Welcome to The Slipper Room

You walk along a dimly lit corridor to spiral stairs and climb to a dark room with flowery wallpaper. Red velvet curtains frame a wooden stage at the front of the room. The only light comes from the center of the stage and casts a sensual red glow. The room is small but cozy with five rows of chairs that fill up in the blink of an eye. Many latecomers have to stand in the back of the room. I am one of the unlucky ones who fidget around, struggling to find a bit of space.

The Slipper Room is a venue where dirty talk and sexual innuendo merge to create art. Fans of sequins, big feathers, 1920s corsets, sultry humor, and beautiful dancers can find enjoyment here. There’s also an array of colorful drinks with strange names to enhance the atmosphere. The place makes you feel like the Lone Ranger walking into a saloon in a 1950s Western movie. 

I learned about it accidentally when I was looking for an exciting idea for a fun Friday night with my friend Rachel. She and I love burlesque and have been to almost every place in the city where women behind fans take off their clothes and seduce audiences with exotic dances. Clubs like Le Boudoir and Ethyl in Williamsburg regularly feature burlesque performers and Rachel and I try to make every show.  There is always something new to surprise you. 

My friend V told us about The Slipper Room. I trust her recommendations because she is a burlesque dancer and an accomplished motorcycle rider. When not stripping or singing rock songs in local bars, she puts on her leather jacket and rides her bike across the country. 

She strongly recommended The Slipper Room. “The place is fantastic! One of the best places I have ever worked at. The theater is beautiful, and you feel as if you have traveled back in time. A must for every burlesque fan,” V. said. 

In The Slipper Room the audience waits for the show to begin. Photo by Ana Kasper

The theater on Orchard Street on the Lower East Side began as a small cocktail lounge in 1999 and transformed into a two-level burlesque theater and bar. It tries to recreate the style of the mid-19th Century British-European opera houses and offers burlesque shows that feature strip tease, magic, and circus arts. 

On this night, Sir Richard Castle, the stage name of the multifaceted artist Bradford Scobie, stands center stage dressed in an old-fashioned tuxedo. He begins by throwing out a handful of insults. “Sir, you lost your mind! Don’t sit on the floor in The Slipper Room if you don’t want to catch STDS!” he yells to one audience member. Others in the audience fall into a fit of wild laughter. 

A performer doing their act on the brightly lit stage. Photo by Ana Kasper

We laugh and understand that The Slipper Room is not a place for the shy or squeamish. Sir Richard Castle has been the master of ceremonies for more than a decade and his performance is a mixture of burlesque, magic and the wittiness of a raunchy stand-up comic. The tipsy crowd becomes intoxicated listening to his rapid-fire string of obscenities and vulgar jokes. He announces a performer with a quick hand gesture. “And Now… my ex-wife, Ms.Gigi Bonbon!” 

Tension rises in the room, and I move closer to the people standing next to me. We don’t know what the next performance will be. A voluptuous woman walks on stage wearing a rhinestone-studded corset and ruffled tulle skirt. Piano music starts playing and  she gazes at the audience from underneath extremely long, heavy eyelashes. She blows a kiss to the audience and begins to dance. The piano gets louder and more frantic as she takes off more clothes. The crowd whistles. Around us first-timers, or the virgins as Richard Castle calls them, blush but for the veterans of The Slipper Room this is meat and potatoes on an ordinary Friday night. 

The Slipper Room fought New York City’s prohibition era cabaret laws before it became what it is today. In the early 1990s then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani wanted to enforce cabaret laws that prohibited dancing in bars and clubs. Owner Camille Habacker confessed that the process of stopping people from dancing was complicated. “People at the bar would hear a good song and start shakin’ it. We had to tell people to stop. They thought we were kidding,” she said. Lawyers helped the theater and other clubs fight the outdated laws, and that allowed people to have fun and perform without fear of the club being fined or shut down.

On this night, my favorite performer was a gymnast in a mouse costume. He threw bananas at the audience, jumped from one spectator’s seat to another, and ended up being carried backstage, standing on one of the guest’s shoulders. “Don’t try it at home, kids! I warn you!” He screamed, exiting the room. The other act that got my attention featured a very tall woman dressed only in golden feathers and braids that hung from the top of her head to the floor. I couldn’t take my eyes off her sensual, captivating dance.

“She’s gorgeous,” said a woman standing behind me. Indeed, the dancer was stunning. The people sitting on the floor in the VIP section seem to love it, too. Most in the VIP are performers who’ve already done their act and wanted to watch and support fellow artists.

After the dance, Sir Richard Castle came back on stage, grinning mischievously at the audience. “I hope you enjoyed the dance of my second ex-wife. Now, I want to delight you with an aerial dance performed by no one else but… my third ex-wife!” he said. I wonder if he is joking about the ex-wife thing, or is it true? Castle recounts the number of women he has slept with and then disappears backstage. An aerial dancer with long blond hair takes over to explore gravity while suspended in a harness made out of a  silk rope.

A performer talks to the audience. Photo by Ana Kasper

During the intermission, many people say they’re regulars and that the theater is their go-to place for entertainment. One woman said, “It’s just different over here. I don’t think you can have the same experience anywhere else in New York City. It has its own vibe. I’m turning 27 today. I couldn’t imagine celebrating my birthday anywhere else. It’s fun. It’s sexy. It’s artistic and beautiful. It’s all of these things that you look for on a Friday night. More people should know about this place!”

The show ended a little before 1 a.m., and I felt exhilarated by the experience. The Slipper Room is open to adults and comes alive after 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. Admission is usually 10 to 20 bucks. There is no need to waste time standing in line.  A quick chat with the security guy will do the job. It’s a perfect deal for someone like me, who hates being squeezed with a bunch of strangers, desperately waiting for someone to let me inside.