Deathtrap Canceled at L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center for Nudity

The estate of writer Ira Levin has told the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center that it could not continue to perform the late writer's play Deathtrap, due to additions of gay content and nudity.

The center had staged the thriller earlier this year and included approximately 30 seconds of nudity at the end of the first act, producer Jon Imparto told the Los Angeles Times. The center was then told it could not stage the performance with any indication that two characters, Clifford and his older male mentor Sidney, may have any sort of intimate relationship. At that point the center notified Levin's estate, run by his three sons, that it would cancel its September production.

Other versions of the story have at least hinted at attraction between Clifford and Sidney, including the 1982 film adaptation, in which Christopher Reeve and Michael Caine share a kiss.

Levin was also the author of the iconic works The Stepford Wives and Rosemary's Baby.

Patrons who had already purchased tickets for the extension will receive full refunds.