Donny & Marie Bring It From Vegas

Marie and Donny Osmond, above, have a dance-off on the Broadway stage. Photos by Kim Goodwin.

BY TAMARA BECK

DONNY and Marie Osmond brought a whole lot of Vegas to Broadway in their “Donny & Marie - A Broadway Christmas” show at the Marquis Theatre over the holidays.

They have since returned to the Flamingo Showroom at the Flamingo Las Vegas after playing together for the first time on a Broadway stage.

The Broadway run was a memory-lane montage of video clips from Donny and Marie’s many TV specials and shows over their 48-year careers in showbiz. The Broadway show was most remarkable for just how fan-centric it was. (See performance and interview footage: http://www.reuters.com/news/video?videoId=168076565).

Donny and Marie Osmond gave audiences at the Marquis Theatre a little bit of country, a little bit of rock 'n' roll and a lot of Las Vegas.

After an opener featuring some holiday music and duets, Donny and Marie each took a solo turn during which each engaged the audience. Marie takes the stage first, challenging a fan to join her in song and dance. She tells “Alan” that if he can get a standing ovation his wife can take a picture with Donny after the show. Funny and quick-witted Alan wins out with a “Blue Christmas” duet.

When it was Donny’s turn on centerstage, he too, involved the audience. At one point, when a chatty fan monopolizes the conversation, he good-naturedly asks, “You realize I’m doing a show here, right?”

Donny and Marie came back together for a finale that included a dance competition, a nod to his first place and her third-place finish during their respective appearances on “Dancing with the Stars.” When they are on stage together, the two tease each other amiably. Their ribbing is mild and loving – they are definitely siblings.

Dancers and Donny Osmond doing their thing at the Flamingo.

This spring, Donny and Marie will release their first studio album together in more than two decades. Meanwhile, Marie will donate proceeds from her solo album, “I Can Do This” to the charity she founded in 1982, Children’s Miracle Network.

After so many years of performing, Donny and Marie are, of course, consummate professionals, and their Broadway appearance had plenty of razzle if not always enough dazzle. But “Donny & Marie - A Broadway Christmas” was colorful, with plenty of costume changes, a terrific band, a dynamic stage set, and excellent muscular dancers. It was a throwback to variety shows such as the Donny & Marie TV series from the late 1970s that many have missed seeing over the years.

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