Review of The Osmonds - A New Musical at Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton

The Osmonds, as a group, were a global phenomenon, dominating so much of the charts during their peak in the seventies, and here in this new musical, with the story written by Jay Osmond himself, some of their tale of their success and failure is told. However, which of those two does this show fall into as a production?

Foremost, The Osmonds - A New Musical doesn’t pretend to be ground-breaking, this is like any other musical based on a successful group, think Jersey Boys or Sunny Afternoon for instance, and you know the structure you will get, the journey from A to B, with the bumps in the road on the way.

Father of the many, Osmond siblings, George Osmond (nicely played by Charlie Allen) wants success for his children, he is a driven, ex-military man, and he knows where success should be when he sees it, and through his children, initially Merrill, Alan, Jay and Wayne, he guides them into the path of music legend and television host Andy Williams. From that point, success and a multi-year contract are just around the corner.

Mostly, this is an extremely well-performed show, all the Osmond clan (in their older incarnations) look very much as you would imagine them, in a collection of garish clothes, best left in the seventies, and hair also of its time. The look of the period is there throughout.

I particularly liked Ryan Anderson’s portrayal of Merrill, the pain of what their success is having on him, and how it affected his personal life. Alan Cardall (on as understudy) was also great with the crushing weight of responsibility on him with his father making him in charge as the elder of the siblings.

Alex Lodge as Jay Osmond unsurprisingly acts as our narrator on the show, and much of the story is driven by him, and it is a likeable and enthusiastic performance, if a little cringe now and again, as it has to be said, the script has many moments where it rears dramatically to the naff and corny. However, this often feels as if it is in keeping with the whole period. The Osmonds never pretended to be the epitome of culture, though, they were there just to entertain their millions of fans, and so is this show.

There are some wonderful moments, Let Me In is a beautiful number to close the first act and effectively tells the tale of the moment in the story, no spoilers, if you don’t know the full story. Tristan Whincup who played Donny Osmond as the understudy for the performance I saw, absolutely nails Puppy Love in the second act, it gets the audience up for the second act, and the die-hand Osmonds fans in the audience never look back from that point in their enthusiasm.

The kids portraying the young Osmonds are instantly likeable and are excellent in their harmony numbers on the Andy Williams show, Harrison Skinner in particular is cute and charming as Jimmy for that landmark Long Haired Lover from Liverpool moment. I also really enjoyed the character of Wendy, Jay’s number one fan, played amusingly by Katy Hards, and peppered throughout the show, and who knows, who cares if some parts of that story are indeed contrived, it feels fully believable. Finally, in the highlights, Georgia Lennon is simply brilliant as Marie Osmond, her performance of Paper Roses is a beautiful moment in particular.

There is a scene late in the second act which adds drama to the show and features all members of the Osmond family seen in the show, it would be a spoiler to explain it fully, however, its very presence in this show feels oddly out of place. This is mainly because while The Osmonds wants to perhaps have the grit and the drama of, say Jersey Boys, it is mostly just too safe and cuddlesome. To misuse the terminology of the show, we are in phase two of development on The Osmonds - A New Musical, we never reach the cutting edge, grit of phase three, where shows are just perfect, we sit, in the content, happy with phase two position.

That is no bad thing, we all love a touch of a warm comfort blanket, but I wonder if Jay Osmond really wanted more, because the signs are there that he wants to get the full story out here. Maybe it is just too bogged down in too many Osmonds to make it work properly? Over its admittedly long running time (a side note, I think it is maybe twenty minutes too long for perfection), we never get to see everyone’s story in its entirety, just little snippets. The flashbacks individually to each of the Osmonds where they are young in scenes with either their mother or father help, but, there are simply too many of them to allow the story to breathe.

Director (and co-writer) Shaun Kerrison successfully keeps the show moving, but with the size of the set at the back, it feels extremely crowded on stage and often distracts with so many present when scenes change. The lighting also had more than a few issues, with quite a few late spots, particular for Lodge as narrator Jay. The music however is beautifully brought to life by the onstage and occasionally visible band.

So, The Osmonds - A New Musical is far from a disaster, I found it lacking in some areas, particularly in the story’s drama it is trying to tell. However, what remains, is a feast of seventies (and some sixties) nostalgia coupled with a series of brilliantly performed songs and dance numbers by the ensemble. Recommended if you want a drama-lite, warm and comforting nostalgia trip and if you are a fan of any Osmond, really.

Dazzling in the nostalgia and music, but a little dull in the drama.
⭐⭐⭐

Performance reviewed: Tuesday 3rd May 2022 at the Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton.

The Osmonds - A New Musical runs at Royal & Derngate until Saturday 7th May 2022.

For further details about the Royal & Derngate see their website at http://www.royalandderngate.co.uk

The Osmonds - A New Musical is a ROYO ENTERTAINMENT PRODUCTION

Production photos: Pamela Raith