Neil Simon's first play, Come Blow Your Horn, took three years to hone before it premiered on Broadway in 1961. Simon was already a successful writer, with his brother Danny, for radio and television shows. The play has aged well and certainly reflects some of the same values almost 50 years later (e.g., single men will be men, and their conquests will sooner or later change their ways). At OnStage Playhouse, the show makes for an enjoyable evening visiting a time past, a much simpler time than today.
Alan (Charley Miller), a star salesman for his father's (Dan Feraldo) waxed-fruit factory, is a 33-year-old swinging bachelor. His brother Buddy (Michael Dean Gruilli), just turned 21, has left their parents' home to move in with Alan. Buddy is completely inexperienced in life and loves. Alan immediately begins Buddy's education into the delights of bachelorhood. Buddy also works for dad, while harboring a desire to be a writer. The older generation does not agree with these new living arrangements.
Father strongly urges a return home with threats and cajoling, referring to Alan as "the bum." Feraldo gives a very good performance as a traditional Jewish father, strict, harsh, and almost unable to display the love he feels for his sons. He is stiff and unbending with a face incapable of producing a smile.
Mother (Eileen Ivey) uses maternal wiles to bring her wayward youngest back to the family hearth. She knows that there is no hope for the eldest son.
Countering Feraldo's gruffness is Eileen Ivey's emotional portrayal of Mother. Her tears and whining are her form of effectively influencing her sons' decisions. Ivey convincingly embodies the stereotypical Jewish mother.
Alan is defined by the women in his life...and what women they are. Young actresses Lisa Louis Christensen (no relation to the director), as upstairs neighbor Peggy, and Jenna Dawsey, as his true heartthrob Connie, would turn any young man's heart. We meet Peggy first. She throws herself at Alan, who adroitly catches her. She is the fantasy that every young man wants to have a fling with. Christensen is in complete control of her character as she moves with grace and seductive power.
Dawsey's Connie is a bit more complex. Connie requires a decision from Alan: playmate or life-mate, but not both. Every inch as seductive as Christensen, Dawsey portrays the more mature aspects of relationships. The contrast between Connie and Peggy shows the conflicts that playboy Alan is really having. Who will eventually win Alan's heart? Forty-five years after its premiere, the question is still valid.
Charley Miller is on stage almost every moment, so we can see his mind race from one woman to the next, interested in the conquest almost more than the outcome. He is every ounce the confirmed bachelor and rebel, though also a great asset to his father's business. Miller's speech, his cocky attitude, even his carriage, typify the charming arrogance of a man who knows what he wants and that he can get it.
Charles Nichols' crisp set, complemented by scenic artist Rosemary King, is highly serviceable. Chad Oakley's lighting is bright and cheery, and we're transported into the early sixties by Lou Alliano's music selection.
