I will confess right now, for the sake of clarity, that I am not a fan of The Osmonds. But I’m not not a fan. I’m not an anti-fan either. I do not hate, despise or even dislike The Osmonds. The truth is… I hardly know them or their music. Osmond-mania completely passed me by and barely registered in the house I grew up in.
However, the sheer warmth and good-natured excitement that surrounds the imminent arrival in town of The Osmonds: A New Musical has already converted me into somewhat of a ‘proto-fan’. And when the curtain comes down on the evening of September 27th I can imagine being fully converted into an avid devotee, a born-again, fully fledged fan. Not that this is how show creator, Jay Osmond, would have me refer to myself. “We call them friends, not fans,” he reveals. “And we hear them when they tell us that our music helped them at difficult times in their lives.”
The Osmonds: A New Musical, penned by Jay, the group’s drummer, is due to run at Brighton’s Theatre Royal from Tuesday 27th September to Saturday 1st October. It tells the story of the five brothers from Utah who would go on to global success selling over 100 million records worldwide and earning 59 Gold and Platinum awards in the process.
“I wrote it from the heart,” says Jay, who loosely based the show on his autobiography Stages. “It was hard. I played my drums a lot to get my emotions out, but it all boiled down to this: why did we do what we did? It was because we wanted to help people, to use those talents to do some good in the world. I wanted to put that purpose into the show. You can do almost anything in life if you have a purpose.”
The Osmonds were certainly no strangers to the UK over the course of their career and this return is a special one for Jay. “This is where our family was so welcomed. Osmond-mania kind of happened everywhere, but there was something about the UK; our family was so accepted and so loved here. We have been to almost every place on the tour list at some point and they are places that hold so many memories. We’ll go to Canada and America too, sure, but it feels right to begin here.”
The show will of course feature many of the hits from their chart-topping albums over the decades. Songs such as ‘Crazy Horses’, ‘Puppy Love’ and ‘One Bad Apple’ will underscore and deliver a story of music, love and family. A story that Jay wants people to walk away from “feeling lifted and excited about life; to feel joy. That’s my goal.”
He recounts a recent encounter with a fan (sorry, “friend”!) who told him that “This is not just your story; it is ours too.” This seems to resonate with him immensely. “I am humbled by the fact that we have been blessed with people who have loved our music and that we might have played a small part in their lives when they have faced challenges. I want them to know how much they have helped me and my family. They are part of The Osmonds. It will feel like a high school reunion when they come to the show!”
A reunion that, as a relative stranger to the music and the family, I could be considered to be gatecrashing. But I am sure I will be welcomed with open arms as so many others have been over the years. “If you’re all alone, you won’t be long,” goes the chorus of ‘Down By The Lazy River’ and I am certainly looking forward to joining the family.
Theatre Royal Brighton, Tuesday 27th September – Saturday 1st October 2022
For tickets and further information click here
Photos by Pamela Raith
