Wonderfully wicked Wanda brings her wit to the Moore
You've probably seen Wanda Sykes — she's all over TV, including "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and "The Chris Rock Show," and has been in several movies, with more to come — but it's even more likely that you've heard her.
She has a voice as abrasive as her comedy. It's high, scratchy, intimidating — like the proverbial fingernails on chalkboard.
She's been the irritating voice of foul-mouthed Gladys Murphy on Comedy Central's deliberately grating puppet show, "Crank Yankers," since 2003. She does the voice of Stella the Skunk in "Over the Hedge," an animated movie coming out next month. She has other animated movies pending, including "Barnyard," due in July, in which she's Betsy the Cow, and "Brother Bear II," also due this summer, playing a character called Innoko. She's the sassy Sister Moon in the recently released straight-to-DVD movie "The Adventures of Brer Rabbit."
"I have a recognizable voice," she understated over the phone from her Sherman Oaks, Calif., home on a recent early morning. "I don't mind the cow so much, but a skunk? I had to think about that one."
She said she likes doing voice-overs because "you just have to show up — no makeup, no wardrobe. You just read your lines and go."
But she said animated movies "take forever" — so long that, by the time they come out, she's already forgotten her part.
She has human roles in the upcoming "My Super Ex-Girlfriend," due in July, and "Clerks II," which she said was in post-production.
The morning we talked she was about to go to work at CBS on "The New Adventures of Old Christine," the new sitcom starring "Seinfeld" alum Julia Louis-Dreyfus. It had not yet debuted when we spoke, and Sykes dismissed her role as a bit part. She was signed for only three episodes, she said, and had already filmed two.
But almost all the reviews singled her out as one of the show's strengths, playing Christine's saucy friend. Her press agent said filming has ended for this season, and the show has not yet been renewed for next season. But it seems certain it will be, and Sykes' role likely will be expanded.
Sykes was more excited about her stand-up comedy shows in Seattle, tonight and Saturday night at the Moore. They will be filmed for a DVD.
Why Seattle?
"I love Seattle," she said. "Audiences there are smart. People read books in Seattle. Octavia Butler, one of my favorite writers, is from there. She just died, and that hardly got any notice down here."
Told that Butler's memorial drew a big crowd, Sykes said, "There you go. Seattle is very smart."
Sykes, a football fan and frequent contributor to HBO's "Inside the NFL," also wanted to convey to Seahawks fans, regarding the Super Bowl: "You were robbed!" She said she plans to talk about that at her shows here.
After we spoke, she began filming "Evan Almighty," the sequel to "Bruce Almighty," due next year, her press agent said. It stars Steve Carrell and Morgan Freeman.
Her biggest film role to date was in last year's "Monster-in-Law," starring Jane Fonda and Jennifer Lopez. Sykes said she was speechless meeting Fonda but found her down-to-earth and fun. Fonda immediately put Skyes at ease. As for Lopez, Sykes said, "I'm not going to say anything bad about that girl. Everybody picks on her. And she doesn't deserve it."
Patrick MacDonald: 206-464-2312 or pmacdonald@seattletimes.com
Wanda Sykes, 7:30 p.m. today and Saturday, Moore Theatre, 1932 Second Ave., Seattle; $35 (206-628-0888 or www.ticketmaster.com; information, 206-467-5510, www.themoore.com or www.wandasykes.com).