"Lisa Jolley, whose track record includes musical theater, comedy, improv groups and short films, is a hoot. A hint of the lady's capacity to spoof was provided by the long and conspicuously displayed song list on the Don't Tell Mama stage, running from Hard Knock Life, through D-I-V-O-R-C-E to The Rain Song, none of which were ever sung. Throughout Jolley On The Spot, she seemed an equal mix of the spirited inventiveness of Ann Hampton Callaway and (her) extemporaneous song creations and of the instant wit of stand up cabaret comic Ron Poole.
Lisa played her audience like a veteran, using names and occupations as fodder for her interactive patter. That in itself, as sharp as she was, would have been ample to keep things rocking along. But more impressively, with the collaboration of pianist Frank Spitznagel, Lisa generated a topical song for each patron she singled out and capped her show with a spontaneous mini-musical of characters created or gleaned from the audience members. If that weren't enough to really dazzle everyone, she ricocheted from musical genre to genre, as handily competent with country or a Britney Spears take off as she was with - would you believe it - lieder. As cabaret-wise tech director Bobby Kneeland confided before the show, 'if you like to laugh, you'll like Lisa Jolley.'"
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