Comedy Rapper Polly Wolly on Getting Elders to Dance and Children to Write

Jewish comedian and songwriter Polly Wolly, born Pauline Schantzer, is carving a niche in performing at nursing homes and helping children to tap into their funny side. Her hilariously edgy performances have racked up over 7 million views online — and elderly crowds love her. 

Schantzer grew up in Philadelphia in the 1990s identifying as a Jew, but with a slight twist. 

“I didn’t know any Jewish stuff as a kid, nothing — I was raised in a Jews for Jesus household,” Schantzer told The Journal. This made her feel out of place quite often. Their family would sometimes go to New York City and hand out Jews for Jesus pamphlets.

“One time a Hasidic Jew — I didn’t know who these guys were — he took the pamphlet and yelled at me, ‘You’re not a real Jew’ and ripped it up,” Schantzer said. Those confusing days led to her finding an outlet that Schantzer can trace her comedy rap career to: The Spice Girls’ 1996 album “Spice.”  

“I was obsessed with the Spice Girls,” Schantzer said. “They were my escape from everything that was really traumatic. I went to them for so much hope and love.” During her teenage years, Schantzer covered the walls of her bedroom with Spice Girls posters and began writing poetry. It helped tune out her parents’ incessant bickering. Still, her Jews for Jesus confusion persisted long into her 20s, when Schantzer moved to Los Angeles and started leaning into her Jewish roots on her own terms. 

“I just started hanging out with Jews because where I’m from is all white trash people,” Schantzer said. “It’s not like there had been Jews around me. I started going to a Chabad.” But it wasn’t until she lost a parent that Schantzer started channeling her grief into creating more comedy music at an industrial pace. In February 2018, her father fell ill following cardiac bypass surgery. The night that his beloved Philadelphia Eagles won their first Super Bowl, Schantzer’s father passed away. She watched the game in Los Angeles that night, but made phone calls home to Philadelphia to try to share some victory nachas with her father. 

“He’d say, ‘All I want is the Eagles to win the Super Bowl before I die,’ and then they did,” Schantzer said. “I was calling my dad and he wasn’t answering. I called my mom and she’s just singing, ‘Fly Eagles, Fly’ And I’m like, ‘Mom, where’s dad?’ And she’s like, ‘He’s lying down, he doesn’t feel well.’ And I say, ‘I want to talk to him.’ She says, ‘No he’s going to sleep, bye.’ I texted, ‘Dad, go Eagles.’ And he said, ‘Yes, go Eagles.’ So he didn’t answer the phone, I didn’t talk to him. I talked to him the day before.” That last text was as much of a victory hug and high-five that Schantzer and her father could share. But the emotional toll of not being able to say “goodbye” weighed heavily on her. 

“After my dad died, I got really committed to it where I was posting more videos,” Schantzer said. The following year, she applied for a Birthright trip to Israel. She was honest during the interview process about her convoluted Jewish upbringing. And during her inaugural visit to Israel, she “discovered hot Jews” for the first time. 

“I didn’t know there were hot Jews before that,” Schantzer said with a laugh. “I was obsessed. I fell in love with Israelis.”

Since then, Schantzer’s comedy music is heavily influenced by her love of the Jewish community in Los Angeles. She regularly attends Shabbat dinners and has made a commitment to only date Jewish men. “I hadn’t dated a Jewish guy in five years,” Schantzer said. She releases the songs, “Imma Real Jew,” “Purim” and “Oy Vey Booty.” Her comedy rap chops earned Schantzer an audition in 2022 for Nick Cannon’s rap battle show, “Wild N Out.” She was one of 15 finalists selected. Although she didn’t make it to the main competition part of the show, she is proud that she won a rap battle during the on-screen audition. That video would be her first Instagram reel to get over 10,000 views.

Schantzer’s comedy music is heavily influenced by her love of the Jewish community in Los Angeles. 

Some of her next most popular songs include, “I Want A Baby,” a Passover rap “Burn the Bread,” and a parody of Aqua’s “Barbie Girl,” “Jewish Barbie Girl.” Her next song was about a real conversation she had with her mother in 2023. By this time, her mother Judy was under the care of a psych ward at a Philadelphia hospital. When Schantzer tried to reach her via phone one day, one of the other patients picked up. Watch the video for “The Psych Ward” to find out what happened next — it involves knives. She also created a YouTube series, “Judy and Me,“ where she portrays her blunt, filter-free mother. 

During the High Holy Days of 2023, Schantzer released “Shabbat Shabbat Shalom” which includes the lyrics, “You know what we do we schmooze but on Shabbat we snooze.” When she posted it on Instagram two days after the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, Schantzer prefaced it with, “I wrote this fun song about Shabbat, then this Shabbat, we awoke to the most terrifying news about Israel. My heart is with you Israel and my Israeli friends. Despite all the hate I will continue to proudly express my Judaism, I am proud to be a Jew! Hashem is by our side.” Her next video was a freestyle rap, “Bye Hamas.” On Nov. 3, 2023, Schantzer released her most popular song to date — singing “Jewish Barbie Girl” at a nursing home. Unlike the other releases, which were staged and choreographed music videos, this was a live performance at a nursing home. It garnered over 12 million views.

In the subsequent weeks, Schantzer would release snippets from the performance in the courtyard of the nursing home, surrounded by the elderly crowd. For another taste of the adorableness of Schantzer’s connection with the elderly demographic, watch the video for “Shake It Doll.” She’s as excited as ever right now — even though this past summer, Schantzer’s Instagram account was hacked and shut down. She is doing all she can to get it back. Until then, Schantzer encourages anyone at Meta to help her reinstate her account, @pollywollycomedian. 

“I write from what I know,” Schantzer said. “So it’s all real. Some of it’s exaggerated for the video, but it’s all personal,” Schantzer said. In so many ways, she still is that dancing, Spice Girls-loving kid. That sentiment has led her to teaching audiences on the other side of the age spectrum — children. She is channeling her talents into teaching and helping children create comedy music. 

“Write something that makes you laugh,” is what Schantzer tells her students. “It’s all about having fun and not taking anything too seriously.” Schantzer believes in teaching the power of humor to address and cope with difficult subjects. 

“I hope they let go of their fear of laughing about things they’re not supposed to laugh at,” she said.

To book Polly Wolly to sing at nursing homes or lead a children’s workshop on writing comedy songs, contact her at https://pollywollycomedian.com/