May 28, 1999 11:37pm
Nude 'Macbeth' Staged in Strip Club
Source: AP
by: Mike Schneider
(CASSELBERRY, FL) -- Skipping the usual oil wrestling match, an adult nightclub challenged an anti-nudity law Friday night by performing part of ''Macbeth'' in the nude.
Three dancers at Club Juana performed the opening witches scene from William Shakespeare's play as well as an adaptation of a play by the Marquis de Sade.
The performance was intended to challenge Seminole County's anti-nudity ordinance. Since the ordinance was approved in November, the dancers have been forced to wear at least a G-string and pasties.
The law exempts ''bona fide performances'' - which, according to county officials, refers to legitimate theater.
''We're trying to say to the public, 'Look at this. Your government officials have prevented nudity but they're exempting bona fide nudity,''' said Steven Mason, Club Juana's attorney. ''Whose bona fide nudity? It's hypocritical.''
Officers from the county sheriff's department videotaped the performances and will decide whether to charge the women.
The show was not typical adult entertainment, said Lt. Sammy Gibson, commander of the City/County Investigative Bureau. ''There was some choreography to it and some reading parts and speech parts and literature parts,'' he said.
''I feel comfortable enough in saying that they were not professional theater-type performers,'' he said. ''They had not been - or excelled - in any theatrical school.''
Between the ''theater'' performances, the strippers returned to dancing in G-strings and pasties. Dancers and club owners also have attacked the ordinance in court with four lawsuits, which are still pending.
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