Donny & Marie -Christmas in Detroit

Donny & Marie
Christmas in Detroit
Live @ The Fox Theatre
12/3/2011

Donny & Marie Osmond has been a fixture in our collective unconscious for over five decades now. They grew up in the biz. This is what they know; it is what they do. Without performance and applause, they would be left alone without honor or purpose. It would be like trying to breathe without air. They recently released an album that made a big splash in the country chart, reaching #7, while simultaneously charting #30 in the pop chart and #1 on the folk chart. It’s the highest charting album of their entire career. Currently Donny is busy working on his 60th album while Marie charted in 2010 with an inspirational album entitled I Can Do This. Lately Donny & Marie have experienced a renaissance that is in part a measure of their unflappable nature as well as a tribute to their undeniable deep pocket talent.

The Donny & Marie – Christmas in Detroit is as slick as skid marks on an icy road. Every quip is well rehearsed, every smile is practiced to perfection and the show must go on. Because…well, it HAS to, otherwise Donny & Marie would cease to exist except for the celluloid memories of when they were young and Andy Williams put Marie on his lap and she won our hearts, forever. Now Donny & Marie are middle aged. They have grandchildren and have experienced losses and regrets and the tyranny of a fan base that wants them to be forever young. As incredible as it sounds Donny & Marie ARE ageless. They are trim and athletic. They are beautiful…even still. They sing with voices pure and true and dance backing it up like Beyonce celebrating motherhood.

The 2 hour show is well conceived. There is a decorated Christmas tree stage left, wrapped gifts, dancing and caroling. Besides our heroes onstage, there are eight dancers who know how to shake their groove thing and nine professional musicians who never missed a beat or a cue. It’s peculiar to me that they all seemed to be having fun. I recall a trip to the New Grand Old Opry in Nashville back in 1976. Those Nashville cats sure knew how to make it sing and moan and the drummer kept the tempo like a heartbeat - but they looked so bored - uncomfortably numb - same old crap; just another day. Three massive video screens were mounted up on the stage that served up a tasty treat of past photo and video clips from the Osmond archives. It was like home movies that were really fun. It helped us remember a not so distant past when television was free and we invited our heroes into our living room by just a flick of a dial. In some odd way, I felt like I was growing up with them and as each year passed and the hair and clothing styles changed. I could see Donny & Marie reflecting those changes back to me as I continued my journey to the other side.

Donny & Marie are seasoned professionals that are as sleek and polished as a new Corvette. They know how to play and audience and they roamed the main floor of the Fox like the Calvary looking for Buffalo. They shook hands, patted backs and smooched just about everyone within the reach of their protruding lips. I got close to Donny as he sang and schmoosed his way back to the stage. When he turned the other way I spanked him hard, square on the ass and when he turned around his smile became a grimace. There was hate in his eyes. I just looked innocent, shrugged my shoulders, lifted my eyebrows and tilted my head to the woman standing next to me….well, that was my fantasy anyway. The show was a stoned immaculate Las Vegas Revue that covered Christmas songs, country hits, show tunes and even a bit of Motown soul. I don’t think Stevie would mind. The video screens were an integral part of the overall presentation. Donny & Marie excavated archival footage from each era from their television performances. Donny did “YoYo” as he and his onstage dancers mimicked each movement that his 1970-era brothers did on film. Very cool.
They did their old hits – Paper Roses, Go Away Little Girl, Puppy Love. It was a tongue in cheek yet an affectionate reading, poking fun at their long ago selves and hoping not to embarrass them. They sang along with their video images. It was a highlight out of many highlights during the show.
Donny poked fun at his teeny bopper image, pointing out that he had THAT haircut before Justin Bieber. He also tagged the early career comparisons between the Osmond Brothers and the Jackson 5. At one point Donny introduced “my” brothers – Tito, Marlin, Jackie, and Jermaine. The crowd got it immediately. A highlight included Donny singing liv with his brothers singing harmony via the magic of a well synchronized videotape.

The duo harmonized perfectly on their latest (and greatest) countrified single The Good Life and did a rocking Christmas medley that included “Little Saint Nick” and “What Christmas Means to Me. Marie did several show tunes from her Broadway days including Climb Every Mountain from The Sound of Music and Andrew Lloyd Weber’s Pie Jesu – a vehicle that revealed Marie’s tremendous four octave range as a vocalist. She did a rousing version of “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy and Donny countered with a high energy reading of Rock This Town by the Stray Cats. They sang Remember When as photos and video images of the famous artists they’ve worked with through the years including Andy Williams, Dean Martin, Bob Hope and others. It was an incredibly moving trip down memory lane.

The Donny & Marie - Christmas in Detroit was a touching remembrance of a time and place, a cultural zeitgeist that will be forever etched in the archives of the baby boomer generation. Our heroes may be just a musical footnote in the history of pop music but they sure made a splash during their triumphant residence in Detroit.

Peace
Bo White