Friday, November 22

Tag: The Osmonds

The Osmonds – The Alexandra, Birmingham
West Midlands

The Osmonds – The Alexandra, Birmingham

For those in their youth consumed by the 70’s legends the Osmonds last night’s show must have been a heart-warming skip down memory, for those of us who were not it was all a little bewildering. The audience was sharply divided into three camps - whooping, life-long fans, long suffering husbands and bewildered critics. The latter being by far the smaller group. This clearly does what it says on the front cloth. It is the story of the Osmonds from their early days to pretty much now and, had their lives had more dramatic turns, perhaps the story could have been more engaging, but it’s difficult to relate to these successful characters whose only anguish seems to be the dropping off of their TV rating. A later scene of bankruptcy has real bite and dramatic content but arrives for too late in...
The Osmonds: A New Musical – Hull New Theatre
Yorkshire & Humber

The Osmonds: A New Musical – Hull New Theatre

I headed to the Hull New Theatre on Tuesday evening to review The Osmonds: A New Musical, safe in the knowledge that my financial outlay would be minimal. A free ticket and interval drink meant my only expense would be a pre-production coffee. I was absolutely certain that Donny Osmond’s recording of Puppy Love and his sister Marie’s Paper Roses (the only two Osmond songs I could recall … apart from my worst song of all time, Crazy Horses) would never, ever make it on to my ageing iPod. Well, dear reader, all I can say is I will never be rich. Back home I downloaded everything Osmondy I could find (except Crazy Horses!). From the not-so-glittery curtain up, the show grew on me by the minute. It was Jay Osmond (Alex Lodge), one of the older Osmonds, who narrated their story, writte...
The Osmonds: A New Musical – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh
Scotland

The Osmonds: A New Musical – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

The Osmonds is a new Musical promoting the story of 70s family band The Osmonds as told by band member Jay Osmond. Starting from the boys first gig on TV and loosely following their lives through their triumphs, failures and inevitable split. Consider this a musical for the fans, but was this really a story that needed bringing to the stage? My answer is most likely no, don’t get me wrong the show is fun, colourful and high energy but the story is told in a very vague manner giving the audience very little too emotionally cling on to, meaning when the characters reach their lows, we aren’t all that invested. This is not of course due to any fault of the cast who were brilliant but due to the writing and perhaps the choice of Jay being the story teller, taking over the show story in a ch...
The Osmonds: A New Musical – Liverpool Empire
North West

The Osmonds: A New Musical – Liverpool Empire

Love them or loathe them, The Osmonds were a tour de force in the musical showground in the 1960’s and 1970’s and the brothers attracted massive adulation from female fans, particularly Donny; together the group lived an incredible life producing chart-topping albums, selling out huge arena concerts and creating record-breaking TV shows. This production is based on Jay Osmond’s personal experiences charting the story of an extraordinary family and their rise to superstardom. Alex Lodge as Jay acts as Narrator; he managed a heavy script containing facts and figures about the Osmond family detailing their highs and lows; he did it extremely well with exuberance and panache. The Osmond brothers and sister, Marie were born in Utah, USA to parents George and Olive; brothers Alan, Wayne...
The Osmonds: A New Musical – Palace Theatre
North West

The Osmonds: A New Musical – Palace Theatre

The Osmonds were without doubt one of the biggest musical phenomenon of the 1970s; the family which become famous around the world. ‘The Osmonds: A New Musical’ tells the story of how it all started and gives us an insight into what happened during their rise to fame and what it was like to be that famous family including hardships like the impending bankruptcy ; with an albeit slightly rose-tinted viewpoint at times written by Jay Osmond - it’s a heart-warming whizz through their careers and their relationships, with a soundtrack of Osmond hits which are sure to delight fans. Directed by Shaun Kerrison; this production moves quite smoothly although can feel a bit long in places as what feels like full songs are performed back to back and some sections overrun somewhat; but it does d...
World Premiere of The Osmonds: A New Musical in 2021
NEWS

World Premiere of The Osmonds: A New Musical in 2021

THE OSMONDS: A New Musical will receive its world premiere at London’s New Wimbledon Theatre on 26th August 2021, as part of a UK & Ireland Tour, which will run through to 30th April 2022.  THE OSMONDS: A New Musical with story by Jay Osmond tells the true story of the five brothers from Utah who were pushed into the spotlight as children and went on to create smash hits, decade after decade. From their star residency on The Andy Williams Show from 1962 to 1969, to pop stars and ‘Osmondmania’ from 1971 to 1975, to the arrival of The Donny & Marie Show, a popular variety TV show, from 1976 to 1979, The Osmonds lived a remarkable life recording chart-topping albums, selling out vast arena concerts and making record-breaking TV shows - until one bad decision cost them everythi...