Donny Osmond brings Vegas back to Spokane, this time showcasing six decades of music – and a 10-minute ‘auto-rap-tography’

Seven years ago, Donny Osmond took to Northern Quest’s BECU Outdoor stage with his sister Marie. Now, he’s back with a solo show for the ages. Although he’s hoping this time he won’t have to face the sun the entire concert.

“I didn’t want to wear shades the whole performance,” he said with a laugh. “I did the whole show with the sun right in my eyes.”

Osmond’s residency at Harrah’s showroom recently won Best Show in Las Vegas and this summer he says he’s “bringing Las Vegas to Spokane and Airway Heights.” The show spans the six decades of Osmond’s career with hits for all ages, including the critically acclaimed “I’ll Make a Man Out of You,” from Disney’s 1998 film, “Mulan.”

“Mulan was one of the biggest things in my career,” Osmond said. “That’s going to last forever.”

Osmond provided the singing voice to Captain Li Shang, Mulan’s love interest in the movie. When he and his team were putting together the five-minute musical number for his Las Vegas act, Osmond went so far as to reach out to Disney and ask for the rights. Considering Walt Disney discovered Osmond and his family, it seemed only fair for the company to give Osmond the rights to use the scene in his show.

“We do the same stick fight dancing they do in the movie,” he said about the fan-favorite number. “The dancing is crazy.”

While Mulan may be the most recognizable thing Osmond has done, he still manages to bridge the generational gap 60 years after he made his debut in show business.

Older generations know Osmond from his sibling’s barbershop quartet turned rock band, the Osmond Brothers, in the early 1970s. Osmond’s popularity grew within the band as he covered several teen-pop songs, including Paul Anka’s “Puppy Love” which he says is still a fan favorite over 50 years later.

However, if you were to ask those who grew up in the ‘70s what they recognized Osmond for, they would probably say the variety show “The Donny and Marie Show,” which ran on ABC from 1976 to 1979. It fell within the genre of famous people hosting comedy and variety shows that dominated the scene at the time, a la “The Sonny and Cher Show” and “The Carol Burnett Show.” The program featured Osmond and his sister Marie performing comedy skits and songs with an iconic ice-skating intro – totally ‘70s.

The show gave rise to what was the duo’s biggest song at the time, “I’m a Little Bit Country, I’m a Little Bit Rock and Roll” and was later revived as a talk show in 1998.

Osmond continued his television career with reality shows like ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars,” which he later won, and Fox’s “The Masked Singer,” which introduced him to a whole new generation once again.

The 2019 show saw Osmund don a peacock costume to hide his identity as four judges attempted unmask him before the finale. Osmund came in second place and was one of the biggest guest stars of the show’s first season.

Osmund recalled one concert where he brought two young boys onstage after catching sight of the shirts they were wearing. “They had matching shirts that said ‘peacock’ on them,” he said, referencing his time as a finalist on the show. “They were so excited to see the peacock.”

What Osmond says is fascinating about the concert, though, is that “it changes every night.”

“We do a half an hour of complete improv,” Osmond said, calling it a “free for all.” He said some nights he even goes out into the crowd and interacts with the audience.

Another unique facet of the show is what Osmond calls “Donny’s Auto-Rap-Tography.” He describes the 10-minute rap song as a “data overload of six decades of show business,” while images of his life play on the projector behind him.

The show in Spokane kicks off Osmund’s last week of touring before returning to his residency in Las Vegas, where he’ll perform until mid-November. He’ll then make his way to the Edinburgh Playhouse, where he’ll revisit “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” in the role of the Pharaoh in a limited Christmas run of the show. It comes 25 years after he played the role of Joseph in a direct-to-video movie of the Andrew Lloyd Webber classic.

When asked about the challenges of keeping the momentum going in a sixty-year career, Osmund said, “You have to keep reinventing yourself.” He takes note of all the different ages that attend his shows with children, older men and women, and teenagers all in attendance. Osmond recalled a moment when he was performing in Miami and he saw “an older woman who knew me from ‘Puppy Love,’ a teenager who knew me from ‘Mulan,’ and 30-year-olds excited about the peacock,” surrounding him.

Tickets for Osmond’s Aug. 11 show are on sale now at northernquest.com starting at $39.50.