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

And, boy, could she.

It was just the third night of the singer’s Girls Just Want to Have Fun Farewell Tour — and the first theater date for what is mostly an arena outing, and the first show in Fox’s brand new seats — and the 71-year-old Lauper on stage still showed all the virtues she possessed 41 years ago, when the seven-times platinum “She’s So Unusual” introduced Lauper and her dyed hair, colorfully unique fashion and wholly distinct voice to the world. She declared herself “pretty damn old” during Thursday’s hour-and-50-minute show (her first in those parts since opening for Rod Stewart in 2017 at the DTE Energy Music Theatre), but Lauper’s performance was as energetic and filled with high personality as any of today’s twentysomething pop divas—all of whom owe a debt to her four-plus decades of boundary-breaking moxie.

What’s important to remember about Lauper is that she’s a girl — a woman at this point — who wants more than just fun. As she noted before the poignant “Sally’s Pigeons,” which she co-wrote with Mary Chapin Carpenter, “I didn’t just want a hit song. I wanted songs that meant something to me.” She added after that, though: “It’s nice that you’re applauding; every manager I’ve ever had pulled the last hair out of his head, ‘You’re going to be ruined!'”

That’s hardly the case, of course, and Lauper — an outspoken activist for women’s and LGBT rights — peppered Thursday’s celebration of her career with songs and observations that were particularly poignant less than two weeks before this year’s presidential election. “I never thought I’d have to fight for my autonomy again,” she continued before “Sally’s Pigeons,” “or feel like a second-class citizen again, because if you’re not in control of your own body, you’re not equal.” .. if one of us is not equal, no one is equal.” She turned Frankie Laine’s “I’m Gonna Be Strong” into a statement of empowerment, while her own hits — the anthemic “Sisters of Avalon,” “Time After Time” and “True Colors” in a duet with opening act Lua Kala — got extra resonance in the context.

“Power to all the people, not just some,” Lauper declared during the encore.

But about wanting to have fun…

While Lauper admitted she didn’t know if her arena-sized production “would fit in this place,” the intimate Fox made the experience that much better, from the 11-panel HD accordion folding video screen to showers of confetti at the beginning and streamers at the end. Lauper had seven different looks throughout the show, wearing designers like Jessie Mac and Christian Siriano — the latter of whom, she said, told her, “Cyn, gays want glam!” And she followed that advice in her choices, including a classic black dress with a train, a carnival outfit with ruffled yellow sleeves, a sharp red blazer and, for “I Drove All Night,” an opaque white cape on which video images were displayed while Lauper sang.