News is breaking this afternoon that Simon Hammerstein and the Box crew will be taking their show to Times Square for a special 2 week run in late October. Named Purgatorio, the club will operate from October 15-October 31 in the former China Club space (268 W. 47th Street), and according to its website, promises to "offer an interactive Halloween experience unlike anything seen before in New York nightlife. Adults 21 and over will be immersed in a multi-level world of macabre fantasy complete with interactive variety acts and installations, all set in a dynamic environment that is at once frightening, erotic and whimsical." Freaky deaky! Tickets range from $39.99 to $59.99 while VIP tickets range from $59.99 to $79.99 and include two complimentary beverages and preferred access. That is a bargain for us!

Does Purgatorio sound like fun to you? Wait until we tell you the rules of the house . . .

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DBTH broke the news that the Box had started its cost cutting moves in April, and that Simon Hammerstein had laid off the House Band and hired some craptastic acts in July. Today, our friends at Page Six break the news that longtime host Raven has been replaced by Joey Arias from Cirque du Soleil. Combine this with the theme nights they have been running all summer, we expect the next news will be a cutback in operating hours, followed by an announcement that Matt Levine is the new Director of Programming.

A few months after hearing that the Box had been in cost cutting mode, another Little Birdy who performs at the Lower East Side's most famous burlesque house tells DBTH about some pains from inside Simon Hammerstein's house of love. Like what, you ask? Layoffs, paycuts, sub-par talent and a craptastic crowd for starters. Let's go write the Birdy's mouth.

I'm a performer at The Box and can tell you that they have

a) fired the band
b) cut down on performers drastically, including nearly firing the dancers
c) cut performers pay drastically
d) accept sloppier and sloppier acts
e) the crowd gets worse and worse each month. it's now just a bunch of kids who think they are cool cuz they're at The Box. I haven't seen a celeb there for ages.

Click through to for additional dirt on the doormen, the new weekly beach party and labor pains.

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Here's a juicy little rumor to kick off the first Tuesday in July. A Little Birdy sung to DBTH that the Box, which has managed to survive despite an onslaught of accusations and lawsuits, is scouting for locations in New Orleans. Call us crazy, but America's fastest growing city seems like the perfect place for Simon Hammerstein's mix of nightclub, burlesque and sex, although like our Little Birdy points out, there is no way they could generate the same amount of revenue from bottle sales that the NYC location pulls in. Of course, the costs of doing business in NOLA are a fraction of what they are here, not including the graft. Ole'!

Apropos of nothing, a Little Birdy snapped this picture of the new sign for 675 Bar, the new below ground, vintagey dive bar that is in soft open mode this week. Our LB wasn't the only person checking out the space, reporting "Simon Hammerstein was walking by too- he must have been sizing up the competition." 675 is hosting Tribeca parties all week long, and will open to the public soon after.

While enjoying ourselves at the Curbed/EDGE soiree last night, a Little Birdy whispered to us that the Box is in cost cutting mode, forcing its performers and freelance staff to take paycuts in what were not huge salaries to begin with. The Box still draws a crowd, albeit not the same $900 bottle crowd from its opening, and is still attracting top notch events, such as the opening party for Topshop last night. But we can't help but think that the little supper club may not be long for this city.