''Come Blow Your Horn'' is

Neil Simon Marvin Neil Simon (July 4, 1927 – August 26, 2018) was an American playwright, screenwriter and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly film adaptations of his plays. He has received mo ...

's first play, which premiered on Broadway in 1961 and had a London production in 1962 at the

Prince of Wales Theatre The Prince of Wales Theatre is a West End theatre in Coventry Street, near Leicester Square in London. It was established in 1884 and rebuilt in 1937, and extensively refurbished in 2004 by Sir Cameron Mackintosh, its current owner. The 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 The Lena Horne Theatre (previously the Mansfield Theatre and the Brooks Atkinson Theatre) is a Broadway theater at 256 West 47th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1926, it was designed by Herbert ...

on February 22, 1961 and closed on October 6, 1962 after 677 performances and one preview. The cast featured Hal March (Alan Baker),

Arlene Golonka Arlene Leanore Golonka (January 23, 1936 – May 31, 2021) was an American actress. She is perhaps best known for playing Millie Hutchins on the television comedy ''The Andy Griffith Show'' and Millie Swanson on ''Mayberry R.F.D.'', and often ...

Warren Berlinger Warren Berlinger (August 31, 1937 – December 2, 2020) was an American character actor, with Broadway runs, movie and television credits, and much work in commercials. Early life Warren Berlinger was born in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, ...

(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 Stanley Prager (January 8, 1917 – January 18, 1972) was an American actor and a television and theatre director. Life and career Born in New York City, Prager began his career as the stage manager for the Broadway production ''The Skin of O ...

, with sets and lighting by Ralph Alswang. It was produced by Arthur Cantor. The play opened in the West End in 1962 at the

, starring

Michael Crawford Michael Patrick Smith, (born 19 January 1942), known professionally as Michael Crawford, is an English tenor, actor and comedian. Crawford is best known for playing both the hapless Frank Spencer in the sitcom '' Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em'' a ...

as Buddy,

Bob Monkhouse Robert Alan Monkhouse (1 June 1928 – 29 December 2003) was an English comedian, writer and actor. He was the host of television game shows including ''The Golden Shot'', '' Celebrity Squares'', '' Family Fortunes'' and '' ''Wipeout'. Ear ...

and

David Kossoff David Kossoff (24 November 1919 – 23 March 2005) was a British actor. In 1954 he won the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles for his appearance as Geza Szobek in '' The Young Lovers''. He played Alf Larkin in TV sit ...

. 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 Jamie Blair Glover (born 10 July 1969) is an English actor. He is best known for being cast as Harry Potter in the second cast of the West-End production of ''Harry Potter and the Cursed Child'' in 2017. He portrayed Deputy Head Andrew Treneman ...

as Alan Baker, Andrew Langtree as Buddy Baker,

Malcolm Rennie Malcolm Forbes Rennie (born 17 February 1947) is a British actor. Early life Rennie was born on 17 February 1947, in Aberdeen, Scotland. Career He has often played authority figures, including judges and police officers in ''Coronation Stree ...

as Mr Baker and Amanda Boxer 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 in 1963, starring Frank Sinatra 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 University, ...

, 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 d ...

'', 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

* * {{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