<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1" ?><!-- RSS generation done by ForumCo.com on 09/08/2008  10:39:55 AM --><rss version="0.92"><channel><title>Osmond Heaven Forum</title><link>http://osmondheaven.forumco.com/</link><description>Osmond Heaven Forum</description><author></author><image2>http://osmondheaven.forumco.com/rss.gif</image2><image><link>http://www.osmondheaven.com</link><url>http://osmondheaven.forumco.com/rss.gif</url><title>Osmond Heaven Forum RSS Feed</title><width>86</width><height>37</height></image><item><title>Donny and Marie bring sincere to Sin City (09-08-2008 01:14:39 AM)</title><author>JanisB</author><link>http://osmondheaven.forumco.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=935</link><ttl>10</ttl><pubDate>Mon, 8 Sep 2008 01:14:39 +0100</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26594533/" target="_blank">http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26594533/</a><br />Donny and Marie bring sincere to Sin City<br />Sibling entertainers will kick off family-friendly show at the Flamingo<br /> Sibling entertainers Donny and Marie Osmond  will bring their wholesome entertainment to Sin City as the duo begin a half-year stint in Las Vegas.<br /> View related photos <br />Ethan Miller / Getty Images  <br /><br /><br />updated 6:33 p.m. ET Sept. 7, 2008 <br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />Their run at the Flamingo Showroom kicks off September 9, 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.<br /><br />For Donny, the chemistry has to come naturally. "We don't even think about it because if you do, it becomes calculated," he says. "There are places in the show that we like to keep a little loose so we can flow with the audience. If Marie is in a mood, I follow her and vice versa."<br />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?"' <br /><br />Vegas veterans<br />Though they're both Vegas veterans, this run marks Donny & Marie's first extended engagement in the city in 29 years.<br /><br />"Donny and I grew up in Vegas, we've played every hotel here," Marie says. "This is the first time at the Flamingo, and we've decided that the Flamingo is perfect, because flamingos as birds live in flocks of 10,000, very much like Osmonds."<br /><br />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 center of the world," he says.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />Both Osmonds love the old-school Vegas feel of the Flamingo's 750-seat showroom, and they signed on for six shows in five days every week, with Sundays and Mondays off. "I saw the showroom and it reminded me of what Caesars used to be -- with the booths and the dinner tables, the traditional Vegas -- and that appealed to me," Donny says. <br /><br />'Dancing' with the Osmonds<br />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."<br /><br />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. I think (director) Barry (Lather) forgot that I'm 50 years old."<br /><br />The timing works for Marie on many levels. "It's like Vegas hiccupped and went back into the '70s: It's got Cher and Bette (Midler) and Donny & Marie now," she says. "For me, as a single mom, and especially the kind of work I do flying here and there, it's a really nice sitdown place."<br /><br />Marie bought a home in Vegas, and Donny will commute from Utah. Neither are strangers to extended runs and the challenges therein. "I did 'King and I' on Broadway and 'Sound of Music' for two years, and out of the two years I only missed five shows," she says. "So I'm a road warrior, and so is Donny. You just have to know how to work -- and not just work, (but) enjoy your work."<br /><br />Donny admits there are challenges to such a lengthy run. "However long you've been in the business, your well runs dry after a certain period of time," he says. "That's why we've left a lot of things kind of loose in the show, so we can expand it."<br /><br />The key, both admit, is understanding the art and craft of connecting with an audience. "You want people to be entertained, because the bar has been raised very high nowadays, but you also want to give them a piece of you," Donny says. "The nice thing that Marie and I have going for ourselves is 45 years of experience, so we pretty much can make a calculated guess to know what can work, what can't work."<br /><br />"You want people to leave the theater saying, 'I got entertained,"' says Marie. "We know how to entertain people. At least we hope so. Hopefully we'll get it right some day, then I'll quit."<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Janis]]></description></item><item><title>Marie Osmond Biography On Hold For Re-writes (09-08-2008 01:13:18 AM)</title><author>JanisB</author><link>http://osmondheaven.forumco.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=934</link><ttl>10</ttl><pubDate>Mon, 8 Sep 2008 01:13:18 +0100</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ <a href="http://www.pr-inside.com/marie-osmond-biography-put-on-hold-r792422.htm" target="_blank">http://www.pr-inside.com/marie-osmond-biography-put-on-hold-r792422.htm</a><br /><br />Media & Entertainment <br /><br />Marie Osmond Biography On Hold For Re-writes<br />Marie Osmond Biography Put On Hold By Author<br />2008-09-07 22:07:37 - Journalist Randy Jernigan puts Marie Osmond bio on hold due to false information supplied by source<br /><br />Journalist and biographer Randy Jernigan has put his Marie Osmond biography on hold to do re-writes, after false information was supplied to him by a trusted source.<br /><br />Jernigan says the false information was brought to his attention by an Osmond family member that had worked with the author on the book. As a result, there will need to be some re-writes<br /><br />on portions of the manuscript before it is handed into the printer, explained Jernigan.<br /><br />"It is important to me that this piece be accurate in content and fair to the subject, Ms. Osmond," said Jernigan. "It's also very distressing to me as a journalist and writer when this sort of thing happens--we need to be able to trust our sources. Thats's what our business is all about." said Jernigan<br /><br />The publisher, Writer's Studio Books, says it will publish the biography as soon as the re-writes are complete on the effected portions of the manuscript.<br /><br />The same publisher will also release a cookbook written by Jernigan and another biography, "Queen Elizabeth: Her Life and Times" due the Spring of 2009.<br /><br />Janis]]></description></item><item><title>Making his West End debut, Jimmy Osmond (09-07-2008 2:50:40 PM)</title><author>JanisB</author><link>http://osmondheaven.forumco.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=933</link><ttl>10</ttl><pubDate>Sun, 7 Sep 2008 14:50:40 +0100</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ <a href="http://broadwayworld.com/viewcolumn.cfm?colid=31895" target="_blank">http://broadwayworld.com/viewcolumn.cfm?colid=31895</a><br /><br />Legendary singer Jimmy Osmond will be swapping ‘Long Haired Lover from Liverpool’ for ‘Beauty School Drop Out’ when he joins the cast of the smash-hit musical Grease early next year. <br /><br />Making his West End debut, Jimmy Osmond will play ‘Teen Angel’ for a limited season from 19 January to 14 March at The Piccadilly Theatre.  <br /><br />Having won British audience’s hearts all over again when he appeared in the popular ITV show I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here, Jimmy Osmond recently completed a hugely successful tour of Britain with his family.   <br /><br />Grease is celebrating the 15th anniversary of its opening in the West End and the original movie will be celebrating its 30th anniversary later this month, reinforcing the show’s enduring appeal and popularity. <br /><br />Looking forward to his first West End role, Jimmy Osmond says: “It has been a lifelong dream of mine to play in the West End and what better show than Grease.  It is fast, fun, energetic and full of talent and I am just thrilled to be playing Teen Angel”. <br /><br />Producer David Ian says: “Jimmy Osmond is truly a worldwide star and to have him starring in Grease, the UK's Number 1 musical, is as exciting as it gets for London's Theatre fans”. <br /><br />Since breaking out on Broadway in 1972, Grease’s place has been firmly established in the cultural Hall of Fame, having seduced the hearts of millions with its back-to-back sizzling tunes. The show features all the unforgettable songs from the hit film including ‘You’re The One That I Want’, ‘Sandy’, ‘Grease Is The Word’, ‘Hopelessly Devoted’, ‘Summer Nights’ and many more.  <br /><br />Voted the “No 1 Greatest Musical”*, Grease has proved that a musical love story, bursting with denim, cheerleaders, slick hairstyles and raging teenage hormones is timeless and universal.  <br /><br />This production originally opened in the West End in 1993 (co-produced with Robert Stigwood) where it enjoyed a fantastic run of 6 years.  The last international tour of Grease was a phenomenal success, playing to sell-out audiences and smashing records at many venues.  Since 1993, it has been seen by over 9 million people and has grossed over £175 million in the UK alone. <br /><br />Written by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey, directed by David Gilmore (Daisy Pulls It Off, Happy Days, Song & Dance,  Footloose) and choreographed by Arlene Phillips (The Sound of Music, Starlight Express, Saturday Night Fever & BBC TV’s “Strictly Come Dancing”), Grease is produced in the West End by Paul Nicholas and David Ian, by arrangement with Robert Stigwood.  <br /><br />For more information visit <a href="http://www.greasethemusical.co.uk" target="_blank">www.greasethemusical.co.uk</a><br /><br />Photo courtest of jimmyosmond.com<br /><br /><br />Janis]]></description></item><item><title>Janome Reveals the Ideal Crafting Companion for Ma (09-07-2008 2:49:40 PM)</title><author>JanisB</author><link>http://osmondheaven.forumco.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=932</link><ttl>10</ttl><pubDate>Sun, 7 Sep 2008 14:49:40 +0100</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ <a href="http://www.centredaily.com/business/story/811220.html" target="_blank">http://www.centredaily.com/business/story/811220.html</a><br /><br />Tuesday, Sep. 02, 2008<br />Janome Reveals the Ideal Crafting Companion for Marie Osmond<br />Internationally Renowned Singer, Actress, Author, Philanthropist and Crafter Backs Quality Machine with Janome America<br />MAHWAH, N.J. — Since announcing their partnership in May 2008, Janome America, Inc, a leading manufacturer of sewing machines, and Marie Osmond have been hard at work developing the perfect creative tool for Marie's life-long passion of quilting. As an experienced crafter, Marie has a good idea of what quilters are looking for to fully unleash their creativity with a professional looking finish. The Marie Osmond Quilter's Companion (MO200) embodies the characteristics that quilters desire with the benefits of the high quality features and convenience of a Janome machine.<br /><br /> <br />Business Wire<br /><br />Janome America, Inc. introduces the perfect creative tool for passionate quilters, the Marie Osmond Quilter's Companion.<br /><br />"After learning to quilt from my mother, I have always believed that busy hands are happy hands," said Marie. "As an avid crafter, I want to be sure a machine has all the convenience factors and advanced features to produce high quality projects without any frustration. Janome's MO200 Quilter's Companion is that perfect machine."<br /><br />"The design of the Marie Osmond Quilter's Companion exudes the style and versatility that are key to crafters like Marie," said Jiro Hagiwara, president and CEO Janome America, Inc. "With an abundance of unsurpassed features and over 200 actual stitches, this machine packs the advanced precision with Memory Craft ease-of-use and power."<br /><br />In support of the release of Marie Osmond Quilter's Companion machine, Janome and Marie Osmond are working on a quilter's dream contest that will be announced this fall on <a href="http://www.marieosmond.com." target="_blank">www.marieosmond.com.</a> More than $17, 000 worth of prizes from Janome, and other Marie Osmond sponsors including the MO200, will be awarded.<br /><br />The Marie Osmond Quilter's Companion features the new Automatic Straight Stitch Needle Plate, a function original to Janome, and Marie's favorite. The Automatic Straight Stitch Needle Plate switches automatically between straight and zig zag stitches without changing the needle plate. Showcasing the ease-of-use for which Janome is known, the Marie Osmond Quilter's Companion enables sewists to edit, customize and save stitch combinations to five on-board memory banks for easy touch-button recall when returning to a project or starting anew, after life's many potential interruptions. With 200 utility and decorative stitches, 10 automatic buttonholes and three fonts, there are a multitude of options that are sure to inspire optimal creativity in all quilters.<br /><br />Adding to its sleek and styling design, The Marie Osmond Quilter's Companion also features the Superior Feed System, Auto-Tension System, fully automatic sensor buttonholes and a one-hand needle threader as well as adjustable foot pressure for sewing a greater variety of fabrics with different thicknesses. This machine is packed with automatic functions for extra time-saving convenience.  <br /><br />For more information about Marie Osmond visit <a href="http://www.marieosmond.com." target="_blank">www.marieosmond.com.</a><br /><br />Janome America is the largest subsidiary of Janome Sewing Machine Company of Japan, which produces nearly two million sewing machines annually as well as a line of related sewing products and embroidery software. Janome is a category leader in innovation and Janome sewing machines are recognized throughout the industry for their ease-of-use and unsurpassed stitch quality. For more information, please visit: <a href="http://www.janome.com." target="_blank">www.janome.com.</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?dmViewId=multimedia_detail&newsLang=en&eid=5767354" target="_blank">http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?dmViewId=multimedia_detail&newsLang=en&eid=5767354</a><br /><br />Janis]]></description></item><item><title>Donny and Marie Osmond open at the Flamingo (09-07-2008 2:47:56 PM)</title><author>JanisB</author><link>http://osmondheaven.forumco.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=931</link><ttl>10</ttl><pubDate>Sun, 7 Sep 2008 14:47:56 +0100</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ <a href="http://www.lvrj.com/neon/27901324.html" target="_blank">http://www.lvrj.com/neon/27901324.html</a><br /><br />INTERVIEWS: Keeping It in the Family <br /><br />Donny and Marie Osmond open at the Flamingo <br /><br />By MIKE WEATHERFORD REVIEW-JOURNAL <br /><br />MIKE WEATHERFORD<br />PREVIEW<br />who: Donny and Marie Osmond <br />when: 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays; 4 and 7:30 p.m. Saturdays (show opens Tuesday) <br />where: Flamingo Las Vegas, 3555 Las Vegas Blvd. South <br />tickets: $97.35-$130.35 (733-3333) <br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Donny and Marie Osmond know how to work a showroom; their Las Vegas history of singing together dates back to 1974. <br /><br /><br />You can separate them, but they still get in their shots.<br /><br />Interviewed on his own, Donny Osmond claims it's only funny when sister Marie is the one firing off the zingers. "It doesn't work with guys putting girls down."<br /><br />But later, he lets one slip anyway: "She faints every night," he says of the new show that opens Tuesday at the Flamingo Las Vegas. "I have to revive her after every show."<br /><br />Marie Osmond later says the new show pays homage to "Dancing with the Stars" -- the dancing part, not the fainting -- because "I have to keep Donny in shape some way." She also says her brother's "new career choice is to be an Elvis impersonator. That's why we actually came to Vegas. This is the only place they give classes, and he already had the jumpsuit."<br /><br />Cue a drummer's rimshot, Marie's ribald laugh and the return of the team that hasn't needed a last name since 1973. "Donny alone is an entity and Marie alone is an entity. But Donny and Marie is a brand," Donny says.<br /><br />And it took the brand's combined clout to get the Flamingo and the show's producers -- impressionist Danny Gans and his manager, Chip Lightman -- to make a major commitment: 265 or more shows in the next 12 months, with an option for a second year.<br /><br />"Vegas is starting to look like a real focal point for the both of us," says the 50-year-old Donny. "This isn't something that just popped up in our minds. We've been talking about this for the last decade, trying to figure out the timing of all this and when it's going to happen.<br /><br />"Both Marie and I knew it was inevitable, and to do it in Vegas is the right place."<br /><br />Donny had his eye on the Strip since at least 2001, when he came close to joining the MGM Grand's bygone "EFX" revue (the job eventually went to Rick Springfield). Solo dates at The Orleans reintroduced him to Las Vegas while he waited for "the right offer with the right room."<br /><br />The casinos might have been holding out for Marie. Still, they could not have predicted the 48-year-old singer would make such a huge re-entry into pop culture by competing on "Dancing" in the fall of 2007. Despite her father's death and the famous faint ("Wow, did I hit my head," she says), Marie danced her way to a third-place finish and new fans.<br /><br />Donny will fly home to Provo, Utah, on days off, but Marie and seven of her eight children have moved here. Producers of "Marie," a planned daytime talk show, are discussing Las Vegas as home base for the show as well.<br /><br />"I'm going to be really, really busy here but it's nice to be in one spot," she says. "It really helps the kids to focus in on their school and the consistency of being somewhere."<br /><br />The money doesn't hurt either. "Unlike NutriSystem, my divorce didn't cost me $10 a day," she says with that wicked laugh, referring to both her diet commercials and last year's split from Brian Blosil.<br /><br />Advance sales for the new show squelch some grumbling that Donny and Marie's ever-smiling faces on the hotel's colossal building wrap are out of phase with the "whatever happens" Vegas of nightclubs and topless bars.<br /><br />Donny's response to that -- "Poppycock" -- doesn't bury the duo's squeaky-clean Mormon image. But skeptics also may forget the Osmonds somehow made that image work in the '70s, when casino-goers were even more about smokin' and drinkin'.<br /><br />"We've seen many different incarnations of Vegas," Donny says. "I watched the Landmark go up -- and down." When the Osmonds opened for Shirley Bassey at the Sahara in the mid-1960s, "I remember walking around backstage with all these half-naked women."<br /><br />And Marie's crack about the Elvis jumpsuit didn't come out of the blue. The Osmonds commissioned stage garb from Presley's costume designer, and Donny remembers meeting the King backstage. "I really didn't think much of it at the time, but what a thing for a 13- or 14-year-old." <br /><br />Marie was onstage with her brother at the Tropicana by 1974, the year of their duet hit "I'm Leaving It (All) Up To You," but two years before their ABC variety show.<br /><br />Their Vegas history explains their enthusiasm about the Flamingo's old-school showroom -- one of the few still standing from the old days -- and their confidence about making the 750-seater work for them now.<br /><br />"I know we can pull off this show. Because we were trained that way. We were trained on those stages when we were kids," Marie notes.<br /><br />"When we say 'variety,' we don't mean Cirque du Soleil. We mean getting out there and giving the audience the spectrum, from soup to nuts, so to speak," Donny says.<br /><br />Editing a video montage of their careers into the length of just one song (Alan Jackson's "Remember When") was a huge challenge, he adds. So was deciding, "What part of each career do you put in there?"<br /><br />Marie's "Dancing" partner, Johnathan Roberts, flew in to stage the ballroom sequence. She also wants to show off her six years of opera lessons. Both singers say they hope to balance nostalgia with their present-tense momentum, a few lean years for both now just another memory.<br /><br />"I went through a period where I was really trying hard to grow up the image or whatever in my 20s," Donny says of the dry spell before his 1989 pop hit, "Soldier of Love." "I look back at it now and say, 'C'mon, I could have lightened up a little bit.' "<br /><br />Marie says "Dancing" was "one of those statements like, 'I do not need to climb into a hole, I need to climb a mountain.'<br /><br />"It's just fun to put your life into action," she says. "It surprises you how your energy increases when you dare to challenge yourself. And this show is full of energy."<br /><br />A few put-downs too, one would surmise.<br /><br />"It's a sibling thing," Marie says. "There is a chemistry that siblings have that I think is unique. I think it's why we're unique." <br /><br />Contact reporter Mike Weatherford at <a href="mailto:mweatherford@reviewjournal.com">mweatherford@reviewjournal.com</a> or 702-383-0288.<br /><br /><br />Janis]]></description></item><item><title>Donny and Marie bring G-rated variety to Vegas (09-07-2008 2:46:32 PM)</title><author>JanisB</author><link>http://osmondheaven.forumco.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=930</link><ttl>10</ttl><pubDate>Sun, 7 Sep 2008 14:46:32 +0100</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080907/people_nm/donnymarie_dc_1" target="_blank">http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080907/people_nm/donnymarie_dc_1</a><br /><br /> Donny and Marie bring G-rated variety to Vegas <br />By Ray WaddellSat Sep 6, 9:02 PM ET    <br /><br /><br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />Their run at the Flamingo Showroom kicks off September 9, 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.<br /><br />For Donny, the chemistry has to come naturally. "We don't even think about it because if you do, it becomes calculated," he says. "There are places in the show that we like to keep a little loose so we can flow with the audience. If Marie is in a mood, I follow her and vice versa."<br /><br />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?"' <br /><br />FAMILIAR TERRITORY<br /><br />Though they're both Vegas veterans, this run marks Donny & Marie's first extended engagement in the city in 29 years.<br /><br />"Donny and I grew up in Vegas, we've played every hotel here," Marie says. "This is the first time at the Flamingo, and we've decided that the Flamingo is perfect, because flamingos as birds live in flocks of 10,000, very much like Osmonds."<br /><br />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 center of the world," he says.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />Both Osmonds love the old-school Vegas feel of the Flamingo's 750-seat showroom, and they signed on for six shows in five days every week, with Sundays and Mondays off. "I saw the showroom and it reminded me of what Caesars used to be -- with the booths and the dinner tables, the traditional Vegas -- and that appealed to me," Donny says. <br /><br />THIS AND THAT<br /><br />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."<br /><br />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. I think (director) Barry (Lather) forgot that I'm 50 years old."<br /><br />The timing works for Marie on many levels. "It's like Vegas hiccupped and went back into the '70s: It's got Cher and Bette (Midler) and Donny & Marie now," she says. "For me, as a single mom, and especially the kind of work I do flying here and there, it's a really nice sitdown place."<br /><br />Marie bought a home in Vegas, and Donny will commute from Utah. Neither are strangers to extended runs and the challenges therein. "I did 'King and I' on Broadway and 'Sound of Music' for two years, and out of the two years I only missed five shows," she says. "So I'm a road warrior, and so is Donny. You just have to know how to work -- and not just work, (but) enjoy your work."<br /><br />Donny admits there are challenges to such a lengthy run. "However long you've been in the business, your well runs dry after a certain period of time," he says. "That's why we've left a lot of things kind of loose in the show, so we can expand it."<br /><br />The key, both admit, is understanding the art and craft of connecting with an audience. "You want people to be entertained, because the bar has been raised very high nowadays, but you also want to give them a piece of you," Donny says. "The nice thing that Marie and I have going for ourselves is 45 years of experience, so we pretty much can make a calculated guess to know what can work, what can't work." <br /><br />"You want people to leave the theater saying, 'I got entertained,"' says Marie. "We know how to entertain people. At least we hope so. Hopefully we'll get it right some day, then I'll quit." <br /><br />Reuters/Billboard<br /><br /><br />Janis]]></description></item><item><title>Osmond things I ordered (09-06-2008 6:55:11 PM)</title><author>Anna9563</author><link>http://osmondheaven.forumco.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=929</link><ttl>10</ttl><pubDate>Sat, 6 Sep 2008 18:55:11 +0100</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ [font=Courier New From Anna]<br /><br />[/font=Courier New]<font size="2"></font id="size2"><font color="blue">Hi all, Today I ordered the Osmonds Crazy Horses DVD and I'm going to order the double CD of Love Me For A Reason and I'm Still Gonna Need You CD from Amazon.</font id="blue"><br /><br /><br /><font color="blue">Your friend,<br /><br />Anna<br />USA</font id="blue">]]></description></item><item><title>Osmond to Join London's Grease (09-06-2008 4:00:58 PM)</title><author>JanisB</author><link>http://osmondheaven.forumco.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=928</link><ttl>10</ttl><pubDate>Sat, 6 Sep 2008 16:00:58 +0100</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ Osmond to Join London's Grease in January 2009<br />By Mark Shenton<br />05 Sep 2008 <br /><br /><br />Jimmy Osmond – youngest of the famous showbiz siblings led by Donny and Marie, and an occasional member of The Osmonds singing group, with whom he completed a U.K. tour in May — will make his West End debut in January 2009.<br /><br />Osmond will step into the role of Teen Angel in Grease at the Piccadilly Theatre beginning Jan. 19, 2009. He will play for a limited season to March 14.<br /><br />In a press statement, Osmond commented, "It has been a lifelong dream of mine to play in the West End and what better show than Grease. It is fast, fun, energetic and full of talent and I am just thrilled to be playing Teen Angel."<br /><br />Producer David Ian added, "Jimmy Osmond is truly a worldwide star and to have him starring in Grease, the UK's number one musical, is as exciting as it gets for London's theatre fans." <br /><br />Osmond remains the youngest performer to have had a number one single in the UK singles charts, when "Long Haired Lover from Liverpool" was released in 1972 when he was just nine. In 2005 he was a contestant in ITV's reality show "I'm a Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!," finishing in fourth place. In 2006 he appeared on "All-Star Family Fortunes." <br /><br />This production of Grease originally opened in the West End in 1993 (co-produced with Robert Stigwood), where it ran for six years, first at the Dominion, then the Cambridge Theatre. It has returned to the West End regularly since, and been seen by over nine million people and grossed over £175 million in the U.K. alone. It returned to the Piccadilly Theatre in its current incarnation in August 2007, when its leads were chosen by public vote on the ITV program "You're the One that I Want."<br /><br />The show is currently booking to Oct. 31, 2009. To book tickets contact the box office at 0844 412 6666 or visit <a href="http://www.greasethemusical.co.uk." target="_blank">www.greasethemusical.co.uk.</a><br /><br /><br />Click Here to Buy Tickets to This Show <br /><br /><br /><br />Janis]]></description></item><item><title>New Pages Added To Osmondheaven.com (09-04-2008 6:06:13 PM)</title><author>Robin</author><link>http://osmondheaven.forumco.com/topic.asp?whichpage=-1&amp;TOPIC_ID=927&amp;REPLY_ID=1586</link><ttl>10</ttl><pubDate>Thu, 4 Sep 2008 18:06:13 +0100</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ There are 2 replies, with the last one on 09/04/2008 at 6:06:13 PM by Robin]]></description></item><item><title>Unreleased Osmonds songs (09-01-2008 10:11:09 PM)</title><author>greelywinger</author><link>http://osmondheaven.forumco.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=925</link><ttl>10</ttl><pubDate>Mon, 1 Sep 2008 22:11:09 +0100</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ Does anyone have a list of unreleased Osmonds songs.<br />A few were mention on the liner notes for Donny's CDs.<br /><br />Finders Aren't Always Keepers (Portrait Of Donny sessions)<br />Everybody's Somebody's Fool (Too Young sessions)<br />Lovin' You Could Be So Easy (Alone Together sessions)<br />Love Letters (Donny sessions)<br />Maybe (Donny sessions)<br /><br />Were there any others that never made it onto record.<br />I'm not talking about b-sides (Keep On My Side) either.<br /><br /><br /><br />Darryl<br /><br /><a href="http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa95/greelywinger/boarddarryl.jpg" target="_blank">http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa95/greelywinger/boarddarryl.jpg</a>]]></description></item></channel></rss>