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Donny and Marie take G-rated show to Vegas
Reuters
Windsor Star 09-09-2008
NASHVILLE - Veteran sibling performers Donny and Marie Osmond are about to begin a 26-week stand in Las Vegas, and Marie Osmond points out that they just might turn Sin City into Sincere City.
The duo will fill the need for a family-friendly variety show in the entertainment mecca, which now is dominated by big production shows a la Cirque du Soleil or single-artist-focused extended runs by one-name stars from Celine to Cher to Elton to Bette.
Their run at the Flamingo Showroom kicks off tonight, with an extension almost a given. The 90-minute show melds multimedia spectacle with Donny & Marie’s extensive repertoire, galvanized by their well-known onstage chemistry.
Marie says, “I think we really appreciate each other professionally, because we grew up together. On a personal level, it’s hysterical because nobody out there has that kind of brother- and-sister thing. We were talking about it: ‘Who is a brother and sister that have been together as long as we have?”‘
Though they’re both Vegas veterans, this run marks Donny & Marie’s first extended engagement in the city in 29 years.
“Donny and I grew up in Vegas, we’ve played every hotel here,” Marie says.
Donny says his first Vegas gig was at the Sahara, opening for Shirley Bassey in the ’60s, and he’s very comfortable in the market. “Even though we are sitting in a recession, and Vegas has been hit a little bit as well, it’s pretty much recession-proof because everybody still wants entertainment, and Vegas in my opinion has become the entertainment centre of the world,” he says.
The idea of reuniting ignited when the pair performed on a TV Land awards show a couple of years ago. The booking may be a natural, but the two singers’ busy solo careers made it tough to nail down. Donny had been tied up with his TV hosting duties for shows ranging from game show Pyramid to Entertainment Tonight, Broadway runs and touring commitments. Marie was wrapped up in Broadway performances, her charitable efforts with the Children’s Miracle Network and, of course, her high-profile run on TV and touring with hit show Dancing With the Stars. Additionally, the performing Osmonds got together for a wildly successful U.K./ European 50th-anniversary tour in May.
It goes without saying that the show is a little bit country, a little bit rock ‘n’ roll — and more. “We wanted traditional Vegas, we wanted production, we wanted variety,” Donny says. “I think you have to understand what people expect because of the success of The Donny & Marie Show back in the ’70s, and that is the bulk of our audience, obviously. They want variety.”
And now, given Marie’s run on Dancing With the Stars, they want dancing. “We tease each other back and forth; I’m a better dancer than her,” Donny says. “We put that into the show and it creates that sibling rivalry that’s organic in our relationship, and it works. I’m dripping wet at the end of the show because there’s so much dancing, so much energy involved.”