In his years in the business, Kerry Pollock traveled a lot.
He left Ohio each fall to play casino showrooms, corporate events, resorts and comedy clubs in the Caribbean, Vegas and Hawaii. “I enjoyed my time on the road, paying my dues. I learned a lot and met a ton of people from all over. Also, I think I just wanted to get warm!”
And yet, he says, he always dreamed of opening his own club. His vision was crystal clear: a cozy little cabaret, less of a standard comedy club and more like one of the smaller, full-service Vegas showrooms. The two to two-and-a-half-hour variety show would be 80% stand up, 20% original magic with plenty of room for audience participation.
He would invite the world-class magicians and comedians.
He’d met to be guest acts, and he would anchor the rest. The club would host holiday parties, weddings, business meetings and be set up to record TV-quality productions of any event. Pollock has an engineering background and loves to work with his hands so he would design and build all the systems himself — lighting, props, magic, music.
Comedy Magic Cabaret was ready for the physical realm. But where to build it? On his many trips to Hilton Head, Pollock had noticed that comedy clubs just weren’t sticking. “Comics can be pretty offensive,” he concedes. “There’s only a small percentage that work clean.” Luckily, he’s one of them. “One of the best compliments ever was four generations of one family laughing their heads off at my show. Even the teenagers loved it!” For a comic whose motto is “funny, not filthy,” balmy and family-friendly Hilton Head was the perfect fit.
Eight years later, Comedy Magic Cabaret is nearing 1,000 Excellent reviews on TripAdvisor.
Reviewers give top marks to the “delightful hostess” (Pollock’s lovely wife, Kelly), the awesome staff and the “delicious” offerings. The consensus? “A trip highlight — we laughed all night!”
Next up? Close-up magic experiences backstage at the club and on Pollock’s 61-foot motor yacht. Intrigued? Head to comedymagiccabaret.com for all the latest showtimes, the original comedy game show “Bonk” and to find out what else Pollock has up his sleeve!
By Dani Ray
Comedy Magic Cabaret
843 William Hilton Pkwy.
(843) 681-7757
www.comedymagiccabaret.com
