Cyndi Lauper to have fun in Tel Aviv with debut Israel concert

Pop icon from Queens is expected to perform on January 4 at Nokia Arena.

By DAVID BRINN
Cyndi Lauper 370 (photo credit: Gavin Bond)
Cyndi Lauper 370
(photo credit: Gavin Bond)
Thirty years after making heads spin with her effervescent debut album She’s So Unusual, venerable pop chameleon Cyndi Lauper will be making her Israel debut on January 4 at the Nokia Arena in Tel Aviv.
Lauper’s career-spanning show, including the classic 1984 album performed in its entirety with timeless hits like “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” and “Time After Time,” has been receiving rave reviews at sold-out venues throughout North America.
With second-hand-shop clothing, squeaky Queens accent and an effortless blend of dance pop and new-wave rock, Lauper made being an outsider cool, and thanks to the burgeoning MTV music video universe, her music and image reached around the world in a flash.
Proving she wasn’t a flash in the pan, Lauper continued to score big commercially and artistically, selling over 50 million records including hits like “True Colors.” At age 60, she’s reinvented herself many times, the latest as a Tony Award-winning score writer for the hit Broadway musical Kinky Boots.
In addition to penning her New York Times bestselling autobiography and starring in her own reality show, Lauper has also used her celebrity status to tirelessly campaign for the LGBT community via her organization The True Colors Fund.
With Lauper’s show ushering in the new year, and reports of upcoming Israel stops by Beyonce and Justin Timberlake, 2014 is shaping up to be a musical landmark.
Now that Bruce Springsteen has announced his first-ever shows in South Africa, could we dare hope that another announcement is in the works for a show by the Boss in Tel Aviv in ‘14?