By Scott Cronick
Pat McGann is very familiar with Atlantic City.
Most Atlantic City visitors know the Chicago-born comic for opening countless times for Sebastian Maniscalco over the last decade or so.
But McGann’s first entry into Atlantic City was different than most.
“I used to sell bags that were used at the casinos,” said McGann, who will make his Atlantic City headlining debut Friday, July 5, at Ocean Casino Resort’s Ovation Hall. “And one of the accounts was Caesars Entertainment. So, if you went to Caesars and bought something in their sundry shop, you got a bag printed with Caesars Palace. I sold bags to those properties and had a bunch of business in Vegas, and that’s how I worked my way into Atlantic City. I always enjoyed going to Atlantic City, and that’s how I got to love Atlantic City. I was a big ‘Boardwalk Empire’ fan, so people took me to the Knife & Fork, and I went down to see Lucy the Elephant (in Margate). So, it’s very cool to come out and do a new venue for me, and I am so excited to come to Ocean Casino and Ovation Hall.”
McGann’s entry into the world of comedy is about as atypical as his entry into Atlantic City. While he was selling branded packaging to support his family, McGann didn’t step on a comedy stage until he was 31 years old, finally getting the courage to do an open-mic night.
“I was in sales at a normal 9-to-5 job out of college and hustled ’til I was about 31, and then I hit some open-mics in Chicago, where I grew up and still live,” McGann said. “I was never on stage before, so I was terrified to go to an open-mic and get on stage in front of people. I went to an open-mic and saw the vibe, and if you have ever been to an open-mic, you realize there is some horrible stuff going on, so that gives you a little confidence to say, ‘OK, I can at least try this.’”
After his first open-mic, McGann was hooked. He kept at it, polished his material and eventually hustled his way to become the house emcee at Zanies Chicago, a legendary comedy institution where he met a fellow comedian who would change his life.
Enter Sebastian Maniscalco
Maniscalco, also from the Chicago area, was selling out Zanies and other comedy clubs at that point, but it would still be a few years before he would be headlining arenas, doing 12-show weekends in Atlantic City and acting in Martin Scorsese movies.
He enjoyed McGann’s work and that he worked clean, which fit Maniscalco’s relatively profanity-free approach. Maniscalco eventually asked McGann to hit the road with him, and McGann has been doing so ever since … about 15 years now. For McGann, who was 33 at the time and only doing stand-up for about two years, this was a mind-blowing opportunity, one that he still appreciates every day.
“I think with us both being Chicago guys, we just connected growing up around the same time and around the same type of people. We just hit it off,” McGann said “I think he just dug my stuff. I always gave Sebastian his space and showed him respect. He’s a very hard-working, focused guy, and he brought me on the road, and it just snowballed from there. Now, he’s selling out arenas and doing things very few comics are doing.”
Maniscalco has encouraged McGann in a plethora of ways, including encouraging him to go on his own headlining tour like the one that lands at Ocean, and even producing McGann’s special – Sebastian Maniscalco Presents Pat McGann: When’s Mom Gonna Be Home? – that is available on Peacock and Amazon Prime.
“He’s really shared his platform with me,” McGann said. “It’s really the most you can do for another comic. He always wants me to kill in front of him. He wants me to try new things. He’s always encouraging growth, and I appreciate that because it takes a certain person to have that kind of confidence. There are comics who like someone a little soft up front and serviceable who will do a decent job. He says, ‘Go out there and destroy!’ He really lets me do my own thing. When people ask me about him, I always say, ‘You are rooting for a good guy.’ He’s a genuine human and leads by example.”
But make no mistake about it, McGann will open for Maniscalco as long as Maniscalco invites him.
“These are like the last couple shows of this tour,” McGann said of his solo jaunt around the nation. “Then I am going back with Sebastian on an arena tour and doing a bunch of those dates. But other than going to Vegas to do his shows at Wynn, he hasn’t really been touring, so that gave me the time to do this solo tour.”
Pat McGann at Ocean
If you go see McGann on July 5, get ready for a bunch of new material.
“So, I have room to do all my gymnastics and pyro … I will have enough space?” he joked after learning Ovation Hall was designed by the team that also designed Cirque du Soleil theaters in Las Vegas. “Whatever it takes to get ’em in the door. Let’s go!”
McGann, whose comedy relies on his personal experiences, particularly his life as a father of three, has had some new life experiences to mine for material, particularly a recent divorce.
“A good chunk of what I’m doing is new material,” McGann said. “My life has shifted over the last two years, and the divorce isn’t the funniest thing, but it’s a life experience. So, my comedy isn’t really about the divorce but about putting things together since then … like getting new furniture. I had nothing. I had to reset my whole life. When you are getting divorced, you aren’t thinking, ‘Where am I gonna sit?’ I had to scramble. And there are a lot of experiences through the process. And I always have my kids because I have shared responsibility for them, so they are with me half of the time, and I think there has definitely been more intensive parenting going on.”
For McGann, there is definitely a line when it comes to what he will joke about when it comes to the divorce.
“I would never say anything about my children’s mom that would be interpreted as uncomfortable,” said McGann, who joked regularly about his ex-wife when they were married. “A lot of people can look back and say it was doomed. Yes, you lose material, but I just don’t go there. I talk about my experience with it and leave her out of it. This experience opens up other doors and experiences you hope people find relatable.”
McGann’s evolution
McGann used to regret starting later than most comics usually get into the business, but now he looks back and thinks it was a positive.
“I used to kick myself,” he said. “I see comics starting at 19 and 20 years old, and I used to get envious, but now I think about all the life experiences I gained. Once you become a comic, you lose a little bit of your humanity. You lose a little bit of the regular life that everyone else is doing. You are giving up weekends and not experiencing the same things everyone else does … the shared experience. So, having an office job and commuting and all the things I did from 22 to 31 really shaped me and helped me figure out the stuff I wanted to talk about. I just had to catch up with the performance side of things. It really made me a different type of comic and definitely made me more grateful from being away from that place I was not doing well in. If I was killing it in sales, I probably would have stayed in it.”
If you never saw McGann before, you might be reminded of some of the greats ranging from Jerry Seinfeld to Johnny Carson to David Letterman, who his parents turned him on to when he was younger.
“Working clean wasn’t an intentional decision,” McGann said. “I love comics that swear, and I still swear sometimes in the show and use language occasionally some will find a little offensive. But those comics were the ones I watched growing up. All of those comics who were on Carson and Letterman had to work clean to be on television. I also grew up watching ‘Saturday Night Live,’ and I would sneak away and watch Eddie Murphy ‘Raw’ and ‘Delirious,’ so I knew what was out there, but I wanted my parents to be able to sit through a show, and it kind of just went this way. Now everyone swears. My third grader is dropping F bombs. He is vaping right now and blowing it in my face and telling me to get off the phone.”
McGann, who is known for his sarcasm, said his kids are his greatest source of material.
“The kids and them playing sports is something to witness … all these dads who didn’t make it,” McGann joked “My son is playing baseball, and he has an expensive bat. I mean, ‘You have seen four good pitches all year, why is your bat $380? Why not just hand it off to the next kid when you’re done striking out with it?’ We have $4,000 in bats in the dugout, and we have two hits!”
That relatable humor is what makes McGann’s comedy resonate.
“Even the kids getting out of school … it’s like a camp release program,” McGann joked. “I am not just dropping them off once in the morning. Now I am dropping the kids off all day long. They are signed up for everything. We can’t just be with them. They are signed up for anything. Bomb making camp? Sure. Is it Monday to Friday? That’s all I care about. Get ’em out of my hair.”
Even though McGann was a history major in college, you won’t hear him talk about the Trump-Biden presidential debate.
“Politics are so divisive,” he said. “People just want to escape from those things that are nagging at us constantly. I think comedy is a great outlet for people looking to get away. I don’t want to ignore what’s going on in the world. I like politics, but it seems to devolve quickly.”
As far as the tour that lands at Ocean on July 5, McGann can’t wait to perform in Atlantic City again.
“I am fired up,” he said. “Doing these venues is a confidence builder. The exposure is great and seeing the country has been great. Audiences are more grateful for the live experience. They seem to be responding more than ever. There is a lot of gratitude after shows. ‘That was so fun,’ and ‘I haven’t laughed that hard.’ It’s great to be out there with people. And they have really responded to the new material very well. I know people may be jammed up with plans on July 4th, but when they wake up on the 5th a bit hung over and looking for something to do, come to Ovation Hall. It’s going to be a really good time.”
Pat McGann performs 9 p.m. Friday, July 5, at Ovation Hall at Ocean Casino Resort. Tickets, which start at $29, can be purchased at TheOceanAC.com, Ticketmaster.com and the Ocean Casino box office.
Scott Cronick is an award-winning journalist who has written about entertainment, food, news and more in South Jersey for nearly three decades. He hosts a daily radio show – “Off The Press with Scott Cronick” – 4 to 6 p.m. weekdays on Newstalk WOND 1400-AM, 92.3-FM, and WONDRadio.com, and he also co-owns Tennessee Avenue Beer Hall in Atlantic City, while working on various projects, including charitable efforts, throughout the area. He can be reached at scronick@comcast.net.
