan. 2 in a wedding chapel at Planet Hollywood in Vegas with his parents, Noel and Lally Trinidad, in attendance.

Special occasion

Although the production was not allowed to change anything in the script, the copyright holders allowed Joel to use his wife?s name, Emy, in the play.

Since one of ?Defending the Caveman?s? performances will be on Valentine?s Day (call 215-0788 or 891-9999), I asked Joel how he usually celebrates the special occasion. ?I don?t like going out on Valentine?s Day because of the heavy traffic, but I still believe in sending flowers,? he shared.

Joel?s recent theater credits include ?Avenue Q? and ?The Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.? The latter is memorable, because during the play, he proposed to a very surprised Emy onstage. We?re going to see more of Emy as she tries to make a name for herself in the local entertainment scene.