Come Blow Your Horn

Play

Writers: Neil Simon

Overview

Show Information

Book
Category
Play
Number of Acts
3
First Produced
1961
Genres
Comedy
Settings
Unit/Single Set
Time & Place
the present (1961), alan’s bachelor apartment in the east 60’s, new york city
Cast Size
small
Orchestra Size
None
Dancing
None
Licensor
Ideal for
College/University, Community Theatre, Ensemble Cast, High School, Professional Theatre, Regional Theatre, Small Cast
Casting Notes
Mostly female cast
Includes young adult, adult, mature adult, elderly characters

Synopsis

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.

Lead Characters


Come Blow Your Horn guide sections