Troubled Gay Bar Now Teen Disco on Sundays

An Agoura Hills nightclub owner who opened a gay bar after city officials thwarted her efforts to feature topless dancers will attempt a new format today--a disco for teen-agers.

The Bear Cabaret will feature teen disco dancing each Sunday evening from now on if there is a demand for that kind of entertainment, club owner Madeline DiTrapani said. Alcohol will not be served during the teen dancing, which will be from 7 p.m. to midnight, DiTrapani said Friday.

“No gay employees will be here, if that’s something that worries parents,” she said. “I’m going to be here personally, even though I don’t know how I’m going to be able to stand the kind of music the kids like.”

The Bear Cabaret will become a homosexual nightclub again on Monday night, DiTrapani said. She said the Sunday format change was prompted by a shortage of homosexual clients on that night.

DiTrapani is scheduled to go before the Agoura Hills City Council on Wednesday to appeal the city Planning Commission’s denial of a permit for live entertainment at the club that would allow topless dancing to resume.