Set Visit: Cyndi Lauper Helps "As the World Turns" Celebrate Gay Pride

This year the tour is back with another great lineup, and Cyndi sees her pit-stop to Oakdale as a natural extension of what the tour is all about.

“It’s wonderful in this soap opera that they’re showing real life. And there’s a lot of real people in real situations – that’s why on the tour I also brought along PFLAG. Because you know, when you come out you go through what you go through, but your family goes through a lot too, and who do they talk to if they don’t know other people? But there’s PFLAG where they can talk to other parents. Information is power, and I wanted to do a tour that would empower people.”

While Cyndi has dedicated her life and work to promoting gay visibility, let’s face it: As the World Turns is a soap opera, one that has come under fire from fans and critics for the way that it has handled its groundbreaking gay storyline. What does this Pride mean for the show?

Actor Van Hansis, who plays gay teen Luke Snyder, says, “I think that this is a testament – I know there was some controversy about how much support the show was getting from Procter and CBS, and this shows that they are 100% supportive. Because if there wasn’t support they wouldn’t have decked out – there are rainbow flags all over Yo’s right now. It’s very prominent and she’s here for that reason specifically.”

A bit of catch-up on where the story stands: Noah has broken up with Luke after Noah’s father died (or at least appeared to die) during his botched arrest. Noah holds some resentment toward Luke and wants a break, so Luke has backed off.

But when Cyndi comes to town to play a Pride benefit for Oakdale’s LGBT student organization and Noah shows up at the concert with another guy (Tony, one of the "Hot Tub Gays" from a previous episode), Luke is of course upset. But Cyndi brings Luke and Noah back together with her ballad “True Colors”, which she dedicated to the gay community years ago as an anthem for individuality and unconditional love.

As actors, Jake and Van relished the breakup scenes, even though it was tough on their characters and fans alike. Says Jake, “I really love the scenes where it’s Luke and Noah being real with each other and talking about their relationship. ... I think we’ve gotten some really well-written scenes that we both have been able to kind of sink into and they’re coming from a real place that people can identify with. I love hanging off the back of a speedboat, too!”

Adds Van, “I do actually feel that the breakup scenes are some of the best that we’ve ever shot. They were really well-written ... Also Jake and I both really liked that meat scene, where they ate those sandwiches. The Freudian meat scene! We were both kinda like, ‘Wow, they really went there!’ That was really fun to do. But the scenes of people connecting, or not connecting, or trying to connect are the most fun for me.”

Lauper hopes that the fans appreciate the message that she’s been invited to bring to the show, promising, “I’m going to bring these young men back together, because true love should win. I hope that’s what [audiences] walk away with, that true love should win out.”

Does this mean that Luke and Noah will be getting back together for good? Come on, this is a soap opera!

Next! Cyndi's performances and what's next for Luke and Noah.