I grew up with the Osmonds.
Not in their house of course – but they were definitely in mine. They were on the walls, grinning down from countless posters, they were never off the record player or radio and always on the telly.
The latter was usually accompanied by shrieks from my Osmond-obsessed big sister while my 10-year-old self rolled his eyes in disdain at the clean-cut brothers and their “girly” music.
Fast forward 50 years to The Osmonds musical at His Majesty’s and a rather unexpected pleasant trip down memory lane.
It turns out I knew far more Osmond songs than I thought in the 30-odd tracks that were crammed into this brisk “living memoir” as told by brother Jay Osmond. I even knew the words. I had clearly learned the Osmonds by osmosis.
The Osmonds at His Majesty’s is an enjoyable theatrical experience
And as a result, I found The Osmonds musical an enjoyable theatrical experience, one that took me back to my childhood, along with most of the HMT audience, if I’m any judge of a demographic.
Sure, it’s not one of your blow-everything-out-the-water West End story-of-the-band epics like Jersey Boys. But it is a brisk and engaging retelling of the rise and fall of one of the biggest musical phenomenons of the 70s – the remarkable Osmonds.
Now, as the story is by Jay Osmond, there was the possibility it could be a hagiography of the family and their rise from precocious barber shop-singing wee brothers to a global force that launched a thousand screaming teenage girls.
They were bigger than The Beatles and Elvis at one point and louder than Led Zeppelin but only so their music could be heard above the shrieking fans at gigs – just one of the nuggets of information and anecdotes scattered through the show.
The Osmonds is a surprisingly frank look at the downs of the family
But The Osmonds is a surprisingly frank look at the squabbles, the tensions – especially as Donny and Marie eclipse their siblings – the feeling of just wanting a normal life that ran through all the brothers. Even struggles with mental health are in the mix.
And it is unflinching in telling how they lost everything – all $80 million – when their investment in their own TV and recording studio complex went disastrously wrong.
But for all the drama, it’s both uplifting and funny. As their breakthrough hit One Bad Apple is played to screaming young teenage girls, one character quips about the smell of money in the air – as well as Clearasil and Charlie perfume.
So in terms of story-telling, it is a fascinating one, whether you’re an Osmond fan or not. Sure, it veers into cheese territory, there are a fair few “I love you, brothers” but that doesn’t take away from its heart and message of perseverance and family.
The Osmonds at HMT offers a parade of big hits and slick dance
However, the Osmonds were all about the music and so is this show. It offers up the Osmonds’ biggest hits – tracks like Crazy Horses, One Bad Apple, Love Me For A Reason and are still banging tunes, while Let Me In and The Proud One are timeless ballads.
All of them are essayed superbly well by a talented ensemble cast in a non-stop parade of song and dance, glitz and glamour that creates a great wee musical. They can’t match the meticulous showmanship and rich vocals that made the Osmonds superstars, but they come close, even if some of the numbers could have stood a bit more oomph.
What is truly impressive is the slick choreography that brought back so many memories of watching the actual Osmonds do all that elbow-flicking, leg-wobbling stuff.
The Osmonds goes full throttle in the finale as a gig breaks out
Jay is the lynchpin of the story, the brother described as the glue that holds the family together. Playing him, Alex Lodge is the glue that holds this show together, rarely off the stage as he narrates the rollercoaster yarn with charisma and breaks into song and dance effortlessly.
The show goes full throttle in the closing minutes as an Osmond gig breaks out and finally delivers their biggest hit, Crazy Horses, which had been held back just so the audience could let loose in the feel-good finale.
And they did, cheering, dancing, clapping and singing “waaah, waaah” along to the chorus. Just like I did as a wee boy, when I thought no one was watching.
The Osmonds is at His Majesty’s Theatre until Saturday November 5. For information and tickets go to aberdeenperformingarts.com
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