The Burlesque Lounge is old. Tess, a retired dancer and theater owner, fights to keep the ancient theater alive. With personal issues distracting the Lounge's troupe members and a wealthy businessman threatening to buy Tess' position, luck seems to have left the club. A young Iowan named Ali's life is about to alter radically. Ali is hired by Tess as a waitress at the Lounge and falls in love with burlesque. She fulfills her dream of being on stage with help from the theater's workers. Things take a dramatic change when Ali's huge voice makes her the main attraction.