The New York Times best-seller Men are from Mars—Women are from Venus comes to the stage in a hilarious and inspiring one-man-show aptly titled Men are from Mars—Women are from Venus LIVE!. Starring actor and comedian Peter Story, the fast-paced comedy covers everything from dating to marriage to bedroom, and all the good and bad in between.
BroadwayBox asked Peter Story to share some of his relationship expertise (having done this show for years now around the country) to tell us about five fictional couples who are doing everything right and five who are just so wrong.
BAD
1. Al & Peg Bundy (Married With Children)
They where never very nice to each other, verbal slams abound with this couple. The key to possible happiness would be to enlist the “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all” rule.
2. Ralph & Alice Kramden (Honeymooners)
Ralph had a hard time appreciating Alice’s differences as a female and usually followed up their disagreements with physical threats. He should delight in the differences between the sexes rather than letting them push him to the brink of anger.
3. Gaius Baltar & Number Six (Battlestar Galactica)
Trust is at the root of all good relationships. If you’re a cyborg alien, best to let your mate know to avoid any future awkward moments in an intergalactic conflict.
4. Sam Malone & Diane Chambers (Cheers)
Sow your wild oats before you decide on an exclusive relationship. Even with the best of intentions, Sam couldn’t resist his carnal urges and was never able to have anything meaningful with his favorite barmaid.
5. Matthew & Mary Crawley (Downton Abbey)
Although surrounded by opulence and possessing a command of the Queen’s English, these two beat around the bush and wasted valuable love time by playing cat & mouse parlor games. Best not to lose a single moment of romance when you’ve found someone special. Put your feelings out there early and honestly.
GOOD
1. Ricky & Lucy Ricardo (I Love Lucy)
Crossing cultural boundaries, these two let us know that true love surpasses skin color, language barriers and ethnicity. They also reminded us that it’s important to find the humor in any situation.
2. Clark Kent & Lois Lane (Superman)
Behind every great man is a great woman. Just as much as Lois needed a superhero, Superman needed someone to protect and believe in him. Many great relationships are built when couples take turns being each other’s superhero.
3. Ray & Debra Barone (Everybody Loves Raymond)
When you marry that special someone, you also marry their family. The Barones were a great example of how relationships, although stressed by in-laws, can often be greatly improved or deepened due to meaningful and long lasting relationships with your spouse’s family.
4. Roseanne & Dan Conner (Roseanne)
All joking aside, when push comes to shove, model couples stand up for each other. Whenever the stresses of life got in the way, whether it be money, children or daily chores, these two always had one another’s back. This is crucial for building long-lasting relationships.
5. Carol & Mike Brady (The Brady Bunch)
Ahead of their time, Carol and Mike showed the kind of patience and sacrifice needed to meld two families that were quite unalike. Nowadays, divorce and newly-melded families are the norm and it takes a special kind of love to take two separate families and make them one loving whole.
Hurry over to off-Broadway’s New World Stages to see Peter Story in ‘Men are from Mars - Women are from Venus LIVE!’
