What does it mean to “grow up?” When does it happen? And, does everyone have the same experience? Neil Simon’s semi-autobiographical play, Come Blow Your Horn examines all of these questions through the lens of the Baker Family. There is Mr. Baker, who began working at age eleven and was married at twenty-one; Alan, his eldest son, is a thirty-three-year-old confirmed bachelor and womanizer; Buddy, the youngest, is Alan’s opposite -- hard-working, obedient, reserved, and unsure; Mrs. Baker is adept at the art of emotional manipulation and is prone to hysterics. Throughout the course of the play, the family struggles to understand and adjust to one another, as the two sons begin to grow up, and the parents realize that they are growing old.
Come Blow Your Horn guide sections