Girl Just Wants to Make a Comeback

First, a couple of facts: (1) Cyndi Lauper was 30 years old when her solo album made its way onto turntables across the land, and (2) contrary to popular belief, Lauper can sing — you know you love "Time After Time" and "Girls Just Want to Have Fun." A far more obscure and personal fact: Lauper's makeup-laden face (similar to the interrogator's mask in Terry Gilliam's Brazil), cooing orgasmic oohs and ahhs, was many times the source of prepubescent self-exploration for this writer — as a young boy in Venezuela, my vision of Cyndi was wholly gratifying. And while new wave had died for my American counterparts, it was a great day in Caracas when She-Bop held a news conference in 1989 during her stop at the posh Tamanaco Hotel in a deliciously form-enhancing polka-dot dress. Mother never did quite understand why the hand lotion disappeared that day!

Cyndi Lauper plays with opener Jill Sobule at 8 p.m. Saturday, November 26, at Mizner Park Amphitheatre, 590 Plaza Real, Boca Raton. Tickets cost $35 to $45. Call 561-750-1668.