After surviving a tough childhood and spending a decade fronting going-nowhere bar bands, Cyndi Lauper emerged in 1983 with her aptly named debut album “She’s So Unusual” and a fully formed persona perfectly fit for the MTV age. Her goofy fashion sense and deceptively dippy single “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” may have suggested she’d be a flash in the pan, but some 41 years later she’s on the road for her final tour, which hit Minneapolis’ Target Center on Wednesday night.
The outing is officially called the Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Farewell Tour, but the 71-year-old Lauper has made it clear she’s only saying goodbye to headlining arenas and wanted to hit the road while she was still physically up for it. After opening with a blast of rainbow-colored confetti and her infectiously bawdy smash “She Bop,” Lauper told the crowd: “If this is my farewell, I wanted to go big.” She’s added that she already has her next project lined up. Her long-in-the-works musical based on the film “Working Girl” is set to debut next year in San Diego before moving to Broadway in 2026.
While Lauper stood right up there among the likes of Madonna, Michael Jackson and Prince in the early ’80s, her Top 40 career burned hot and fast, with 10 chart entries that ended with 1989’s “I Drove All Night.” She performed them all Wednesday night, save for “All Through the Night,” which was somewhat of a surprise at it was her fourth consecutive single to hit the Top 5.
Those enduring classics bookended the set list, with her soundtrack hit “The Goonies ‘R’ Good Enough” and savvy Prince cover “When You Were Mine” (which technically wasn’t a hit, but is fondly remembered) joining “She Bop” to open the show. She saved “True Colors” and “Money Changes Everything” for the end and wrapped with — what else? — “Girls Just Want to Have Fun.”
In between, Lauper sauntered through the decades she spent following her artistic muse. While not well known beyond her fans, “Who Let in the Rain,” “Sally’s Pigeons” and the fiery rockabilly number “Funnel of Love” (made famous by Wanda Jackson) all proved to be highlights.
For much of the show, Lauper impressed with her still-strong and supple vocals, although she hit a wall during the majestic epic “I’m Gonna Be Strong.” Dramatically dressed in a black Christian Siriano gown and a matching wig cap (sans wig), she stopped and started the song several times due to a cough. It did kill the momentum a bit, but she reminded the crowd this show was, indeed, live. That, plus a fan yelled out: “Take your time, Cyndi!” Clearly frustrated, she eventually ditched the song and crooned an impromptu take on “Fearless,” an album cut from 1997’s “Sisters of Avalon.” After a costume change, she returned to belt out that record’s title track.
During “Time After Time” — with special guest Lucinda Williams! — Lauper’s cough returned once again, although she powered through and held onto Williams’ arm throughout. It was a touching and utterly human moment.
Lauper also spoke extensively, sharing stories about the songs, her career, her band and the designers who created her looks for the tour. She came across as a little kooky, but genuine, and utterly charming. She’s always been a staunch, but not strident, feminist, and she talked about women’s rights and how they’ve changed over her lifetime. The colorful wigs sold at her merch table, she said, raise money for her Girls Just Want to Have Fundamental Rights Fund.
Also this: “This was always such a great place because of Prince. I just wish that mural went up when he was alive so he knew how much we all loved him.” Wednesday, she played for an arena full of people who all loved her, too.
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