Come Blow Your Horn: Uneven but a pleasant and amusing tribute to the 1960s theatre scene celebrating OLT’s 100th.
Photo. Maria Vartanova
There is a very thin line between characterization and caricature and between stereotype and individual character.
In Come Blow Your Horn, playwright Neil Simon periodically steps over the line. So do director Sarah Hearn and her cast in the current Ottawa Little Theatre production. Even so, Simon’s 1961 debut play — semi-autobiographical as are several of the comedy/dramas that came later — holds up well, in part because Hearn wisely chooses to present it as a period piece and focus on character.
A number of Simon’s works offer examples of the ambivalence he felt for his older brother and this is particularly clearly demonstrated in Come Blow Your Horn when 21-year-old Buddy leaves the parental home to move in with 33-year-old Alan and emulate his playboy lifestyle. In addition, the sense of responsibility Alan feels for Buddy comes through loud and clear, which is why a number of his actions and words in Act II are a carbon copy of their father’s words and gestures.
As Alan, Corey Pelow’s performance in reflecting fatherly concern and action is very effective, definitely one of the highlights of the show. But that quality is a long time coming. The opening scene between Pelow and Joey McDougall as Peggy, the dim girl upstairs with her eyes on a Hollywood career, falls into the caricature category and Pelow’s presentation is embarrassingly frenetic.
Cathy Nobleman, who plays the boys’ over-anxious mother to the hilt and beyond teeters between a stereotypical Jewish mother focused on food and falling apart because she cannot deal with a constantly ringing telephone.
Louis Lemire, while believable as father and husband and with a more credible and consistent New York Jewish accent than Nobleman’s, also leans towards stereotype.
Connor Marghetis is likeable as Buddy (a little less arm flapping would make him even more so) and Anne van Leeuwen, as Alan’s true love, fulfils the role with warmth and charm.
Uneven but still a lot of fun, this production of Come Blow Your Horn is a pleasant and amusing tribute to the 1960s theatre scene in celebrating OLT’s 100th.
Director: Sarah Hearn
Set: Paul Gardner
Lighting: David Magladry
Sound: Mike Hefferman
Costumes: Monica Browness and Bonnie Lynch
Cast:
Alan Baker………………………………………….Corey Pelow
Peggy Evans…………………………………………Joey McDougall
Buddy Baker…………………………………………Connor Marghetis
Mr. Baker…………………………………………….Louis Lemire
Connie Dayton……………………………………….Anne van Leeuwen
Mrs. Baker…………………………………………….Cathy Nobleman