Source: AP
By: MIKE SCHNEIDER
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) – The owner of an adult nightclub and three dancers who challenged an anti-nudity ordinance by performing “Macbeth” in the buff were charged Monday with violating the law.
Club Juana owner Michael Pinter and dancers Margaret Morgan, Sara Jo Uffelman and Christy McKee were charged with a misdemeanor and ordered to appear in court next month. The maximum sentence is 60 days in jail.
The May 28 performance, which included the opening witches scene from “Macbeth,” and part of a play by the Marquis de Sade, was intended to challenge Seminole County’s anti-nudity ordinance, which requires dancers to wear at least a G-string and pasties.
The law, passed in November, exempts “bona fide performances” – which, according to county officials, refers to legitimate theater. The club’s attorney said the performance that included “Macbeth” was meant to show the hypocrisy of the “bona fide” restriction.
However, which performances are considered bona fide won’t be addressed in this case because the defendants were charged under a separate anti-nudity ordinance in Casselberry, the Orlando suburb were Club Juana is located.
Casselberry’s ordinance prohibits nudity in establishments where alcohol is served.
Pinter said he was happy he was getting his day in court but would have preferred to been charged under the Seminole County ordinance, which has been challenged in four separate lawsuits by dancers and club owners. The cases are pending. “That’s the only way we can get into court,” Pinter said. “They’re trying to legislate me out of business.”
