''Come Blow Your Horn'' is
Neil Simon's first play, which premiered on Broadway in 1961 and had a London production in 1962 at the
Prince of Wales Theatre. Simon rewrote the script more than two dozen times over several years, resulting in a hit premiere that allowed Simon to leave his full-time television writing career to write stage and film scripts.
Productions
''Come Blow Your Horn'' opened on Broadway at the
Brooks Atkinson Theatre on February 22, 1961 and closed on October 6, 1962 after 677 performances and one preview. The cast featured
Hal March
Hal March (born Harold Mendelson; April 22, 1920 – January 19, 1970) was an American comedian, actor, and television quiz show emcee.
Early career
March entered show business as a straight man in the vaudeville act the Hollywood Rioteers, b ...
(Alan Baker),
Arlene Golonka,
Warren Berlinger (Buddy),
Lou Jacobi
Lou Jacobi (born Louis Harold Jacobovitch; December 28, 1913October 23, 2009) was a Canadian character actor.
Life and early career
Jacobi was born Louis Harold Jacobovitch in Toronto, Canada, to Joseph and Fay Jacobovitch.
Jacobi began acting ...
(Mr. Baker) and
Pert Kelton (Mrs. Baker). The director was
Stanley Prager, with sets and lighting by Ralph Alswang. It was produced by Arthur Cantor.
The play opened in the
West End in 1962 at the
Prince of Wales Theatre, starring
Michael Crawford as Buddy,
Bob Monkhouse and
David Kossoff.
The play was revived at the Jewish Repertory Theater, New York City, running in December 1987.
In June 2005, Jacob Murray directed a production at the
Royal Exchange, Manchester with
Jamie Glover as Alan Baker,
Andrew Langtree
Andrew Langtree is a British stage and screen actor known for his roles in Coronation Street and Cutting It.
Life and career
In 1998, Langtree graduated amongst the first alumni of Sir Paul McCartney's Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (L ...
as Buddy Baker,
Malcolm Rennie as Mr Baker and
Amanda Boxer
Amanda Boxer (born 1948) is an English theatre, television, and film actress. She is perhaps best known for her role in the film ''Saving Private Ryan'' (1998).
Early life
Boxer was born in London, the daughter of English scholar C.R. Boxer a ...
as Mrs Baker.
Plot overview
The play tells the story of a young man's decision to leave the home of his parents for the bachelor pad of his older brother who leads a swinging '60s lifestyle. Buddy is a 21-year-old virgin and his older brother Alan is a ladies' man. Alan lives in an apartment in the East Sixties, New York City.
As the play progresses, Alan discovers feelings for one of the many women with whom he is sleeping, and when she leaves him, he falls apart. This juxtaposes Alan's hunger for companionship with Buddy's metamorphosis into a ladies' man. The playwright points out the fundamental spiritual and emotional emptiness of the playboy lifestyle for which the younger sibling desperately yearns.
;Characters
*Alan Baker
*Peggy Evans
*Buddy Baker
*Mr. (Father) Baker
*Connie
*Mrs. (Mother) Baker
Film adaptation
The play was made into a
film
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmospher ...
in 1963, starring
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the " Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular entertainers of the 1940s, 1950s, and ...
as Alan and
Tony Bill as Buddy.
Inspiration
Simon modeled the on-stage parents on his mother and father.
Reception
Howard Taubman
Hyman Howard Taubman (July 4, 1907 – January 8, 1996) was an American music critic, theater critic, and author.
Biography
Born in Manhattan, Taubman attended DeWitt Clinton High School and then won a four-year scholarship to Cornell Universit ...
, in his review for ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', wrote that the play was "smoothly plotted and deftly written...Mr. Simon has served up a multitude of sprightly lines. Best of all, he has provided some explosively hilarious moments rooted in character."
[Taubman, Howard. "Theatre: Lively Comedy: 'Come Blow Your Horn' by Neil Simon Opens", ''The New York Times'', February 23, 1961, p. 31]
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Come Blow Your Horn
1961 plays
Plays by Neil Simon
Broadway plays
1960s debut plays
Autobiographical plays
American plays adapted into films
Plays set in New York City