Milwaukee’s ‘Naked Boys Singing’ Controversy
The Milwaukee Gay Arts Center has filed a claim against the city, contending it committed a civil rights violation by shutting down performances of a touring musical revue.
An ordinance requiring a city theater license was selectively enforced against the center last week for a presentation of Naked Boys Singing because it is a gay organization, according to the claim filed Tuesday by attorney Richard Hart on behalf of the group. The claim said such a permit was never required for other productions in the past and that numerous other venues typically present theater performances without one. It contends that, even though the production contains nudity, that was no excuse for the city to shut it down Thursday.
The presentation was halted Thursday when officers from the Milwaukee Police Department’s vice control division arrived and said the center had failed to obtain a city theater license, required if a production charges to see a performance. Anne E. Schwartz, a department spokeswoman, said vice officers handled the case because of the musical’s title.
A city ordinance prohibits frontal nudity but exempts theater and other art performances from the ban as long as they have “serious artistic merit” and the predominant nature of the business is not intended to “provide sexual gratification.”
[…] Boys Singing will resume at the Milwaukee Gay Arts Center in mid September. Previous post here. As 365Gay.com reported on Saturday the City of Milwaukee has admitted it made a mistake when it bu […]
[…] In August 2005, the Milwaukee Gay Arts Center (MGAC) filed a claim against the city of Milwaukee after performances of “Naked Boys Singing” were shut down because the center did not have a theater license. The MGAC claimed the ordinance requiring a city theater license was only enforced by the city because the center is a gay organization. […]
[…] Naked Boys Singing made national news last year when performances of the musical at the Milwaukee Gay Arts Center were shut down by the city of Milwaukee. The musical re-opened at the Center two months later when the city admitted closing the shows down was a mistake. The Milwaukee Gay Arts Center filed a claim against the city, asserting it’s action was a civil rights violation, but the lawsuit was dismissed earlier this month. […]