The next act for the Comedy Caravan in the Mid-City Mall is a new owner who gave up a career in manufacturing to learn the laugh trade.
Darrell Holladay, who bought a minority share of the 22-year-old business a year ago from Tom Sobel, is buying out Sobel's interest in the club. Sobel will focus on his own business, TSM Inc., which books and manages comedians. He'll keep an office at Comedy Caravan.
Holladay says he's got big plans for the business, including a variety of special events -- from a jazz night to magic to hosting a murder mystery.
"I thought a fresh look and new ideas might give the club some new life," he said. "I want to keep the same relaxed atmosphere people are used to."
The local business, which for many years was the only comedy game in town, faces new competition from The Improv at Fourth Street Live. So Holladay stays busy coming up with new ways to bring people in. For example, fund-raising groups can sell tickets for specific shows and keep more than half the revenue.
Holladay, who went to the old Ahrens High School in Louisville, spent most of his business career in a manufacturing position. A year ago, he was introduced to Sobel by a mutual friend, and bought a minority interest in the place.
He also enrolled in the Caravan's comedy School, and now serves occasionally as M.C. and has his own act. His trademark, he says, is the unusual shoes he wears from Street Moda.
Holladay said that when he told his wife Deborah he was considering buying into a comedy club, her reaction was this. "It will be cool and I can see you doing it."
The next act for the 
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Rick Redding