The Slipper Room is the brain child of performer and producer James Habacker. When it opened in 1999 neo-burlesque was in its infancy. Before that time there had been some random shows in lofts and bars around the city, but the Slipper Room was the first venue built specifically to showcase the work of this burgeoning new collective. It was an art project in itself. An artist run venue designed to nurture emerging talent and push performers to reach their true potential.

The early shows were mostly comprised of performance artists, drag queens, experimental dancers, sideshow acts, and anyone who showed up with an idea, no matter how outrageous, messy, lewd, or illegal. Very often in the early days there were not enough performers to make up a full show, and James would ply his friends with drinks, dress them up in outrageous costumes and quickly concoct a plot before pushing them out on stage. It wasn’t long before word got around about this new artist collective, and enough young talent presented themselves at the Slipper Room to make it possible to put up high quality shows most every night. As master of ceremonies, James allowed performers a forum to push themselves and try out new work without fear of censorship. He also added comic relief with his wide variety of characters, his satirical wit, and love of Vaudeville.