Ex-teen idol loving her 50s, chance to play Las Vegas

This prima from the ’80s is embracing her 50s.

“I don’t telephone it aging,” Debbie Gibson says. “I telephone it being seasoned. The much seasoned you are the amended you cognize yourself.”

The onetime teen idol conscionable got backmost from a circuit of Australia and has an expanded Christmas medium called “Winterlicious D’Luxe” dropping Oct. 22 with six new, archetypal tracks. Add to the premix a five-show tally astatine the Strat Theater from Dec. 17 done 20.

Gibson has called Las Vegas location since 2009. Her Summerlin digs see a signaling workplace with the archetypal motion from her iconic “Electric Youth” album, a vintage 1950s microphone, the carousel equine from her “Girls Night Out” euphony video and a multitude of sequin, leather and denim costumes from her 40-year career. The showpiece is simply a mirrored soft erstwhile owned by legendary entertainer Liberace. There are besides a fewer copies of her caller memoir, “Eternally Electric.”

She’ll soon marque country for costumes from her Strat dates.

“When I’m onstage, it is my blessed place. The signifier is my northbound star,” says the 56-year-old, whose hits see “Foolish Beat,” “Lost successful Your Eyes” and “Shake Your Love.” “It’s the champion and a blessing due to the fact that thing other successful beingness compares. I’m inactive pursuing that imagination I had arsenic a girl. You ne'er springiness up.”

Gibson offered her bully beingness advice:

Health battle

“A large portion of my archetypal decennary here, I was truly sick dealing with Lyme disease,” says Gibson, who adds that she feels overmuch amended now. “It truly is simply a lot, managing a peculiar wellness puzzle. I deliberation the amended you cognize yourself and your body, the easier it is to manage. Anyone who deals with a chronic unwellness similar Lyme illness knows that sometimes it’s hard. I’ve beauteous overmuch had to larn however to negociate it.”

Exciting age

“Everyone is conscionable getting started successful their 50s. I’ve had a fabulous past 10 years,” she says. “Oh, my God, I’m inactive experiencing firsts astatine this age. The lone happening is, present I’m precise contiguous to bask each infinitesimal and person it.”

Go for it

A Brooklyn autochthonal and the 3rd of 4 daughters, Gibson grew up successful suburban Merrick connected Long Island, wherever she studied soft arsenic a miss and wrote songs. “I had these chaotic dreams of becoming a singer. People privation to archer you wherefore thing can’t happen, but I was like, ‘La-la-la-la-la, I can’t perceive you!’ ” she recalls, getting misty-eyed. “Mom and I were 2 gals sitting successful a precise humble location with 3 mortgages connected it. We conscionable went for it successful a clip of nary societal media. I retrieve putting my euphony connected a cassette portion and putting it successful the message to nonstop it to people!”

It’s showtime

What should folks expect from Gibson’s Strat production? “This amusement is modern and campy,” she says. “I spell retired into the audience. Just playing Vegas excites me. I’ve been contemplating that since I was 12! This is conscionable the close show, the close radical and the close venue. The showroom feels rather aged schoolhouse and modern astatine the aforesaid time.”

Holiday plans

Between her caller medium and show, Gibson is already successful vacation mode. “My emblematic Christmas varies from twelvemonth to year,” she says. “Sometimes, I spell to my sister’s location connected the East Coast. I’ve been traveling truthful overmuch that it mightiness beryllium bully to beryllium location unsocial with my dogs this year. Vegas tin besides beryllium peaceful! It tin beryllium a spot to drawback your enactment portion everyone other is spinning.”