Donny Osmond chronicles his life in touring Vegas show
Jul. 25—Donny Osmond, bringing a touring version of his Las Vegas show to Fraze Pavilion in Kettering on Wednesday, July 26, has always defied expectations. In addition to performing and recording for six decades, he has never been afraid to take a chance.
The Utah native starred in the titular role in the musical "Joseph and the Amazing Technical Dreamcoat" from 1992 to 1997. He hosted the television game show "Pyramid" from 2002 to 2004. He also won Season 9 of "Dancing With the Stars" in 2009 and kicked off the first season of "The Masked Singer" in 2019.
"I love challenges," Osmond said. "One of the most difficult things I've ever done in my life was 'Dancing With the Stars.' When I won, I had a broken toe and fractured rib. The mirror ball trophy is one of the most joyous accolades I've got. (laughs). As soon as they called me about 'The Masked Singer,' I got the joke. I said, 'I am in.' I loved the fact nobody would know it was me. There was no prejudice or preconceived notion of what I was going to do. It was a blast."
One of Osmond's most significant career pivots was "Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat."
"Doing 'Joseph' was fun," he said. "It was also really difficult for many reasons. I was practically naked on stage, (which) motivated me to stay in the gym eight days a week. Then, you're singing Andrew Lloyd Webber's songs, which was a difficult thing. I (sing) 'Close Every Door' in this show because 'Joseph' was such a big part of my career, six years of it."
Lifelong performer
Osmond was 5 when he made his television debut singing on "The Andy Williams Show" in 1963. He soon joined four of his older brothers in the family singing group, which appeared regularly on Williams' syndicated program from 1962 to 1967. The Osmonds signed with MGM Records, releasing eight studio albums between 1970 and 1976. The pop-rock act scored the number one hit "One Bad Apple" and had other Top 10 singles like "Yo-Yo" and "Down By the Lazy River."
He enjoyed early success outside of the group. He had five Top 10 solo hits and placed seven other songs in the Top 40 between 1971 and 1976. He was a teenager when he returned to television with his younger sister with the variety program, "Donny & Marie," which aired from 1976 to 1979. The duo also released a string of successful albums and singles and continued to work together through the years. The siblings hosted an Emmy-nominated syndicated daytime talk show from 1998 to 2000.
Osmond sang "I'll Make a Man Out of You" from the soundtrack to Disney's 1998 animated film, "Mulan." His 19th studio album, "Start Again," was released in 2021. It was his first album since 2014′s "The Soundtrack of My Life," which featured renditions of some of Osmond's favorite childhood songs.
Watch the lyric video for "Don't Stop" from Donny Osmond's latest album, "Start Again":
Vegas goes mobile
Osmond's touring show is a multimedia look at his lengthy career as an entertainer. It's a road version of his Las Vegas show he co-created with Raj Kapoor, whose credits include the Grammys, Oscars and Emmys along with working with artists such as Shania Twain and the Backstreet Boys.
"The show has just been full speed ahead ever since we opened in Vegas," Osmond said. "We (received) awards for best production, best headliner and best brand-new show. What's really cool is getting best production because (there are) many shows in Vegas. Raj is a genius. He's the go-to-guy in Los Angeles. He's the one that put the whole idea in my head years and years ago. It was a challenge creating it, but we did it. Now we're taking every little bit of it on the road, all the dancers, the band, the visuals, the lighting and technical people.
"It's a huge show to move around but if I was going to bring Vegas out to the people, I was going to bring the entire show," he continued. "I'm bringing Vegas to you guys."
The show includes a 10-minute rap that recaps Osmond's career accompanied by a montage of videos and photographs. Another component involves audience members having an opportunity to select any song from one of his 65 albums to be performed.
"This show changes every night," Osmond said. "It's live and it's improv. It's one of the most fun shows I've ever put together. It's certainly the most fulfilling show I've done. It's all inclusive, it's everything I've done. When you win 'Dancing With the Stars,' people expect dancing. Wait until you see my dancers and all of the dancing we do in this show. It's amazing. It's kind of like I do 'This Is Your Life' every night. Even for me, when I'm doing the rap, it's like, 'Wow, I did all of that in six decades.' It's pretty cool."
Realizing dreams
When Osmond's summer tour ends in mid-August, he'll take a few weeks off before returning to his residency at Harrah's.
"I'm going directly back to Vegas for the fall," he said. "Then I head over to the UK for about three weeks for an arena tour. After that I'll probably just sleep for about seven days. I thought I'd be slowing down at this time in my life, but I've never been busier. I've never been happier to be honest. Show business is escapism, particularly in a world that's as angry as it is right now. The audience can get away and go on a journey with me for 90 minutes or more.
"My director for 'Joseph' told me something that has affected me through my entire life," Osmond added. "He said, 'The theater is a place where people come to dream in public and you're in charge of that dream.' It's a huge pressure but it's completely worth it when you're having so much fun on the show and you're seeing the audience having the time of their life because they're reliving all these experiences. That's why I enjoy getting on stage every night."
Contact this contributing writer at 937-287-6139 or donthrasher100@gmail.com.
HOW TO GO
Who: Donny Osmond
Where: Fraze Pavilion, 695 Lincoln Park Blvd., Kettering
When: Wednesday, July 26 at 8 p.m.
Cost: $44.50 lawn and terrace, $70.50 side orchestra, $75.50 center orchestra and $80.50 plaza. Ticket prices increase $5 day of show.
More info: 937-296-3300 or www.fraze.com
Artist info: donny.com
