Cyndi Lauper, the Grammy-winning singer, is extending her “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Farewell Tour” with additional North American dates, promising fans more opportunities to celebrate her iconic career. The tour, which initially launched last year, will now include shows from July 15 through Aug. 20, featuring outdoor amphitheater performances.
Lauper, 71, spoke with People about the upcoming tour, her reflections on her career, and her plans beyond the farewell shows. “Well, I’ve always wanted to do this,” Lauper said, referring to the large-scale arena tour. “I haven’t done this since 1986, so I figured, ‘You know what? If I’m going out, I’m going out big.'”
The tour, which has taken her across the United States, Canada, and Europe, marks her return to headlining arenas since the “True Colors World Tour” in the mid-1980s. Lauper emphasized her current physical and vocal strength as a driving force behind the extensive tour. “Right now I’m very strong, and I can sing strong,” she said. “It’s not like my songs are really easy, and you have to keep yourself in shape.”
The summer U.S. leg of the tour will feature shows in markets Lauper hasn’t visited in previous legs. “They might be a little different, because I’m trying to go to the markets that I never went to,” she explained. “It’s the places I mainly didn’t go—except California.” Lauper noted her upcoming performance at the Hollywood Bowl, citing family ties and a touch of superstition. “I’m doing the Hollywood Bowl, mainly because my sister and her wife like to go to the Hollywood Bowl, sit and have a picnic, and it’s a family thing. Plus, you know I’m superstitious. I stepped on a bee there, so.”
Joining Lauper on the summer leg will be Jake Wesley Rogers and DJ Tracy Young. “And we’re going to do the whole thing that we always do,” Lauper said. “Inform, be happy, dance, whatever. And be who you want to be.”
Reflecting on the tour, Lauper described it as a narrative of her life. “Once I did it, and I saw that I could do it, the show started to become this narrative of my actual life,” she said. “How I lived and progressed, and then I started talking about what I saw, who I saw and how it affected me.” She also mentioned plans to incorporate more dance music from her album “Bring Ya to the Brink” into the summer shows.
Lauper addressed the personal connection she feels with her audience during the tour. “Also, people come dressed up,” she said. “We sell these wigs for the ‘Girls Just Want to Have Fundamental Rights Fund,’ so when everybody’s wearing different color wigs, it’s fun. It’s wild to look at, because then they become part of us, and we become part of them.”
Looking ahead, Lauper revealed her plans to work on the musical adaptation of the 1988 film “Working Girl” after the tour concludes. “I’m supposed to be doing [the musical adaptation of the 1988 film] ‘Working Girl’ after the tour,” she said. “That’s what I’ve basically been doing for 10 years. The weird thing about the Broadway thing is it takes a long time. So, it’s not like I’m not going to be working, I’m just not going to be touring. Touring is a whole different animal.”
Regarding new music, Lauper expressed interest in writing after completing “Working Girl.” “You know, once I get done with ‘Working Girl,’ because that’s like album after album, probably I would want to write,” she said. “I might want to look for things that I’ve always wanted to do, because you have a limited amount of time to do them.”
She shared details about the “Working Girl” musical, noting her collaboration with Rob Hyman, Theresa Rebeck, and Cheryl James from Salt-N-Pepa. “I’m writing with Rob Hyman, I wrote ‘Time After Time’ with him, because it is in the ’80s,” Lauper said. “And we have Theresa Rebeck, she’s writing the book. I even got Cheryl James from Salt-N-Pepa to write a rap for the beginning, because I wanted authenticity. It is very important, when you make music, to have it be authentic.”
Tickets for the “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Farewell Tour” are currently available.
