Received from jessea@nature.Berkeley.EDU  Sun May  8 22:06:28 1994

Subject: The "climate" report in Sin-cinnati


And I have a Mapplethorpe calendar on my refrigerator!

                                                      Ken

----------------------------Original message----------------------------

AP 05/06 15:02 EDT V0050

   CINCINNATI (AP) -- The actors and the plot are familiar here: Art

runs afoul of obscenity laws and authorities threaten to prosecute.

   Four years after Cincinnati prosecuted an art gallery and its

director for displaying erotic photographs by the late Robert

Mapplethorpe, a similar drama could be ahead for a play about the

relationship between a gay artist and a married man.

   Police say they have received complaints about "Poor Super Man,"

which includes male frontal nudity.

   Hamilton County Prosecutor Joseph Deters said Friday he would not

prosecute the play on a possible charge of pandering obscenity. He said

the city prosecutor's office still could if it so chooses.

   City Prosecutor Terry Cosgrove was not available at his office when

called Friday afternoon.

   "We feel there may be a violation. However, that call needs to be

made by a grand jury," Police Chief Michael Snowden said before Deters'

announcement. "We need to get normal citizens in there who can look at

it and determine whether or not this meets community standards."

   Officials at the 200-seat Ensemble Theater said the investigation

has translated into big ticket sales, and have added eight performances

through May 22. No one under 18 is admitted.

   The City Council also has jumped into the fray. It voted 7-2

Wednesday in favor of a resolution endorsing artistic freedom and

urging prosecutors to leave "Poor Super Man" alone.

   The resolution was introduced by Councilman Thomas Luken, whose

son-in-law, Mark Mocahbee, is the play's director.

   Phil Burress, president of Citizens for Community Values, said the

group has not filed a complaint against "Poor Super Man." But he

criticized the city council's resolution as an attempt to interfere

with the justice system.

   "What's next? Are they going to tell the police not to enforce the

law and give speeding tickets?" he said.

   In the Mapplethorpe case, which put Cincinnati in the national

spotlight, a jury acquitted the Contemporary Arts Center and Director

Dennis Barrie of misdemeanor obscenity charges.

   Councilman Todd Portune, who voted for Wednesday's resolution, is

concerned the city will get more unwanted publicity if it prosecutes

"Poor Super Man."

   "I think that, in many respects, the city is viewed as very

conservative," Portune said. "We are seen as not being very tolerant,

either."

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