Why shouldn’t a striptease be presented with lavish production values? When the giant, light-studded logo for Peepshow descends from the ceiling—big enough that the performers climb out of the ‘o’—it declares that this show will dazzle your eyes with more than just curvaceous (or, in some cases, well-muscled) flesh.

As Peepshow opens, a video reveals that the show’s star, former Playboy Playmate Holly Madison, is lonely and lovelorn. She falls asleep while reading a book of fairy tales...and thus sets in motion the show’s recurring theme. In one sequence, a sleek young woman wearing a dress made of straw runs into a big bad wolf—you can probably guess what follows, as well as what happens to her sister, who wears a dress of sticks! Fortunately, the third sister (a buxom lass who appears to the accompaniment of the Commodores’ “Brick House”) has some tricks up her sleeve, leading to a flash of effective stage magic. Later in the show, a blonde Goldilocks frolics with a giant teddy bear before lounging...on a bearskin rug. Not everything fits the fairy tale theme, but it’s unlikely anyone will complain about a squad of naughty schoolgirls selling lemonade or the half-naked equestrienne draped across a saddle that swung out over the audience. Both were part of high-energy dance numbers that filled the stage with limber gyrating bodies.

Of course, no show in Vegas is complete without some audience interaction. Midway through the show, the mistress of ceremonies—the snappy Peep Diva—sends her lovely minions into the audience to seek out possible matches for Ms. Madison. (You never know who they might find; one night, they pulled none other than movie star Hugh Jackman onto the stage.) The Peep Diva gives these hapless guys a quick and pretty scathing interview, finally choosing one man who ends up on a giant bed, surrounded by writhing dancers and Ms. Madison herself, spattered with pink paint.

The music includes a surprising variety of pop, rock, hiphop, and jazz standards, including the hit “Milkshake,” “Pink” by Aerosmith, and the classic “Feelin’ Good,” made most famous by Nina Simone. All are performed live by a topnotch band and belted out with gusto by the Peep Diva and a few other vocalists.

Finally, to make sure the ladies in the audience enjoy some eye-candy as well, Ms. Madison gets lucky: As she approaches a gleaming white bathtub in a rather short bathrobe, a sculpted guy in tight-fitting jeans emerges, dripping, from inside.  To make it clear those muscles aren’t just window dressing, he performs an impressive rope-climbing routine before finally taking Ms. Madison in his buff arms and whisking her off to a moment of erotic bliss. Fortunately, she returns for a big, blow-out finale, featuring lots of rose petals, white feather boas, whirling limbs, and luscious bosoms.

Over-the-top? Absolutely! This is exactly the sort of exuberance that can’t be found anywhere else. Peepshow is a prime example of why people come to Las Vegas in the first place.

— August Evans