Who’s Syked to see Wanda?
If you haven’t heard of Wanda Sykes, you probably haven’t been watching television. These days, the 54-yearold actress, comedian and writer seems to be popping up everywhere. On TV, she’s been on “Black-ish,” “Bob’s Burgers,” “Broad City” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” On the big screen, you might have seen her in “Bad Moms,” “Snatched,” or heard her in “Ice Age.” And these examples are only her most recent mentions. Her curriculum vitae is long and wide-ranging since she stepped into the entertainment industry in the late ’80s — an impressive feat, considering that she started her career as a contracting specialist for the National Security Agency after graduating from college.
Realizing that the position didn’t fit with her personality, Sykes quit that job to move to New York City to have her shot at stand-up comedy. By chance, Sykes met Chris Rock, who hired her to write for his show, “The Chris Rock Show,” for which she won an Emmy Award in 1999. And thank goodness for that foresight on Rock’s part. A voice like Sykes’ is much needed in this all-too-serious political climate. In particular, her appearances on “Curb Your Enthusiam” are some of my favorite moments in her career. Her callouts to Larry David’s “inherent racisms” are laughout-loud funny, and his reactions to such callouts, as well as their on-screen chemistry, are total perfection.
In that same vein, her stand-up comedy is nothing to scoff at, either. If the successes of her past comedy tours are any indication to just how funny Skyes is, her show Saturday should follow suit. Wanda Sykes, 8 p.m. Saturday, Foxwoods’ Grand Theater; $25-$48; 1-800-200-2882.