Come Blow Your Horn (Manchester)
Many people think of Neil Simon as being the master of the mid life crisis
comedy due to his huge success with The Odd Couple. But Come Blow Your Horn which launched Simon’s career in 1961 is a play about youth
and young love in New York.
The setting is the Big Apple in the 1960’s. Life is booming and the city
that never sleeps offers the fabulous Baker brothers a cool high life. Alan
(Jamie Glover) is the older, more worldly wise, brother who knows how to
‘play’ women and fool his father. Buddy (Andrew Langtree) is younger, shyer
and less streetwise. Both of them walk out of the family’s waxed fruit
business which leaves Papa Baker (Malcolm Rennie) incensed as they have
turned into the “bums” that he has always despised.
Meanwhile Connie (Sarah-Louise Young), Alan’s on-off girlfriend is falling
in love with him and he cannot seem to resist her charms. This will please
Mama Baker (Amanda Boxer) who is on standby to call the caterers!
This bright and breezy comedy is slick, sophisticated and stylishly
executed. Jacob Murray‘s assured direction complements Simon’s sparkling
writing. Never dated, each line has a classic quality which never fails to
amuse.
The actors acquit themselves superbly playing it for laughs and hitting the
comedy bullseye each and every time. Langtree plays Buddy like a mixture of
Woody Allen and Lee Evans with all the laughs. Boxer holds her own as
the hypochondriac Mom as does Rennie playing her angry, disappointed husband.
Glover is a great foil for his needy self obsessed family as he stares open
mouthed as they ensnare his apartment.
Di Seymour‘s cosy bachelor pad style set suits the round perfectly,
inviting the audience to witness life in the fast lane. Richard Owen‘s
stunning high contrast lighting also evokes the 24/7 nature of New York City
in the 1960’s.
This fast paced production is a real treat that will leave you with a huge
smile on your face. The audience on the night I went embraced the warm
material and superbly synchronised comic moments. As the Sinatra song goes:
“Nice ‘n’ Easy does it every time”.
– Glenn Meads
