Huey Lewis and Cyndi Lauper Have ‘We Are the World’ Reunion at Bash for His New Broadway Musical

Huey Lewis and Cyndi Lauper kicked off the weekend with a celebratory reunion.

Nearly 40 years after singing together on 1985’s “We Are the World” as part of the starry supergroup U.S.A. for Africa, the two music legends reunited on Friday, April 19 at a special performance of Lewis’ new Broadway musical, The Heart of Rock and Roll.

Posing together on the red carpet, the longtime friends shared a laughed and a hug. Both were decked to the nines, Lewis, 73, in a cool and colorful plum suit which he paired with a dark button-down. Lauper, meanwhile, kept it chic in all black, her top’s white ruffle sleeves adding a touch of flair.

Of course, Lauper, 70, knows a thing or two about Broadway. In addition to acting in a 2006 production of The Threepenny Opera, the “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” singer has composed songs for 2017’s SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical and 2013’s Kinky Boots — the later which won her a Tony Award for best original score (and put her in the history books as the first solo woman ever to score that trophy).

Set in the ’80s, The Heart of Rock and Roll uses the beloved music of Huey Lewis and The News — like “Do You Believe in Love,” “Hip to Be Square,” “The Power of Love” and “If This Is It” — to tell an original story of a wannabe rocker who gets a second chance at his dreams.

Jonathan A. Abrams penned the book, from a story he crafted with Tyler Mitchell. Direction is by Gordon Greenberg

Previews are now underway at The James Earl Jones Theatre in New York City, with an opening night scheduled for Monday, April 22. But Friday’s performance saw the stars come out, including Lauper, Jimmy Kimmel and Lewis’ Huey Lewis and the News bandmates Johnny Colla, Bill Gibson and Sean Hopper.

After the performance, Lewis took the stage where thanked his famous friends for attending, sun the praises of the cast, and thanked the creative team behind the musical for “allowing me to be a part of” its creative.

“All we creatives can do is write words and music and dance steps. It’s up to these actors to breathe life into these ideas,” said Lewis. “All these actors are triple threats: they dance, they sing, they act. Many of them play instruments. And to just be around them is inspiring. I thank you guys for all you do for this show.”

The evening was especially meaningful for Lewis, who in 2018 was diagnosed with Meniere’s disease, a condition that affects the inner ear and has caused him to experience hearing loss. The singer-songwriter previously told PEOPLE that working on the musical has been “a salvation” for him personally, as it’s allowed him to express himself creatively at a time where he can longer sing or perform.

“This is the best night I’ve had in decades,” Lewis said on Friday. “This is especially great personally for me, I’ve had struggles over the last years and this show has really, really helped me through that and for that I’m grateful.”

“I want to applaud you folks for appreciating musical theater in general,” he told the audience. “It’s my opinion that musical theater, because it’s the most demanding, is also the most rewarding of all artistic expression.”

The cast and creatives later celebrated at a gala held, fittingly, at the Hard Rock Café.

“There’s a lot of bad news everywhere, and isn’t it nice to spend two and a half hours and forget about all that?” Lewis said.

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The Heart of Rock and Roll stars Corey Corey, McKenzie Kurtz, Josh Breckenridge, F. Michael Haynie, Zoe Jensen, Tamika Lawrence, Raymond J. Lee, John-Michael Lyles, Orville Mendoza, Billy Harrigan Tighe and John Dossett in principal roles.

The cast also includes Mike Baerga, TyNia René Brandon, Olivia Cece, Taylor Marie Daniel, Autumn Guzzardi, Lindsay Joan, Ross Lekites, Robin Masella, Joe Moeller, Jennifer Noble, Fredric Rodriguez Odgaard, Michael Olaribigbe, Kevin Pariseau, Robert Pendilla, Leah Read and Big Brother star Tommy Bracco.

Tickets to The Heart of Rock and Roll, directed by Gordon Greenberg, are now on sale.