When Donny Osmond hung up his loin cloth for the last time, he never dreamed he would one day be back on stage in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
But, nearly 30 years later, the singing legend is getting ready to tread the boards in the hit musical and he’s chosen Scotland as the location for his surprise return.
Donny will play the Pharaoh during the Edinburgh leg of the UK tour in December and revealed he’s planning to stay on and celebrate Hogmanay.
The 66-year-old, who shot to fame with family group The Osmonds, said: “A few years ago Andrew Lloyd Webber came backstage to see me in panto in London and asked if I would ever consider coming back to play the Pharaoh? I told him I would if the time was right. In April, I got the call about joining the UK tour in Scotland in December and I thought, ‘Why not?’
“The stars have aligned and it’s, ‘Edinburgh here I come’. I will only be doing those four weeks as I have to return to my residency in Las Vegas but I couldn’t think of a better place to make my Joseph comeback.
“The show finishes up on December 29 but Debbie and I might just stay on for this thing called Hogmanay. It sounds like a lot of fun and I might even brave the Arctic weather and break out my kilt.”
Donny, who topped the charts for five weeks with his first solo single, Puppy Love, in 1972, said it was apt he would be appearing at Edinburgh as the show had its first professional premiere at the Haymarket ice rink during the Edinburgh International Festival in 1972.
He said: “This is the first time I have played Pharaoh. He is such an over-the-top character and I am planning to take him to the next level so audiences beware – I’m planning to make the most of every moment on that stage.
“I have played Scotland many times during my career and know they will be just as crazy and as over the top as me and I can’t wait. I might even introduce Pharaoh to a touch of tartan and there is a possibility I might co-ordinate his white Elvis jumpsuit with a sporran – watch this space. I want to bring hysteria – a little bit of Osmondmania.”
Donny, who will perform at The Playhouse from December 3-29, said Scotland will always hold a special place in his heart.
At the height of Osmondmania, the teenage heart-throb was banned from Heathrow and Gatwick Airports because so many fans turned up so he flew into Glasgow and took the train to London.
Donny said: “It’s only thanks to Scotland that we were able to get into the UK after the hysteria we caused at Heathrow. It was 1972 and there had been so many girls waiting for us at Heathrow Airport that the balcony they were on collapsed, so the airport banned us. The only way we could get into the UK was by flying to Glasgow and getting a secret train to London.
“Those were crazy times. There are parts I miss but I am glad those years of hysteria have passed. I look back at pictures and videos and it is as if it happened to a different person.
“It’s an era that will never be repeated because of social media. Back in the 70s, singers were your idols and you hung on every word of the song and everything they said and did. This was good or bad depending on who you are idolising – Beatlemania and Osmondmania are definitely a thing of the past.”
Since those heady days, both he and wife Debbie have discovered their Scots ancestry. And one of their sons lived here for two years while completing his Mormon mission.
Utah-born Donny, who has five sons with Debbie, said: “I have a huge affection for Scotland and am so excited to be coming back.
“My wife and I both have Scottish ancestry – in fact, we are related through our Scottish line.
“I think when you go eight or nine generations back, it turns out there is a link and it’s definitely from the Scottish line. I love that we’ve both got these Celtic roots – I’ve even got my own kilt.
“Our third son Brandon served a mission for our church in Scotland. He was there for two years and spent time in Glasgow, Dumfries, Aberdeen and even Shetland. He loved it.”
Donny has spoken openly about the anxiety he suffered as a young child while performing on tour as a solo artist and with The Osmonds, which included his older brothers Wayne, Merrill, Alan and Jay.
After his teenage years and his variety series with sister Marie, Donny’s career crashed as the fans who followed him grew up and moved away from his style of bubblegum pop.
But the singer, who remains close to his siblings, reinvented himself. In 2009, he won Dancing with the Stars and was the first entertainer on the US Masked Singer, later becoming a judge on The Masked Singer UK.
He has performed regular tours around the world, sold more than 100million albums and spent 333 weeks in the UK charts.
After previously enoying a long-running Las Vegas show with Marie – with Susan Boyle as a guest – he now headlines a new solo show in Vegas.
He said: “I’ve had six decades in show business and I have never been busier. I have just got the award for best Las Vegas headliner of 2024, which is an incredible honour given the A-listers on the strip.
“Joseph is perhaps the most magical of all the musicals.
“I’ve so many wonderful memories from my time in the show – the best being the time a lady in Toronto went into labour and refused to go to the hospital until she had seen the whole show.
“I am looking forward to creating many more amazing memories in Scotland.”
– Joseph will be at the Edinburgh Playhouse from December 3 -29
To buy tickets go to www.atgtickets.com/shows/joseph-and-the-amazing-technicolor-dreamcoat/edinburgh-playhouse/