When the Slipper Room, a beacon in the New York burlesque scene, shut its doors in 2010, supposedly for a renovation, downtown denizens wrung their hands, lamenting, “There goes the Lower East Side.” It would be, they assumed, replaced by condos or some anodyne macaron store. But the Slipper Room did finally reopen last fall, offering burlesque and comedy shows in a larger, three-story building. The acts are just as blue as before. On a recent night, a performer named Gal Friday, who wore little more than a string of red sequins around her waist, gyrated to a rock classic, “Shortnin’ Bread,” and picked up a dollar bill without the aid of her hands. (more at nytimes.com)