Writer-actor Valerie Hager's solo play delivers a surprisingly complex and personal story of one woman’s ups and downs as an exotic dancer in the not-so-sexy Last Frontier state. Hager presents a wide array of funny, colorful characters, from those working the pole to those just watching. Although the show drags from too much stripping and a listless, disheartening ending, Hager makes us sympathize with her strange, uncomfortable and lonely experiences. As she gyrates in ruby-red heels to a ’90s mixtape of Deftones, Pearl Jam and Marcy Playground, you cringe at her sad, relatable tale of innocence lost, dreams unreached and moving back in with Mom and Dad. And I was pleasantly surprised by Hager’s fearless performance: She literally lets it all hang out.—Samantha Ueda
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