Wanda Sykes has taken on all manner of roles, from a puppet with hair rollers on Crank Yankers, to a talking spokesapple in the Applebee’s commercials, to Stella the Skunk in the kid flick Over the Hedge, to her finger-pointing, name-calling cameos on Curb Your Enthusiasm. This Thursday, she brings her drop-dead funny stand-up to the Bay area. The Emmy-winning actress was named as one of Entertainment Weekly’s top 25 funniest people in America and one of Comedy Central’s top 100 funniest comedians of all time (she was robbed at No. 70). Sykes is blunt without being aggressive, and has a flair for telling us what we already know in a “yeah, I said it” kind of way without relying on shock value to garner audience reactions. Most recently, she made headlines for her performance at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, where she roasted and burned conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh, accusing him of treason for his wish that the current administration fail, pointing out that Limbaugh’s negative rhetoric isn’t so different from Usama bin Laden’s, and telling President Obama, "You know, you might want to look into this, sir, because I think maybe Rush Limbaugh was the 20th hijacker. But he was just so strung out on OxyContin he missed his flight." 8 p.m. Thurs., June 4, Ruth Eckerd Hall, 1111 McMullen-Booth Rd., Clearwater, $37.50-$55, 727-791-7400, rutheckerdhall.com. (Franki Weddington)
Wine guide Charles Visalli leads Teach and Taste Wine, a series of workshops on wine etiquette, how to sample wine when dining out, wine varietals, the art of pairing food with wine and more. This week's focus is choosing complementary wines and cheeses. E-mail timeforwine@tampabay.rr.com to reserve a spot, or visit carrollwoodcenter.org for more info. 6-7:30 p.m. Thu., June 4, Carrollwood Cultural Center, 4537 Lowell Road, Tampa, $25, $20 for CCC members, 813-269-1310.
Times almost out to see Icons of Innocence by Carolina Cleere, winner of the Mayor’s Award at the 2009 Gasparilla Arts Festival and Best of Show Awards at the Gulf Coast Museum of Art’s ARTE 2007. Her surreal portraits are created via a fusion of mixed media photo collage, traditional art techniques and contemporary digital technology. Continues through June 11. (Pictured: White Robes, an example of Cleere's digital artwork) Gallery hours are 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Mon.-Fri., HCC Performing Arts Building, Corner of Palm Avenue and 14th Street, Ybor City, free, 813-253-7674.
This article appears in Jun 3-9, 2009.