As The Osmonds: A New Musical burst onto the Mayflower Theatre stage last night ( 8 November), the audience was transported back in time to hear their story – told from the eyes of middle brother, Jay.
From Utah, USA, The Osmonds started life as a child barber shop quartet featuring Alan, Wayne, Merrill and Jay – they would later be joined by younger siblings, Donny, sister Marie and finally, Jimmy as they rose to fame.
Faith, family and career, in that order, was the mantra they lived by as we follow them on their journey to becoming one of the most famous boy bands of all time.
We meet the brothers as children, starting with their beginnings on the Andy Williams Show – where Andy was played by the charismatic Alex Cardall, who ended up being my favourite performance of the night with his version of Music to Watch Girls By.
For this show, we see the incredibly talented children’s team of Jack Jones as Alan, Alfie Jones as Wayne, Harrison Skinner as Merrill, Tom Walsh as Jay, Oisin Slater as Donny and Fraser Fowkes as Jimmy.
Ryan Anderson (Merrill), Jamie Chatterton (Alan), Alex Lodge (Jay), Danny Nattrass (Wayne), and Tristan Whincup (Donny) all bring a sense of nostalgia and fun to their performances as the adult Osmonds – with some especially heartfelt and emotional performances from Jamie as Alan and Danny as Wayne.
In a show dominated by the brothers, Georgia Lennon as Marie Osmond makes a refreshing change, and her rendition of Paper Roses was outstanding.
They certainly saved the best for last though, as The Osmonds most well known songs, Puppy Love, Love me for a Reason and Crazy Horses, were all performed in the second act, sending a few theatre goers – who would have been teenagers in the ‘70s – wild.
In fact, the whole audience was on its feet before the end of the show singing along, with some waving banners and making heart signs with their hands.
We certainly left the theatre smiling!
The Osmonds: A New Musical runs until 12 November 2022, tickets available from: mayflower.org.uk or 02380 711811.
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