MILWAUKEE (AP) – The Milwaukee Gay Arts Center is fighting the city after police effectively shut down a musical revue featuring nudity.

The center halted performances of Naked Boys Singing! last week after police said the center didn’t get a required theater permit. The center contends police singled out the production because the center is a gay organization, and it filed a claim against the city this week alleging civil rights violations.

The American Civil Liberties Union threw its support behind the center’s claim, which could lead to a civil lawsuit.

“It appears that they have censored a constitutionally protected theater production on the pretext that the producers did not have the proper permits,” said Chris Ahmuty, the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin. “Bias has no place in good police work.”

Anne E. Schwartz, spokesperson for the Milwaukee Police Department, said the citation was for operating without a theater license.

“It had nothing to do with the content of a show,” Schwartz said, declining further comment because of the pending litigation.

The center’s claim contends police selectively enforced an ordinance requiring a theater license against the center. It said the center didn’t need the license for previous productions, and other venues have put on performances without one, too.

It also contends the center is exempt from the permit requirement as a charitable organization. It said the center promotes and produces theater presentations that benefit gay-related groups, and it designated proceeds of the production for various AIDS research groups and theater groups.

“Although the police department and the city of Milwaukee would like you to believe that Naked Boys Singing! is nothing but a ‘peep show,’ it isn’t true. It’s musical theater,” said Mark Hooker, the director of the production.

The gay-themed show is billed as celebrating male nudity in comedy, song and dance. It features actors who are in the buff for some of the performance.

The center had staged several performances when vice officers told officials they needed a license, according to the claim, which was filed with the city clerk by its attorney, Richard Hart.

The officers ordered the center to shut down the production immediately and or face the possibility of prosecution, according to the claim. The center then shut down the revue.

The claim seeks about $630,000 in punitive damages, legal fees and lost revenue. Deputy City Attorney Rudolph Konrad said his office would investigate the claim to determine the facts, including interviewing the officers involved.

Ahmuty said the ACLU supports the center’s claim but was not involved in the legal action, though that could change later.

Hooker said there have been more than 2,100 off-Broadway performances of the revue, and it has been done in 27 cities worldwide.

Atlanta police raided a performance of the musical in Atlanta last December and cited it for permitting adult entertainment without a license. But Mayor Shirley Franklin later asked that charges not be pressed, saying the citation was based on a misreading of the city code.