Boy, Chicago sure loves Donny Osmond!!!
Donny performed “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” here at The Chicago Theater for six years … over 2000 performances (and I was there front and center for a good five or six of those … without question, one of the best shows I’ve ever seen!) …
So when he returned to The Chicago Theater last Friday Night, June 14th (an emotional experience for him as well, I'm sure!) to perform his new Las Vegas Revue, a show he performs regularly during his residency at Harrah’s, the lines around the theater were insane! He sold the place out … and life-long fans came to show their love for Donny.
I can tell you that he is still in fine voice … and the consummate performer. He is, by every definition, a show biz entertainer. (Let’s face it, he’s been doing it for all of his life, since the age of five when his brothers brought him out to sing on The Andy Williams Show.)
Donny makes a good point, early on in his show …
How do you encapsulate seven decades of performing into a two hour show?
What do you leave in? What can you take out? Obviously, you can’t cover it all … yet somehow he still did … and in some pretty clever and unique ways, too.
For starters, he performed his career “Rapography,” covering the highlights from his very first television appearance on thru his recently released 65th album.
What an amazing career this man has had!
Starting as the then newest and youngest member of The Osmonds Brothers ... who also simultaneously launched a solo career that produced five Top Ten Hits the first two years ... immortalized forever in cartoons (!) ... a new family franchise with sister Marie (which included a variety show and a talk show, not to mention a very successful Vegas act of their own) ... a '90's comeback with "Soldier of Love" and "Sacred Emotion," "Joseph," "Mulan," The Masked Singer (!), winning "Dancing With The Stars," hosting "The $10,000 Pyramid" ... my God, what HASN'T this guy done??? (And the fact of the matter is, he has shone brilliantly in each of these roles ... and beyond.) You just don't realize how many times ... and in how many ways ... Donny Osmond has been a part of our lives for the past 62 years ... the Rapography drives that point home, encapsulating all of it in just under eight minutes! Brilliant.
To further promote the fact that he has now released 65 albums, he next pulled up an iTunes/Spotify-looking device on the big screen behind him, showing every song from every album, and asked the audience to call out favorites that they’d like him to perform.
Donny then proceeded to sing along with his original recordings … and in nearly perfect voice, too, replicating the various stages of his career.
There were some exceptionally emotional moments along the way …
Donny singing “Close Every Door” from “Joseph”
brought a tear to more than one eye … (yes, I'm talking about YOU, Frannie!) ...
As did singing along with a video of his brothers on MY all-time favorite Osmonds song, “Love Me For A Reason” …
And once again while paying tribute to the man who launched
his career by singing a duet of “Moon River” with Andy Williams. (The very first concert Frannie ever saw was The Osmond Brothers in the early '70's ... so this was an especially meaningful concert for her.)
In between, there was a lot of fun, too. Donny’s Vegas dancers and excellent back-up band provided the right mood and pacing to put on a very entertaining show.
At one point, Donny stopped and said, “You know every performer, no matter how many great records they release over the course of their career, always seem to be defined by one particular song … and, unfortunately, this one is mine …” and then broke into “And they call it puppy love” … another GREAT moment in the show.
Donny’s got it down … and the audience loved him, awarding him with one of the longest standing ovations I’ve ever seen at the end of the show. And well deserved, too.
Donnymania is alive and well in Chicago! (kk)
Donny returns to Harrah’s in Las Vegas in August …
But in the meantime, he’s taking his show out on the road …
And I can highly recommend it ..
June 18, 2024 (tonight) - Wheeling, WV - The Capitol Theatre
June 19, 2024 - Shipshewana, IN - Blue Gate Performing Arts Center
June 21, 2024 - Toledo, OH - Stranahan Theater and Great Hall
June 22, 2024 - Columbus, OH - Mershon Auditorium
June 23, 2024 - Louisville, KY - The Louisville Palace
June 25, 2024 - Atlanta, GA - Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre
June 26, 2024 - Cincinnati, OH - The Andrew J Brady Music Center
June 28, 2024 - Baltimore, MD - The Lyric
June 29, 2024 - Mashantucket, CT - Premier Theater at Foxwoods Resort Casino
June 30, 2024 - Boston, MA - Boch Center Wang Theatre
July 2, 2024 - Hershey, PA - Hershey Theatre
July 3, 2024 - Albany, NY - The Palace Theatre Albany
July 5, 2024 - Rama, ON - Casino Rama Entertainment Centre
July 6, 2024 - Akron, OH - Akron Civic Theatre
July 7, 2024 - Atlantic City, NJ - Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena
July 9, 2024 - Charlotte, NC - Ovens Auditorium
July 11, 2024 - Bethlehem, PA - The Wind Creek Event Center
July 12, 2024 - New York, NY - Beacon Theatre
July 13, 2024 - Niagara Falls, NY - Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino Event Center
July 24, 2024 - Hollywood, FL - Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood
July 25, 2024 - Tampa, FL - Seminole Hard Rock Tampa Event Center
July 26, 2024 - Melbourne, FL - Maxwell C. King Center for the Performing Arts
July 27, 2024 - Jacksonville, FL - Florida Theatre
July 29, 2024 - Nashville, TN - Ryman Auditorium
July 30, 2024 - Little Rock, AR - Robinson Center
August 1, 2024 - San Antonio, TX - Tobin Center for the Performing Arts
August 2, 2024 - Dallas, TX - Music Hall at Fair Park
August 3, 2024 - Tulsa, OK - Tulsa Theater
August 5, 2024 - Denver, CO - Paramount Theatre
August 6, 2024 - Colorado Springs, CO - Pikes Peak Center
August 8, 2024 - Boise, ID - Idaho Central Arena
August 9, 2024 - Ridgefield, WA - Ilani Casino
August 10, 2024 - Seattle, WA - Paramount Theatre
August 11, 2024 - Airway Heights, WA - BECU Live
August 13, 2024 - Idaho Falls, ID - Hero Arena at the Mountain America Center
August 15, 2024 - Wheatland, CA - Hard Rock Live Sacramento
August 16, 2024 - Modesto, CA - Gallo Center for the Arts
August 17, 2024 - San Jose, CA - San Jose Civic
And then it's back to Harrah's, where he continues to perform thru the middle of November. (We're actually kicking around the idea of flying out there to see him one more time.) Can you imagine if we can somehow coordinate a trip to head out to Vegas the weekend after Frannie's birthday and see Donny Osmond AND The Eagles at The Sphere during the same weekend?!?! Seriously, could life actually get any better than this???
