On Tuesday, Puppetry Art Theatre’s Timothy Young uninvited dancers from
Scores who had signed on as volunteers for Saturday’s second annual
Haunted Halloween Carnival Benefit at Middle School 51 in Brooklyn.
Young
said he asked the strippers to stay away because he was afraid the Park
Slope school would cancel on him or sponsors would back out.
"It
was a small, insignificant part of the event," Young said. "I uninvited
them because I don’t want to compromise the event, the organization or
the school."
Young’s group is raising money for its work in
shelters, and volunteers were to help with a special pizza party and
costume giveaway for 300 homeless and hospitalized children the group
works with.
MS51 Principal Lenore Berner asked that the strippers
be excluded from the festivities, said Department of Education
spokesman David Cantor.
"It is not a school event," he said.
"Because many children will attend, however, the benefit is not an
appropriate venue for volunteers identified as adult dancers."
In
addition to dancers, Scores bartenders and office workers had planned
to attend, said Elda Auerbach, who does promotions for the club. Now no
one is going.
"I don’t want the charity to get hurt," she said yesterday.
The
revoked invitations came after yesterday’s Daily News reported that the
strippers had been invited. They were not planning to wear
inappropriate outfits – instead coming as fully dressed witches or
sorcerers.