Dedicated to family travel. This blog used to be about the "girls only" trips, but lately I've decided it'll do nicely for all our travel adventures whether lots of us are going or only one or two of us.

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Wednesday's Show

It was at Caesars Palace during an Osmond show in 1973 that Donny and Marie sang together on stage for the first time, and throughout the '70s, members of the Osmond family played at practically every hotel in Las Vegas, including the Tropicana and the Las Vegas Hilton.

Donny and Marie sold out a run of shows earlier this summer at the MGM Grand and opened their engagement at the Flamingo in September, marking their first residency in Las Vegas in 29 years. The pair just signed a two-year contract to perform at the hotel.

The production, aptly titled "Donny & Marie," is a family-friendly variety show that follows the winning formula of their 1970s TV program, incorporating dancing, humor and all of their hit songs – both as individuals and as a duo.

The show starts out with the pair singing duets including "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)," "The Way You Do the Things You Do" and "Dancing in the Streets."

Donny and Marie's signature sibling rivalry and playful bantering begins almost immediately. He jokes about the huge poster of the duo that adorns the front of the Flamingo. "I couldn't get any sleep, my room is so bright — they put me behind Marie's teeth," he says. She pokes fun at the fact that Donny is now a grandfather.

While they may be best known as a team, both Donny and Marie found significant success as solo artists as well and the show gives them each a chance to highlight their individual achievements.
For Marie's turn in the spotlight, she sings her most well-known song, "Paper Roses," which was a No. 1 song on the country charts when she was just 13 years old.

She then heats things up with a cover of the Eurythmics' "Would I Lie to You," accompanied by four male dancers.

Marie has an instant rapport with the audience and a quick wit that is evident when she invites a male volunteer from the audience on stage to sing and dance with her, cracking jokes easily with him.

Marie has a strong voice and shows her considerable range by belting out a medley of Broadway hits before launching into a flawless version of the operatic piece "Pie Jesu."
As everyone knows, it's Donny who was always a little bit rock ‘n' roll, and the show switches gears for his solo set.

He appears out of fog on stage in jeans and a leather jacket to rock his 1989 comeback hit "Soldier of Love."

Donny then pays tribute to his musical hero Stevie Wonder with a medley of Wonder's hits including "Ma Cherie Amour" and "I Wish." Judging by the way he dances during the dynamic number, you'd never guess that this guy is a grandfather until he implores the audience, "Anybody got any Advil?"

Even though Donny likes to rock, it was his '70s love ballads that made him an official heartthrob and he doesn't disappoint the longtime fans, singing well-known hits like "Go Away Little Girl" and "Puppy Love," accompanied by footage of him during his teenage years.

"This is the part where all of the women would scream," says Donny in the middle of "Puppy Love," which of course, elicits screams from the female members of the audience. "I've still got it!" he proclaims.

Donny and Marie reunite on stage toward the end of the show, singing some of their classic hits like "Make the World Go Away," "Morning Side of the Mountain" and "Deep Purple."

The show features a nine-piece band and a cast of eight talented dancers. Marie's recent appearance on the hit TV show "Dancing with the Stars" inspires a dance challenge segment pitting Donny and the male dancers against Marie and the female dancers.
From www.vegas.com

8 comments:

Shelley said...

Wahooie! Can't wait, can't wait, can't wait!!!

Mary Beth said...

I am looking forward to this too.. should this be a 70's dress type of outing? Platform shoes & wide lapels?

Anonymous said...

Definitely! I'm wearing purple in honor of Donny in his glory days! Might even break out the purple socks. SL

Anonymous said...

At last Friday's show, Marie teared up thanking some service men/women in the audience. She said excuse me and left the stage. Donnie ended up finishing the show by himself!!Hopefully, she can keep it together when we're there.
KP

Anonymous said...

Do you suppose she'd like to go have margaritas with us after the show to get herself together? Probably not! But we could invite her. Seems like the "right" thing to do! SL

Anonymous said...

What a great idea!! Maybe she'd want to give all of us a haircut too!!

KP

Anonymous said...

I could use a haircut. She is mulit-talented! SL

Mary Beth said...

We SHOULD ask Marie to have Margarita's with us, or maybe just a caffeine free Diet Coke, what with her being Morman and all.