“I wanted to do a farewell tour while I still could,” Cyndi Lauper told fans at Detroit’s Fox Theater on Thursday night (October 24).

And boy, can he.

It was the third night of the singer’s Girls Just Want to Have Fun Farewell Tour and the first theater date of her mostly arena tours, and the 71-year-old Lauper was still exuding all the virtues she had 41 years ago on stage. when the seven-time platinum hit “She’s So Unusual” introduced the world to Lauper and her colorful hair, colorful unique fashion, and wildly distinctive voice. She declared herself “pretty old” during Thursday’s one-hour, 50-minute show (her first show in these parts since opening for Rod Stewart at DTE Energy Music Theater in 2017), but Lauper’s performance was just as energetic. and as full of towering personality as any of today’s twenty-something pop divas—all credited to her boundary-breaking moxie spanning over four decades.

The important thing to remember about Lauper is that she’s a girl (a woman at this point) who wants more than just having fun. As she put it before the poignant “Sally’s Pigeons,” which she wrote with Mary Chapin Carpenter, “I didn’t just want it to be a hit song. I wanted to have songs that meant something to me. But then he added: “It’s very nice of you to applaud; “He ripped every last hair out of every manager I’ve ever managed, ‘You’re going to be ruined!'”

Of course, that’s not quite the case, and Lauper, an outspoken activist for women’s and LGBTQ rights, ended Thursday’s celebration of her career with songs and observations that were especially effective less than two weeks before this year’s presidential election. Before “Sally’s Pigeons,” she continued, “I never thought I’d ever have to fight for my autonomy again, or that I’d ever feel like a second-class citizen again, because if you don’t control your own body, you’re equal… If one of us isn’t equal, no one is equal.” ” She duetted with opening act Lua Kala with her own hits — the anthemic “Sisters of Avalon,” “Time After Time” and “True Colors” — while turning Frankie Laine’s “I’m Gonna Be Strong” into a statement of empowerment. – gained additional resonance in context.

“Power is not just for some people, it’s for all people,” Lauper said during the encore.

But it’s about wanting to have fun…

While Lauper admitted she didn’t know if her arena-sized production would “fit in here,” the friendly Fox made the experience even better, from the 11-panel HD accordion-folding video screen to the confetti showers in the concert hall. streamers at the beginning and end. Lauper wore seven different looks throughout the show; She wore designers like Jessie Mac and Christian Siriano. Siriano reportedly yelled at her, “Cyn, gays want to show off!” he said. And he followed this advice in his choices; There was a classic black dress with trains, a carnival outfit with ruffled yellow sleeves, a sharp red jacket, and an opaque white cape for “I Drove All Night,” on which video footage was shown. Lauper sang.