Donny Osmond, Minus Marie, Returns to Las Vegas Strip

Posted on: November 21, 2020, 04:47h. 

Last updated on: November 21, 2020, 05:47h.

Ed Silverstein @casinoorgedsilv Read More
Expertise: Legal, Tribal Gaming.

Donny Osmond is coming back to the Las Vegas Strip next year, appearing in residency at Harrah’s Las Vegas. But sister Marie Osmond won’t perform alongside her brother at the Caesars Entertainment property.

Donny Osmond says he has frequently performed solo
Donny Osmond embraces sister, Marie, at the final performance of their show at the Flamingo last year. In August, he will appear in residency at Harrah’s Las Vegas. (Image: Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Donny’s show kicks off on Aug. 31 at Harrah’s Showroom. It will run sporadically, as it stays in residency for multiple years. Shows so far have been scheduled through Nov. 20, 2021.

Most health officials believe the coronavirus pandemic will be under control by then. That paves the way to make entertainment once again a major draw for Las Vegas tourists.

Word is the show will include Osmond’s many old hits as well as some new tunes. Osmond is also working now on his 63rd album, the Las Vegas Review-Journal revealed.

He told the newspaper a priority for him is to connect with the audience at a show. For them to leave a show remembering the songs.

“People don’t leave the theater humming the lights. They are humming the songs, and they are remembering the experience,” Osmond said.

Flamingo Show Closed in 2019

It was just last November, a few months before the coronavirus outbreak, when the Donny & Marie show closed at the Flamingo after 11 years. It was wildly popular.

By the time the final curtain came down, more than 900,000 tickets were sold over the 1,730 performances at the Flamingo Las Vegas.

On Nov. 16, 2019, the siblings gave each other a prolonged hug at the conclusion of the last show. The audience gave them an extended standing ovation.

For now, even though Marie Osmond won’t be part of her brother’s new show, she is happy for him.

“Donny and I enjoyed performing together for 11 years on The Strip, and now I wish him nothing but success and happiness in his new adventure,” Marie Osmond was quoted saying by the Review-Journal earlier this week.

Going Solo Nothing New for Donny, Marie

Going it alone is nothing new for the brother and sister, who were variety show icons on 1970s television.

“Both she and I have had our individual solo careers, even from the beginning, when I was 12 years old and started recording on my own and Marie had her solo career, with ‘Paper Roses.’ Until 1976, when we came together and formed the duo ‘Donny & Marie,’” Donny Osmond recalled for the Review-Journal. “We did that for four seasons, then had our individual careers.

We came together in 2000 for the talk show, then we split. Then we came back together in 2008 and did Vegas,” Osmond added. “Because the ‘Donny & Marie’ show was so popular back in the ’70s, and the Vegas show did so well, everybody thinks that’s the only thing we hang our hat on. But it’s been individual ever since the beginning.”

Early in his career, Osmond performed with his brothers. He was viewed as a preteen heartthrob.

But he eventually expanded his horizons. He struggled against what was once described as an “unhip image.”

Osmond, now 62, has appeared on Broadway, co-hosted a talk show with his sister, hosted a game show, and wrote a best-selling autobiography.

As a singer, he achieved 33 gold records. He has sold over 100 million albums. He even appeared on the Dancing With the Stars TV show.

“Donny Osmond has achieved a lifetime of remarkable milestones as an entertainer, including countless memories with us during his 11-year run at Flamingo,” Caesars Entertainment Regional President Gary Selesner said in a recent statement. “We’re thrilled to welcome him to the stage at Harrah’s Las Vegas next summer for an all-new show, and we look forward to sharing many more unforgettable moments with our guests and one of music’s most beloved stars.”

Donny Osmond clearly is looking forward to performing once again on The Strip.

Las Vegas has been great to me and my family, and in many ways, so this feels like a homecoming,” Osmond said in a statement. “I am incredibly excited to return to the entertainment capital of the world for my own solo residency at Harrah’s Las Vegas next summer, and I hope my fans are as excited as I am.”

Will Marie once again grace the stage with Donny?

It’s possible. In September, she left her co-host role on CBS’s The Talk. She is currently co-starring in a Lifetime movie, “The Christmas Edition.”