Cyndi Lauper, the iconic 1980s songstress with the thrift store chic outfits, the multicolored hair and the uber-hip outcast vibe, is as free-spirited as ever. Her pop hits became anthems of nonconformity amid the conservatism of the Reagan era. Part pixie, part punky, Lauper paved the way for the girl power movement.
"If I had an influence on that, I'm glad," she says, holding court in the VIP lounge at San Francisco's Orpheum Theatre, where her hit musical "Kinky Boots" runs Dec. 2-28, "When I started, you had to fit into the girl box, and I didn't."
Now 61, she is kicking up her heels as a Broadway composer for the Tony-winning smash "Kinky Boots." Born Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper in '50s Brooklyn, she's always been theatrical by nature. She starred in a Broadway revival of "Threepenny Opera" opposite Alan Cumming in 2006.
She's still a stunner, sporting platinum blonde dreadlocks, platform go-go boots and various and sundry statement jewelry. And she knows how to get what she wants, directing a recent photo shoot as if it were a music video. If the lighting is not perfect, the pop queen is not amused, and she makes sure everyone knows it.
"Listen, honey," she explains to this reporter in her squeaky Queens accent, "a pretty picture is gonna make people read this story!"
FREE EXPRESSION
She makes a bit of a fuss, but her "Kinky" collaborator, Harvey Fierstein, remains unflappable, explaining, "I could have chosen a career in waste management, but no, I chose show business."
Certainly Lauper is in her element on this project, which is directed by Jerry Mitchell. Fighting for a society in which everyone feels free to show their true colors has long been her cause. Lauper opened the True Colors house for homeless LGBT youth in Harlem in 2011. So the musical "Kinky Boots," about a British shoe factory saved from bankruptcy by specializing in drag footwear, is a perfect fit for her. Irrepressible is still her style.
"I never had a choice. I didn't look like everybody else. I didn't sound like everybody else. I had to be myself,'' Lauper said.
It's one of the reasons she found Fierstein, who wrote the book for the "Kinky Boots" musical, such an inspiration.
"I feel like I've been watching Harvey my whole life," Lauper says. "He's one of the only people who was saying what was going on with human rights when it wasn't popular."
It was Fierstein's idea to have Lauper write the music, which paid off big time when she became the first woman to win a solo Tony for best score.
LOVE OF SNARKTheir chemistry is palpable as well as playful. The two of them nudge, wisecrack and eye-roll at each other like BFFs. They share an affinity for the snarky.
"People think a show called 'Kinky Boots' is all about sex, but it's not, it's about family," says Lauper.
To which the mischievous Fierstein interjects: "And strippers!"
Based on the 2005 British film of the same name, "Kinky Boots" is an over-the-topless musical that combines the fabulousness of drag fashion with a message of empowerment. As one critic put it, the show "presents dressing in drag as not only a wholesome but even a heroic choice: the ultimate expression of true masculinity."
For his part, Fierstein, 60, famed for everything from "La Cage aux Folles" and "Torch Song Trilogy" to "Newsies," thinks the key to the show's success is its sense of celebration. The show's uplifting pop anthems include "Sex Is in the Heel" and "Everybody Say Yeah."
"It's like a ticket to the promised land of happiness," he says. "Even when I'm in a bad mood, it makes me happy to see how happy the show makes people."
They both agree that most people need a shot in the arm these days.
"It kind of ... sucks out there for a lot of people right now," as Lauper puts it. For the record, she threw an expletive in there for emphasis. It can't be printed in a family newspaper, but it is a reminder that Lauper is not one to mince words.
Honesty is just part of her DNA. In her memoir, the singer wrote candidly about her "creepy" stepfather who forced her to leave home at age 17 and a later sexual assault that helped shape her view of women's rights.
Those insights will doubtless come in handy for Fierstein and Lauper's next project, in which they plan to showcase the lives of older women.
She's bopping indeed.
When: Dec. 2-28Where: Orpheum Theatre,
1192 Market St., San Francisco
Tickets: $80-$300, 888-746-1799, www.shnsf.com
Article and Photos Sourced From: http://www.contracostatimes.com/spotlight/ci_27002676/kinky-boots-pairs-icons-cyndi-lauper-harvey-fierstein
