Saturday, May 21, 2022

Marie Osmond with nephew David at Blue Gate Theater

 

Marie Osmond stage shot (all photos mine)


Most folk know that the kind of concert I attend is constructed of reverb-base driven, guitar-fugue infused, sweaty, over-the-top Mick Jagger-like front men running from one end of the stage to the next in fear that he might "miss a beam of theater light” characteristics.

And so, you can understand my self-befuddlement a couple of weeks ago when I called Sherry and said…

“Hey, wanna go to the Marie Osmond concert at the Blue Gate Theater in Shipshewana?”

After a brief chuckle she replied “Why not. It will be like revisiting our childhood.”

It was indeed a fun concert as Marie sang “Paper Roses”, songs from her latest album “Unexpected”, show tunes, and more.

Her concluding song before the obligatory encore-send off was a very powerful performance of “How Great Thou Art”. So very rich in vocal quality and stirring of the emotion that I almost anticipated Elvis, unable to resist the urge, momentarily manifesting from the beyond to sing duet with Marie.

Marie performing a show tune


Alas…no Elvis. It would have been no use. No one could upstage Marie last night!

I amend my words…

Not that David Osmond upstaged his aunt Marie, or “Aunty M”, as he referred to her, but I was greatly impressed with his vocal talent, stage presence, and audience-engagement.

Photo of projected image Marie and David duet


David tours with Marie and sings duets with her, and also performs some solo numbers of his own.

Now forty-two, at age twenty-six David experienced multiple sclerosis and was confined to a wheelchair. Having overcome that disability, yet with much pain in his legs, he too moves about the stage in dance evocative of the memory of an Osmond Brothers performance.

He just looks, sings, and choreographically moves, like an Osmond.

It was like being in 1970!

Anyway, he won my admiration!

And also, he referred to us as his cousins!

Never heard Mick or Ozzy do that!

Sherry and I had much fun.

For sure, it was a memorable concert.

I even bought the “Unexpected” CD.

It will rotate along with my CDs of Jimmy Hendrix, Beatles, Stones, and Herbie Mann.

Thank you, Marie and David for a great experience!

And the rest of David's cousins