NATIONAL TREASURE: Lola Pistola

ALASKA

Called “The Smoking Guns of Burlesque,” Lola Pistola of Alaska has been doing big things in our country’s vastest state. Pistola, who describes herself as demanding, very to-the-point, but also very funny and very entertaining, founded VivaVoom Brr-Lesque in 2004, and her show has filled clubs since then. In fact, it was a couple of years of producing burlesque before Pistola even had the opportunity to see a burlesque show. With nothing to go by except research as well as her dance and theater background, Lola Pistola was still able to find a formula that worked to win the hearts of Anchorage crowds. This figurehead of Alaskan burlesque has heated up the tundra as a triple threat: dancing, singing, and dazzling audiences with her onstage wit.