November 1978
Reviewed by VegaNova
Show Segments
"California"
"Deep in The Heart of Texas, Long Tall Texan, Eyes of Texas"
"Frankie & Johnny"
"Hello Dolli"
"When the Saints Go Marching In, Piano Roll Blues"
"If We Could Talk to the Animals"
"Tootsie Goodbye, Sweet Georgia Brown"
"You Are My Sunshine, Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight"
"Yankee Doodle Dandy, Dixie, Grand Old Flag"
"Summertime"
"Sitting on Top of the World, I've Got the World on a String"
"Gonna Wash that Man Right Out of My Hair, Happy Talk"
"Chicago, Kansas City, New Orleans"
"Let me Entertain You, If My Friends Could See Me Now"
"Bill Bailey, Roll Out the Barrel"
Dolli Dimples was the original cabaret character, playing by herself in a separate room which was originally known as the "Piano Bar Lounge". She was large, seductive, and actually meant for adults - but of course there was no way to keep the kids out of her area in spite of a posted sign. There's lots of colorful references spattered throughout this tape that toe that line of being playful innuendo and double entendre.
1st Husband - In "Let Me Entertain You" Dolli makes reference to her first husband "Nolan" - almost certainly a nod to Pizza Time Theatre's founder Nolan Bushnell. There's also a little colorful crack about how he has Geritol on tap in the refridgerator because he "couldn't keep up with her". He's also mentioned in the track "Summertime".
2nd Husband - In the "Texas Medley" Dolli makes a reference to her second husband "Eugene" who used to ride with the Texas rangers. However on the track "When the Saints Go Marching In" Dolli references her second husband as "Donald".
Character References - In "Frankie & Johnny" there's a quick reference to Pasqually. There's also a reference to Madame Oink in "Hello Dolly" - saying the "piggy from Paree might be good, but the hippo from Hoboken is hotter than hot".
If We Could Talk to the Animals - There's a slight bit of colorful language here. While rhyming with "pelican", Dolli utters the phrase "like hell I can".
Missing Tracks? - According to a 1979 article from the San Jose Mercury, Dolli performed "20 different routines", however the reels we've found only have 15 unique tracks. The tapes we've found were released in the 1980s, so it's likely some were cut from the original. This same article also reveals the voice of Dolli to be 19 year old Donna Miller of San Jose!
-5 out of 5 Tokens-
How can one not appreciate the boldness that is Dolli Dimples? There's so much material here that almost makes a person wince thanks to the political correctness of today. It almost certainly wouldn't fly with todays parents, but the little innuendos are tastefully done and just add to Dolli's buxom character. The idea of a giant hippo seductively saying that her audience (likely a bunch of little kids) were getting her all "hot and bothered" is humorous and creepy at the same time.
The entire concept behind the cabaret was simple - when this tape debuted at the second PTT store, it was only because it was so large that they had to fill the space somehow, and Dolli was their solution. Knowing that, they could have skimped by and thrown something together, but instead they took it up a notch and came out with a really impressive character with an equally impressive showtape. In the early days when most of the PTT tapes were rough around the edges and the cast was a group of actors for whom cartoonish voices came before actual singing ability, Dolli was a bonafide singer, holding her own with only a piano to back her up on every track. The songs with a more upbeat tempo are nice, but she truly hits her sweet spot on the slower songs like "Summertime" - one of my personal favorite recordings from the entire Pizza Time Theatre era.
"California"
"Deep in The Heart of Texas, Long Tall Texan, Eyes of Texas"
"Frankie & Johnny"
"Hello Dolli"
"When the Saints Go Marching In, Piano Roll Blues"
"If We Could Talk to the Animals"
"Tootsie Goodbye, Sweet Georgia Brown"
"You Are My Sunshine, Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight"
"Yankee Doodle Dandy, Dixie, Grand Old Flag"
"Summertime"
"Sitting on Top of the World, I've Got the World on a String"
"Gonna Wash that Man Right Out of My Hair, Happy Talk"
"Chicago, Kansas City, New Orleans"
"Let me Entertain You, If My Friends Could See Me Now"
"Bill Bailey, Roll Out the Barrel"
Dolli Dimples was the original cabaret character, playing by herself in a separate room which was originally known as the "Piano Bar Lounge". She was large, seductive, and actually meant for adults - but of course there was no way to keep the kids out of her area in spite of a posted sign. There's lots of colorful references spattered throughout this tape that toe that line of being playful innuendo and double entendre.
1st Husband - In "Let Me Entertain You" Dolli makes reference to her first husband "Nolan" - almost certainly a nod to Pizza Time Theatre's founder Nolan Bushnell. There's also a little colorful crack about how he has Geritol on tap in the refridgerator because he "couldn't keep up with her". He's also mentioned in the track "Summertime".
2nd Husband - In the "Texas Medley" Dolli makes a reference to her second husband "Eugene" who used to ride with the Texas rangers. However on the track "When the Saints Go Marching In" Dolli references her second husband as "Donald".
Character References - In "Frankie & Johnny" there's a quick reference to Pasqually. There's also a reference to Madame Oink in "Hello Dolly" - saying the "piggy from Paree might be good, but the hippo from Hoboken is hotter than hot".
If We Could Talk to the Animals - There's a slight bit of colorful language here. While rhyming with "pelican", Dolli utters the phrase "like hell I can".
Missing Tracks? - According to a 1979 article from the San Jose Mercury, Dolli performed "20 different routines", however the reels we've found only have 15 unique tracks. The tapes we've found were released in the 1980s, so it's likely some were cut from the original. This same article also reveals the voice of Dolli to be 19 year old Donna Miller of San Jose!
-5 out of 5 Tokens-
How can one not appreciate the boldness that is Dolli Dimples? There's so much material here that almost makes a person wince thanks to the political correctness of today. It almost certainly wouldn't fly with todays parents, but the little innuendos are tastefully done and just add to Dolli's buxom character. The idea of a giant hippo seductively saying that her audience (likely a bunch of little kids) were getting her all "hot and bothered" is humorous and creepy at the same time.
The entire concept behind the cabaret was simple - when this tape debuted at the second PTT store, it was only because it was so large that they had to fill the space somehow, and Dolli was their solution. Knowing that, they could have skimped by and thrown something together, but instead they took it up a notch and came out with a really impressive character with an equally impressive showtape. In the early days when most of the PTT tapes were rough around the edges and the cast was a group of actors for whom cartoonish voices came before actual singing ability, Dolli was a bonafide singer, holding her own with only a piano to back her up on every track. The songs with a more upbeat tempo are nice, but she truly hits her sweet spot on the slower songs like "Summertime" - one of my personal favorite recordings from the entire Pizza Time Theatre era.