Out comedian, actor and TV personality Wanda Sykes is swinging back through the area to give her hilariously vital and sometimes-irreverent view on life and politics. We had a great time at her show the last time she performed in Atlantic City, so when the opportunity to speak with the hardworking comedian came up, PGN jumped at the chance.
PGN: The last time you performed at the Borgata, you talked a lot about your wife and kids. Do they ever mind being the subject of your jokes? WS: They’re all going on an extensive vacation, so they’re fine with it.
PGN: You are one of the few comics we know of who hasn’t lost their comedic edge after having children. How do you do it? WS: I don’t know how you can have kids and not get edgier. I think it’s because I had kids later in life. I’m set in my ways. I just turned 49 so I’m not about to change.
PGN: Since you know Barack Obama now, do you have any insights into where his head is at with his second term? WS: I’m flattered that you think I know him. I performed for him at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner and that’s it. When I met them, I thought they were both very charming and gracious. I don’t know how he keeps it together, to be honest with you. Everything he tries to do, the Republican Party tells him no. It’s gotten so bad now that he’s saying, “Remember that thing you wanted to do, now I want to do it.” And they’re saying, “No, now we don’t want to do it.” How can you win? I feel for the guy.
PGN: We were just wondering when he is going to get his presidential swag on? WS: Maybe when he gets to his third year, he’ll snap and start calling people names and curse a little bit. That will be fun.
PGN: Now that you have performed for the president, is there any situation you could walk into where you would be nervous to perform? WS: I’m sure. Yeah. I performed at a college two weeks ago for the kids and that made me nervous because I thought, These kids don’t want to hear about my wife and kids. But it was a great show. They loved it. We had a good time.
PGN: You’ve done a lot of TV and film projects. Do you ever get approached for dramatic roles? WS: Not really. I don’t really want to go after those parts. I have such respect for actors and actresses. I know what I do. I do comedy. I’m sure if I did a dramatic role, there is another actor out there who can do a better job at it. So I like to stay in my lane. Plus, I do comedy. People want to see me be funny. And I enjoy doing that. There’s drama in comedy. If it’s well-written, it can have its dramatic moments.
PGN: We always hear about the superstar guys in comedy hanging out together or performing together. Why is it we never see the superstar women of comedy hanging out together or doing shows together? WS: I don’t know. It is weird. I know I have shit to do. I’m sure they have shit to do. It’s kind of hard. We’ve all been there. I was sitting next to Joan Rivers at an event and had a lovely conversation with her. I was on the road and I ran into Margaret [Cho]. We hung out for a little bit and had a couple drinks. It’s cool and all but it’s been a while since I’ve been to the Comedy Cellar and just hung out. That’s the place where everybody goes and hangs out. If I was in town, I’d be there and doing that too.
PGN: As an entertainer, what do you like to do when you want to be entertained? WS: I love a good concert. I just saw Pink. She was incredible. I like to go bowling. I love live shows and live music.
PGN: What is the best show you’ve ever been to? WS: That’s a hard one. Sade’s last show was incredible, but I’m such a fan and I love them.
PGN: We thought it was great when you did the campaign on your talk show to get Sade to appear. When they finally said yes, were you like, Who else can I lure onto the show? WS: I know, I was like, Who else can I hoodwink? That was pretty cool.
PGN: A lot of times, comedians get to a high level of success and then start going a bit crazy. You’ve been very successful and have never had a public meltdown. How do you avoid those pitfalls? WS: I’ve always been pretty grounded. I’ve worked regular jobs. I’m doing what I love to do and not a lot of people get to do that. I don’t take it for granted and I’m very appreciative. I’ve never gotten caught up in that stuff. I’ve got regular friends and we do regular shit. My life is easier like that. I guess that’s how I was raised also. My parents are still alive and healthy and I wouldn’t want to do anything to bring shame on or embarrass my family.
PGN: With the controversy of late around jokes Joan Rivers has done or movies like “Django Unchained,” do you think people these days are too sensitive about entertainment? WS: I loved “Django.” I thought it was an entertaining and brilliant movie. I think that’s the issue. When you do something that is edgy and it’s good, you can get away with it. The problem is when people do stuff that is not funny or not good. Then you are going to have problems. To me, it’s all about the quality. If it’s good and funny, people are going to go, “OK, that makes sense.” A lot of things just aren’t funny anymore.
PGN: You’re scheduled to perform in the Dominican Republic this year. Are there any other plans to perform internationally, and, if so, what countries would you like to visit? WS: We’re working on going to London hopefully in the fall. I would love to do something in South Africa. Last year I went to Australia, which was pretty cool. My wife is dying for me to do a show in France because there is a huge American-speaking population there, so we’ll see.
PGN: Do you have any new TV shows or movies on the horizon? WS: I have a movie coming out called “The Hot Flashes” with Brooke Shields, Catherine Mannheim and Darryl Hannah. It’s about a group of women who reunite our high-school basketball team to challenge the current girls’ team to raise money for the town. So I’m playing basketball. It’s pretty funny.
Wanda Sykes performs May 3-4 at the Borgata Hotel, Casino & Spa Music Box, 1 Borgata Way, Atlantic City, N.J. For more information or tickets, call 609-317-1000.