A Dish Called Wanda

With supporting roles in Evan Almighty, My Super Ex-Girlfriend and The New Adventures of Old Christine, comedienne Wanda Sykes has carved out a niche as the no-nonsense token black friend. She's not quite such a stock character as a stand-up comic; one of her oldest bits illustrates a primal difference between men and women. "Wouldn't it be wonderful if our pussies were detachable?" she asks. "You could visit a professional ballplayer's hotel room at two o'clock in the morning! 'Sex? Nuh-uh, my pussy's not even in the building. I'm just here to talk about your jump shot.'" I can't fathom what the women in the audience are thinking when they cheer. Besides a few saving up for reassignment surgery, there's not a man alive who would say the same thing about detaching his dong. King Missile's '90s novelty hit "Detachable Penis" used to make me cringe every time I heard it. In fact, annoying as it was after the first 38 times to hear it, I couldn't turn it off until the part in the story where the guy and his schlong are reunited. With or without her vagina, Sykes performs at 8 p.m. Friday at McFarlin Memorial Auditorium. Tickets, $25 to $75, are at 214-528-5576 or titas.org.
Fri., Sept. 26, 8 p.m., 2008