''The Neon Woman'' is a comic play written by

Tom Eyen Tom Eyen (August 14, 1940 – May 26, 1991) was an American playwright, lyricist, television writer and director. He received a Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical for ''Dreamgirls'' in 1981. Eyen is best known for works at opposite ends ...

. The play is an outrageous murder mystery set in a seedy

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.

house run by a retired stripper. It was written as a vehicle for '' Pink Flamingos'' star

Divine Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.divine

, who had previously starred in a revival of Eyen's ''

Women Behind Bars ''Women Behind Bars'' is a camp black comedy play by Tom Eyen, parodying the prison exploitation films produced by Universal, Warner Bros. and Republic Pictures during the 1950s. Plot Set in the Women's House of Detention in Greenwich Village, ...

''. The cast also featured Holly Woodlawn,

Helen Hanft Helen may refer to: People * Helen of Troy, in Greek mythology, the most beautiful woman in the world * Helen (actress) (born 1938), Indian actress * Helen (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) Places * Helen, G ...

, Brenda Bergman, William Duff-Griffin, Maria Duval, Sweet William Edgar, Lee Corbet, Debra Greenfield, Hope Stansbury, and George Patterson, and was directed by longtime Eyen collaborator Ron Link. The play was produced at Hurrah, a

dance club Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire ...

on Manhattan's

Upper West Side The Upper West Side (UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. The Upper West ...

. ''The Neon Woman'' opened on April 16, 1978, and had 84 performances, closing on July 15, 1978.''The Neon Woman''
Lortel.org, accessed July 14, 2011. A live recording showed up on a 1990 videotape entitled '' A Divine Double Feature'', paired with ''

The Diane Linkletter Story ''The Diane Linkletter Story'' is a 1970 16mm short film by American filmmaker John Waters starring Divine, Mary Vivian Pearce, and David Lochary. Overview This improvised film is based on the 1969 suicide of TV personality Art Linkletter's daug ...

'', which also starred Divine.

References

Comedy plays American plays 1978 plays {{1970s-play-stub