New York is fondly known as "The Naked City" — and that will especially be true next month when a group of female actresses stage an all-nude version of Shakespeare's "The Tempest" in Brooklyn.
"The play's selective use of nudity to dramatize The Tempest's central themes of identity and liberation builds on a long tradition of free expression in theatrical productions," the show's producers from the Torn Out Theater group told Playbill.
Performances will be free of charge and will run Sept. 7 to 10 at the Music Pagoda in Prospect Park, with seating available on a first-come, first-served basis.
The cast of eight actors and three dancers will peel down and tell the classic tale of magic, deception and revenge as Prospero, the deposed Duke of Milan, plots revenge against his foes on a remote island.
The play was originally produced by "The Outoor Co-Ed Topless Coed Pulp Fiction Appreciation Society," a group of women and men who enjoy reading thrillers from publishers such as Hard Case Crime in city parks — while shirtless. The group staged the play in Manhattan's Central Park last May without incident.
The no-clothes performance will break no laws because New York City allows nudity when it is part of an artistic performance.
The show's director Pitr Strait told CBS News: "We were really interested in getting an audience to be able see nudity as non-sexual, non-threatening, and eventually not even strange. By the end the play, it's normal."
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