June 23, 1999 10:02pm
County Bars Naked Macbeth
Source: Reuters
(SANFORD, FL) -- Seminole County commissioners in Florida did not mind that a local nightclub was serving up eye of newt, toe of frog, wool of bat and tongue of dog.
What they did object to was the fact that the three witches in the club's version of Shakespeare's ''Macbeth'' were played by naked dancers.
The commissioners unanimously passed a law Tuesday night banning nudity in places that sell alcohol, closing a loophole in the public decency ordinance which the Club Juana nightclub in Casselberry had exploited to stage the naked witch scene.
The ordinance required strippers to cover at least part of their breasts and buttocks but exempted theatrical performances. The new ban takes effect on June 29.
The club has already staged several performances of a revue, ''Les Femmes Fatales, featuring the witch scene, a sword dance and excerpts from the Marquis de Sade's ''Philosophy in the Bedroom.''
Dancers were nude in some scenes and wore costumes in others. The three Club Juana dancers, in their early 20s, were charged earlier this month with violating a similar city ordinance prohibiting nudity and alcohol in the same business.
''We actually wanted to get cited for the decency ordinance so we could fight it in court,'' Richard Middleton, one of the club's managers, told Reuters Wednesday.
To protect its liquor license, the club has temporarily suspended performances of ''Les Femmes Fatales'' pending the court hearing.
''We haven't canceled it. We're waiting till we go to court,'' Middleton said, adding: ''We are continuing our oil wrestling.''
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