The moment epitomizes the approach of this adaptation, which begins its world-premiere run Tuesday at La Jolla Playhouse: take the most memorable parts of the movie and turn up the volume for the stage. The result: an unabashed celebration of women, theater and all things 1980s, led by the quintessential musician who embodies it all: Cyndi Lauper<\/a>.<\/p>\n Cyndi Lauper in New York City in September.<\/p>\n (Larsen&Talbert \/ For The Times)<\/p>\n \u201cI want the audience to be entertained \u2014 laughing, crying, standing up and feeling like they can do it all too,\u201d Lauper said of the show, already extended through Dec. 7. \u201cNot that you could go in your boss\u2019 closet and wear her clothes, no! But that exciting feeling of living in the city in the \u201880s, being creative and not backing down.\u201d<\/p>\n A corporate Cinderella story, the 20th Century Fox comedy starred Melanie Griffith as Tess, a tenacious secretary at a Wall Street brokerage firm who learns that her boss, Katharine, has taken credit for her business proposal. When a ski accident keeps Katharine out of the office, Tess poses as her superior to team up with Jack \u2014 an investment broker played by Harrison Ford \u2014 and pitch her idea to the top brass herself.<\/p>\n Directed by Mike Nichols, \u201cWorking Girl\u201d was nominated for six Academy Awards, highlighting the performances of Griffith, Sigourney Weaver as the deliciously cutthroat Katharine, and Joan Cusack as Tess\u2019 best friend Cyn. \u201cThe tacit recognition of the barriers that hold the Cyns and the Tesses back and the lack of condescension to them in the direction and in [the] script makes \u2018Working Girl\u2019 one of the warmest films that Nichols has touched,\u201d praised The Times\u2019 film critic Sheila Benson in her review<\/a>.<\/p>\n Since the \u201cWorking Girl\u201d plot is locked into the \u201880s \u2014 \u201cIf you tried to pass yourself off as an executive today, people would Google you and it\u2019d be over!\u201d joked director Christopher Ashley \u2014 the musical wholly embraces the era\u2019s aesthetics in its costumes, choreography and, of course, its score. \u201cSonically, there was a lot of individuality at the time, with so many new sounds and genres,\u201d recalled Lauper, a born-and-bred New Yorker who briefly worked as an office assistant before her career took off. (Lauper\u2019s agent even encouraged her to audition to play Tess in the movie.)<\/p>\n With the launch of MTV, \u201cthe \u201880s was the first time we were watching music,\u201d she continued. \u201cLike, the first time we saw Annie Lennox in a boardroom in that suit with her fist on the table<\/a>, looking right at us and saying, \u2018Sweet dreams are made of this,\u2019 oh my God, it stopped you. It wasn\u2019t just her androgynous image or the color of her hair, which was awesome, but it was also the fact that, maybe for the first time, we were getting a real sense of who she was, because music videos were where the artists were in creative control. Anyway, there was a lot of stuff going on then, and we wanted all of it in the show.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n