Portsmouth native, Hampton University alum and out lesbian comedian Wanda Sykes will once again grace the stage of Chrysler Hall the evening of May 11 to share her wicked sense of humor.
Sykes recently added Norfolk to her “Oh Well” tour that will be featured in an hour long stand-up comedy special on Netflix later this year produced by Push It Productions, her production company.
Sykes publicly came out of the closet in 2008 after Proposition 8 was passed in California. (Video of her coming out speech can be found below.) In the interim, Sykes has not stopped working on and off the big screen and television.
Sykes has been called “one of the funniest stand-up comics” by her peers and ranks among Entertainment Weekly’s 25 Funniest People in America. Push It Productions, her production company, is dedicated to creating quality, comedy-based programming for network and cable television outlets. The company’s diverse slate of projects includes sketch comedy, concerts, reality talk/variety, and competition formats.
Ever busy, Sykes has been seen on several television shows, including ABC’S Blackish, which she was nominated for a 2017 and 2018 Primetime Emmy Award for “Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series.” Other show include Broad City, Showtime’s House of Lies; Amazon Prime’s Alpha House; HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm; she also spent five years on CBS’s New Adventures of Old Christine.
Sykes was born in Portsmouth, Virginia and raised in Maryland. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from Hampton University. She began her stand-up career at a Coors Light Super talent Showcase in Washington, D.C.
In 2010, Sykes received a GLAAD award for promoting a good image of equal rights for gays and lesbians. Sykes is married and is the parent to a set of fraternal twins.
Tickets for the May 11 show range in price from $33-83 and go on sale March 8, 2019 at 10 a.m.
