'This is my shot': Wilmington comic hopes for viral boost to politically edgy new special
A year ago, touring Wilmington comic Cliff Cash filmed an hour-long comedy special in front of a sold-out crowd at historic Thalian Hall downtown.
Now, the special, titled "The Long Road," is ready to see the light of day. It will premiere Oct. 20 as part of a ticketed event at the Brooklyn Arts Center in Wilmington, with half of proceeds going to relief efforts in Western North Carolina, which is recovering from devastation caused by Hurricane Helene.
After the premiere, according to a news release from Wilmington's Lighthouse Films , which produced the special under the direction of Lighthouse owner Brad Walker, "The Long Road" will be released on Cash's YouTube channel . On Nov. 3, an audio album of the special will be released on iTunes, Spotify and other streaming services by Los Angeles comedy label Ghost Runner Records.
"After extensive discussions with aggregators, distributors and industry veterans, we have decided to take a more unconventional approach to distributing this special," reads the Lighthouse release. "We will be independently launching the comedy special, allowing us to have full control over the narrative, rights and accessibility to the content."
Cash, who will be one of if not the only Wilmington-based comic to have released a professionally produced, hour-long comedy special, a mark of accomplishment in the industry, said he had hoped for the special to find a home on a major platform like Netflix.
"I feel great about the product, but I'd be lying if I didn't say that I'm bummed it didn't land on a major platform," Cash said. "I think it's good enough. … I'm thrilled, happier than I could imagine with the job that Lighthouse did."
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The 72-minute special starts with a two-minute intro set to the music of Wilmington musician Sean Thomas Gerard with Cash living out of the van he's driven some 800,000 miles while touring around the country.
By turns political, emotional and philosophical, Cash comes across like part stand-up comic, part motivational speaker.
Unapologetically political from the get-go, Cash gets the crowd in an uproar by using a Southern redneck accent to roast conservative politicians while also mocking racism, homophobia and transphobia, saying at one point, "I don't know if they're more scared of drag queen story hour because of the drag queens or the books."
He also gets silly, riffing on the sanitary conditions of public bathrooms or musing about how every culture around the world has its own version of his favorite salad dressing, ranch.
Cash is adept at steering seamlessly from a comic story about coming home drunk as teenager into a highly emotional one, getting choked up as he talks about how his older sister coming out as gay to him, and then to his conservative, religious parents years later, changed their family.
Cash, whose brother is Wilmington novelist Wiley Cash, is frank about the struggles he's faced, riffing on how his ex-wife was unfaithful to him and how he lost his marriage, dog, business and his late father over the course of a year, saying "I'm glad I failed, and I'm glad my wife cheated," because his life is better now than it was then. Going through hard times, he tells the audience, "makes you better if you let it."
He also pokes fun at himself, saying that "I don't live with my mom" even if "all my stuff is there."
Cash, who's got a decent if modest following on social media (32,000 on Instagram), said he was told by an agent for big-name comedians that while his special's quality is good enough for a service like Netflix, specials on the big streamers tend to go with comics who have huge social media numbers.
"If I had a million followers on TikTok, Netflix would've picked it up," Cash said.
Cash said he's been meeting with potential comedy agents and managers, and working with a social media team in hopes of making reels of his special go viral in the run-up to the election.
"This is my shot. This is my moment," Cash said. "Something has to set you apart, and for me I want it to be the material."
As for his special's strong social and political slant, "I decided long ago that if was going to do this, I wanted to say something," he said. "I wouldn't have been doing this for 13 years if it was all just wiener jokes."
The live premiere, he said, is not only a chance for folks to see the special on the big screen, but also a way to raise money for Hurricane Helene relief in Western North Carolina, where Cash is from, while allowing Lighthouse "to recoup some of that cost" of filming the special.
"They took a chance on me and so far it hasn't paid dividends," Cash joked.
The comic said he's hopeful the special makes a big, election-season splash. But even if it doesn't, "I'll just keep plugging away."
Want to go?
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When:6 p.m. doors, 7:30 p.m. screening, Sunday, Oct. 20. Audio album of "The Long Road" available on iTunes, Spotify and elsewhere starting Nov. 3.
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Where:Brooklyn Arts Center, 516 N. Fourth St., Wilmington
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Details:Tickets are $35 and $75; BrooklynArtsNC.com
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Wilmington comic Cliff Cash debuts new special 'The Long Road'
