By Tine Roycroft

She’s been called one of the funniest comics in stand-up by her peers. Entertainment Weekly has named her one of the “25 Funniest People in America.” She’s won four Emmys, produced a television show, written a book, won the American Comedy Award for “Outstanding Female Stand Up Comic,” performed on TV, in film, and onstage ~ and now stand-up comedian extraordinaire Wanda Sykes is coming to the Hanover Theatre on March 18th to share a little bit of love with Worcester. She has just one term that needs to be met:

“As long as I don’t have to shovel my way into the theatre, I’m OK,” Sykes joked.

Sykes will be bringing some new material as well as some material from her recent HBO Comedy Special “I’ma Be Me,” which can now be ordered on DVD.

“It’s more of a look or a snapshot of where I am now,” Sykes explained. “My kids are older, they’re talking. That’s fun. We’ll talk about what’s going on in the country – a little bit of everything.”

After graduating from college with a degree in marketing and officially being able to pay her own bills, Sykes tried her hand at stand-up. According to the comedian, her earlier material was more observational humor, as she had not yet found her true voice; that was something she says she began to discover while writing for “The Chris Rock Show.”

“Working with Chris Rock – he has high standards,” Sykes shared. “I loved it. Chris has a tremendous work ethic and it was good working for him. I learned a lot. I was the only female writer on the show and there were maybe ten of us [writers]. They were all excellent people to work with. We had normal hours – come in around 9 or 10 and leave around 6 or 7 unless it was a show night.”

Fans, of which there are many, love seeing Sykes in shows including “The New Adventures of Old Christine” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and movies like Monster-in-Law and Evan Almighty, and hearing her unmistakable voice in the animated features Over The Hedge and The Barnyard. And who can forget her as the voice of Gladys Murphy on “Crank Yankers!” Although she loves both film and TV, Sykes enjoys how quickly a television show can reach an audience.

“[TV takes] a shorter amount of time. Movies seem like they take forever to make and then it takes time for them to finally be released – but I love film! Overall, stand-up is my favorite, it’s always been my favorite. I love that contact with the audience and that immediate response. It’s like working without a net- you don’t know what’s going to happen or what the reaction is going to be. It’s total freedom.”

Get your tickets to see Wanda Sykes at the Hanover at
www.thehanovertheatre.org/shows/showDetail.php?showID=292.

Find out more about Wanda at www.wandasykes.com and order “I’ma Be Me” at store.hbo.com/detail.php?p=180609.