The Osmonds Musical - UK Tour

[showgirl]

FrontroverPaul I know you are used to travelling frequently and extensively all round the country but I think you are astonishingly equanimical about this chequered experience, which beats even my nightmare visit to Oxford Playhouse 2 years ago (when a landslip on one line required a tortuous diversion and the performance turned out to have been brought forward by 30 minutes without all ticket-holders being contacted.)

It's not clear whether you enjoyed what you did see but I hope so, and you say the audience did. I was havering about booking as for me, Woking is the best location of the tour dates announced so far and that means 4 trains in total, except there will be a bus replacement on the only day I can go. I did actually go ahead and book yesterday and I can hardly complain, compared to what you had to contend with. Comments I've seen so far have been positive and though Woking town centre is grim, the theatre itself is lovely and only minutes from the station.

[FrontroverPaul]

Feb 24, 2022 5:09:01 GMT showgirl said:

FrontroverPaul I know you are used to travelling frequently and extensively all round the country but I think you are astonishingly equanimical about this chequered experience, which beats even my nightmare visit to Oxford Playhouse 2 years ago (when a landslip on one line required a tortuous diversion and the performance turned out to have been brought forward by 30 minutes without all ticket-holders being contacted.)

It's not clear whether you enjoyed what you did see but I hope so, and you say the audience did. I was havering about booking as for me, Woking is the best location of the tour dates announced so far and that means 4 trains in total, except there will be a bus replacement on the only day I can go. I did actually go ahead and book yesterday and I can hardly complain, compared to what you had to contend with. Comments I've seen so far have been positive and though Woking town centre is grim, the theatre itself is lovely and only minutes from the station.

Yes I did enjoy what I saw ( my first sentence confirms) and I fully expect the same or worse will happen again sooner or later.C'est la vie. 


In my view The Osmonds Musical is the best new show of its kind since Jersey Boys and I hope positive word of mouth, social media and ideally some TV exposure will build audiences - Oxford was about 60% full last night.

[showgirl]

Wow, FrontroverPaul: your opinion of the show is quite an accolade. I'm sorry I missed your comment at the start of the post; I was scouring the end of it where you commented on the audience reaction for your own but should have re-read the whole piece. I hope you are able to enjoy your 2nd and 3rd visits in full and without any critical delays, though as you say, these things happen. In your position I'd probably have been too distracted by what had happened, and then by concern about travelling home, to focus fully on the performance, so well done on that score, too - enviable sang-froid.

[Dr Tom]

An excellent show, packed full with good music and performed with enthusiasm.

This is very much Jay Osmond's story of his family and how he perceived them. He comes across very much as the sensible member of the group.

Jay was also watching from the box at Woking last night and got a very enthusiastic response from the (mostly older and female) audience.

It was an interesting audience. On the way in, I heard some people talking who I'm sure were expecting to see the original Osmonds, not a musical. There were people sat behind me who had managed to watch the entire first half of the musical talking about the family, then found out more information from Wikipedia and seemed surprised at the information that had already been presented. I do think some people tune out of the dialogue and only want the music.

I was sat in the middle of the front row, so a perfect view, although the tears of the cast members really do get to you, especially Ryan Anderson's struggles as Merill. All five leads were excellent and Alex Lodge, who has made a career out of playing Mormons, really shined in the central role as Jay.

Running time, 2 hours and 40 minutes. The audience was really enthusiastic for the mega-mix at the end.

This isn't as dynamic as many other musicals of the type, but the Osmonds certainly had an interesting career, much of which I wasn't aware of. You certainly got the sense of the Osmonds having been a music making machine. Definitely more than just a tribute show and I think this would do very well in the West End.

[showgirl]

I saw and enjoyed the matinee in Woking yesterday. Not quite a full house (upper circle looked shut as it did for Waitress at the same venue a couple of weeks earlier) but very decent and this is a large - and lovely - auditorium to fill.

The audience, perhaps not surprisingly, seemed to consist of women of a certain age, some of whom started swaying along and waving their arms in the air quite early on but I didn't see or hear any misbehaviour, other than some mobile use missed by the ushers who seemed to be keeping a vigilant eye on the audience throughout. They also issued a stern warning on entry to the auditorium about "no singing along or filming until the final 16 minutes", which seemed very specific to me but in any case, I would do neither of those things and I put my phone off, as always, before the performance started.

It was well performed and interesting but slightly too long: it could, and should, easily lose at least 15 minutes of the 2 h 45 running time. I was never an Osmonds fan but recognised and enjoyed most of the songs. I wasn't familiar with all the background, including that they had come to notice via the Andy Williams show (which I do recall from childhood) but really the story was much the same as that of any other musical biopic, ie of artistic differences, contract issues and financial problems, with the addition of parental control by the father which seemed to border on abusive - what we would now probably call "coercive control" or even child abuse.

So I was shocked in a way to see this portrayed as part of an entertainment and I doubt that this was the "warts and all" version, but at least it was made clear and the fact that the show is happening presumably means those concerned have made their peace and given their consent. Not only did this show remind me in multiple respects of The Drifters Girl and Jersey Boys, both of which I've seen recently, but also King Richard, though George Osmond wasn't depicted as being in the Richard Williams league when it came to manipulation.

I'd be interested to read comments about these issues from anyone else who has seen the show or subsequently does.

[louonthegogo]

Saw this last night in Dublin, with maybe 1/5th of the tickets sold (and that might be being a bit generous). All upper levels closed and my €15 seats became €48 seats (not a bad trade-off). Jay was sitting about two rows behind me from the interval onwards so he's still keeping a close eye on the show.

The cast were all great with the mentions above by other commentators being very much warranted. It's probably the closest they'll ever get to feeling like famous boyband members. Puppy In Love in particular got a very *strong* reaction from the women in the crowd. As above though, a very well behaved audience everything taken into consideration.

I don't know how much longer this will continue to run though if sales on the other legs are as bad as Dublin's, then again The Osmonds weren't massive in Ireland, so it could just be the wrong crowd to sell it to idk.

I also agree that the show takes a lot of inspiration from Jersey Boys (haven't seen The Drifters Girl yet) but not in a way that negatively affects it, I just found it amusing.

Also I'm wondering if the mega mix at the end has been chopped? It was only about 7 minutes last night (it seemed) and consisted of Love Me For A Reason, Crazy Horses and some other song I forget.

Overall 7.8/10 - would recommend to pretty much anyone looking for an easy-to-digest musical especially if you get a big seat upgrade

[daber]

I have noticed that this is no longer being sold in Peterborough for mid April. Does anyone know of likely reasons.

Was hoping to go but no reason given on New Theatre, Peterborough, website

[BurlyBeaR]

It’s a way off yet but Manchester has sold very little so far.

[newda]

I was tempted to see it this week in Blackpool, but given that each performance has only sold a handful of seats in the vast Opera House I won't bother given the lack of atmosphere.

[BurlyBeaR]

It’s a shame if it gets pulled. Yes it’s a long time since we had Osmond-mania but they were huge and given the fans are now only in their 50’s or 60’s you’d think it had a reasonable chance of pulling in an audience.

I wonder if there is/was a plan to take this to the US?

[sph]

Does it seem like a lot of tours are struggling to sell these days? Is it a pandemic repercussion thing or is it just certain shows that aren't finding an audience?

I always thought that tours sell best when it's a well-known brand that everyone around the country knows, like a well established musical, or a Disney production etc, but then I would have easily thought the Osmonds would have fit that criteria too...

[showgirl]

Strange and a shame as it's worth seeing and was well-attended at the Woking matinee I saw. Also it was clear that a lot of the audience members were original fans, whereas I wasn't, though I was very familiar with the group's work. I wonder now whether it was better marketed there, or whether that particular venue has more of a regular audience who will book for most things, but looking at bookings for other touring shows there, that theory isn't borne out and indeed I too have hesitated to book for poorly-sold shows both due to likely lack of atmosphere and the risk that the performance will be cancelled.

So maybe it's the show itself, as sph suggests? Certainly Waitress at the same venue was even busier when I saw that a few weeks earlier.

[mkb]

Mar 29, 2022 0:42:27 GMT sph said:

Does it seem like a lot of tours are struggling to sell these days? Is it a pandemic repercussion thing or is it just certain shows that aren't finding an audience?

It's simply that many people no longer have the money for discretionary spending. Those fuel bills and mortgages won't pay themselves.

[anita]

Saw this yesterday. What a great show.- And I must admit to never being an Osmonds fan. Terrific cast. Wasn't their dad a b*****d!

[Mark]

Caught the matinee in Bromley today - relatively busy in the stalls just a few rows empty.

It’s good, but I agree with an earlier comment that it could easily lose 15 minutes and become much tighter. Lots of middle aged women in clearly having a ball though!

[londonmzfitz]

I am probably the person this show is aimed at, Donny Osmond / The Osmonds were my teen crushes. I was that 13 year old fan in 1972, I've read Donny's books, Marie's books, Merrill's book and Jay's book,detailing the rise, fall and rise again of The Osmonds, this show held no surprises for me. Jay's book has a lot of "I remember" which is the pivot of this show, and the show - for me - is OK, the songs are performed well, the actors, especially the youngsters, are good. Costumes are firmly 70's nightmares. I did find it a bit disjointed though - not light enough for a jukebox musical, no hero v bad guy in the story for a strong bit of musical theatre. That said, the friends I was with at the matinee in Northampton enjoyed it a lot.

[panda]

Just received a £10 ticket offer for this at the Palace Theatre, Manchester next week. I figure it must be worth that!!

[BurlyBeaR]

I knew what sort of a night it was going to be when I slid into my single aisle seat and the lady in the next seat to me said “Oright our kid, we thought you weren’t comin’ for a minute y’oright?”
I had to double take because I thought she must know me but no, she was just one of those friendly, open people who was a bit excited about the night to come. It was 10 minutes late starting so we had a few words and she offered me a Opal Fruit (no, she didn’t call them Starburst).
The first ovation came during that ten minute delay as a ripple of excitement went around the theatre, quickly turning into shouts and squeals. People were out of their seats applauding and waving, pointing cameras at a box where Jay Osmond had appeared. 

That set the tone. There is obviously a very strong connection between The Osmonds, their music and their core fan base of sixty-ish year old women and it was very plain to see tonight. The Palace was full, albeit they’ve been discounting it to death, mainly women, I don’t think I saw another man on my row or the one in front. 

It zips along nicely, the youngsters playing the group as kids are cute, the father stern but it’s tough love, mother portrayed as a wimp who doesn’t get much to say. When they brought a very small boy on as our first experience of Donny the impact was akin to what I imagine happens when the real Dalmation puppy comes on at the OAT. He sang a very sassy version of You Are My Sunshine on the Bing Crosby Show and killed it so well done young man. 

Act one closer is Let Me In and Our Kid immediately went into some sort of sobbing seizure. Literally full on crying all the way through. It continued into the interval and she caught me glancing at her concerned so explained through the sobs that it was “her song” as a 13 year old and told me a bit about why. Trying to lighten the mood I quipped “I’m worried about what happens when Puppy Love comes on” and she cackled and told me not to worry. Throughout this exchange she actually had her hand on my thigh which was somewhat disconcerting but she did realise what she was doing and apologised for being “ familiar”. I said it was fine (but filed a complaint with FOH after the show 🙂). 

Act 2, several standing ovations. Puppy Love was pretty incredible. Our kid roared her eyes out at Puppy Love despite earlier assurances. A group in the side stalls waved silk “WE ❤️ LOVE THE OSMONDS” scarves above their Donny baker boy caps until a cease and desist by FOH. Donny milked this to the max, I swear you’d think we were watching the real band back in 1974. 

When Jay came on for the finale it really popped off (sis). 

Massive fun ⭐️⭐️⭐️ for the show but ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for Our Kid and her sisters. I’m not going to put this in the bad behaviour thread because it wasn’t bad behaviour. It was a group of people making a connection with each other and their memories and nobody should be allowed to take that away from them. 

ETA came down at 10.25 including 10 min delayed start. 

[anniel]

Was also there tonight in Manchester and was very pleasantly surprised by the whole evening.
I am a bit too young to be an original Osmond Fan but I enjoyed the story and the songs and the awful 70s polyester. Generally good performances although the band was quite loud.

Fortunately I wasn’t molested by a neighbour in the stalls, but I thought the audience behaviour was great - people were up for a party and there was some singing along with the more popular songs, but there was no talking or noise during the quieter bits and very few people going to the loo during the show. I didn’t see the harm in the scarf waving or standing up to dance during some of the numbers. I, however, kept my seat. But there was something lovely about the fans just being so joyful in their nostalgia.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the economics of such heavy discounting - a big chunk of seats are £10. Is it better to have a full theatre of discounts than a half empty one at full price?

[stuart]

Aug 9, 2022 23:20:30 GMT anniel said:

I’ve been thinking a lot about the economics of such heavy discounting - a big chunk of seats are £10. Is it better to have a full theatre of discounts than a half empty one at full price?

The theatres often have a say in a certain percentage of seats being allowed to be discounted/comped. I guess in their view it’s better to have those seats filled with possible bar takings than them lying empty?

[ptwest]

I would also imagine that by getting a couple of fuller houses early on it gives the chance for word of mouth to generate bookings for later in the week.

[BurlyBeaR]

For anyone whose seen this on previous tour stops, is superfan Wendy played as a character from whatever city you’re in? Also is Jay turning up for every performance?

[Dr Tom]

Aug 10, 2022 9:04:15 GMT BurlyBeaR said:

For anyone whose seen this on previous tour stops, is superfan Wendy played as a character from whatever city you’re in? Also is Jay turning up for every performance?

I'm sure she was from Manchester when I saw it.

I think Jay is more likely there at the start of the week (perhaps for press night).

[djdan14]

Aug 10, 2022 9:04:15 GMT BurlyBeaR said:

For anyone whose seen this on previous tour stops, is superfan Wendy played as a character from whatever city you’re in? Also is Jay turning up for every performance?

She was from Manchester in Wolverhampton early in the tour

[lou105]

Aug 10, 2022 9:04:15 GMT BurlyBeaR said:

For anyone whose seen this on previous tour stops, is superfan Wendy played as a character from whatever city you’re in? Also is Jay turning up for every performance?

"Wendy from Manchester" appeared in York. I was told Jay had been watching most performances but he didn't go on stage when I was there.
I agree with much of Burly Bear's view .It was just so intriguing seeing people screaming at Donny, knowing it wasn't Donny. Very much the willing suspension of disbelief. We had a hysterical crier near us too, especially when Puppy love reached the Help me section. But hey, clearly a lot of enjoyment was had!