Neon Boogie

by Khari Wyatt

1970. The assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. has birthed the rise of Black revolutionaries. The National Organization for Women is poking the conscience of the patriarchy. The Beatles break-up, and Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin die tragically weeks apart. 28-year-old Neon June, the bold, calculating songstress, is on the hunt to get her career back on track after being derailed by a stint in prison.

Neon...

1970. The assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. has birthed the rise of Black revolutionaries. The National Organization for Women is poking the conscience of the patriarchy. The Beatles break-up, and Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin die tragically weeks apart. 28-year-old Neon June, the bold, calculating songstress, is on the hunt to get her career back on track after being derailed by a stint in prison.

Neon, the daughter of a slain civil rights activist, runs up against the racial and sexual climate of the times. A woman who wants to write and produce her own L.P.? That’s crazy talk. Ava, Neon’s manager, cautions her to get past her difficult reputation before turning the industry off with demands. Even Neon’s fiancé, Lawrence, a musician and Vietnam veteran, is doubtful. But Neon has a plan: she’ll start her own record company, write and produce her record, and declare to the world she’s bigger than it wants to allow her to be.

However, like all plans, Neon’s is tinted with risk. Traumatized by her prison life, haunted by her family legacy, tortured by the boxes society designed for her, is Neon ready to pay the cost of independence?

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Neon Boogie

Recommended by

  • Sarah Tuft: Neon Boogie by Khari Wyatt
    “

    Khari Wyatt’s NEON BOOGIE is a searing soaring sensual drama about an artist trapped in the confines of her race and gender but who sees the way out, if only she can move past her trauma, her family’s desire to keep her safe, and the world’s desire to keep her confined and there. Wyatt gives us a pitch-perfect 1970s America as experienced by those most affected by the era’s social turmoil. NEON BOOGIE also gives us so much to love about its characters as they struggle and eventually shine.

    Khari Wyatt’s NEON BOOGIE is a searing soaring sensual drama about an artist trapped in the confines of her race and gender but who sees the way out, if only she can move past her trauma, her family’s desire to keep her safe, and the world’s desire to keep her confined and there. Wyatt gives us a pitch-perfect 1970s America as experienced by those most affected by the era’s social turmoil. NEON BOOGIE also gives us so much to love about its characters as they struggle and eventually shine.

    ”
  • Julianne Jigour: Neon Boogie by Khari Wyatt
    “

    A beautiful play about a young woman who's fierce and passionate but who's challenged by the systemic racism and sexism of 1970s America. Haunted by the ghost of her father who was murdered for his Civil Rights activism and by her own stint behind bars, Neon pursues a singing career in a world where undeniable talent and devotion aren't enough to break through societal barriers. Her journey asks us to examine the deep social inequities that continue today and inspires us with her steadfast belief that she has a song to sing, and she's going to sing it.

    A beautiful play about a young woman who's fierce and passionate but who's challenged by the systemic racism and sexism of 1970s America. Haunted by the ghost of her father who was murdered for his Civil Rights activism and by her own stint behind bars, Neon pursues a singing career in a world where undeniable talent and devotion aren't enough to break through societal barriers. Her journey asks us to examine the deep social inequities that continue today and inspires us with her steadfast belief that she has a song to sing, and she's going to sing it.

    ”

Development History

  • Reading, Moving Arts Theatre Company, 2019
  • Workshop, Moving Arts Theatre Company, 2019

Awards

  • MAD LAB Play Development First Look Reading Series
    Selection
    2019