Artists Parody the Rehnquist Court

The Rehnquist Court.

New York-based theater ensemble Elevator Repair Service (ERS) returns to Los Angeles’ REDCAT next week with Arguendo, an absurdist look at a 1991 U.S. Supreme Court case, Barnes v. Glen Theatre. The case tested the limits of the First Amendment, questioning whether state laws prohibiting complete nudity in public—in particular, dancing nude at an Indiana strip club—violated the right to freedom of expression.

Via ERS,

Arguendo is a staging of Barnes v. Glen Theatre’s entire oral argument, verbatim, set against Ben Rubin’s OBIE-award winning projection design of animated text. The argument is interspersed with bits of real interviews with the justices, the lawyers and an exotic dancer who traveled all the way from the Déja Vu Club in Saginaw, Michigan to listen to the argument at The Supreme Court.

More info via 24700.

Tags: artlaw, Elevator Repair Service, expression, first amendment, legal opinions, nudity, parody, performance, REDCAT, theater, us supreme court