Southampton Mayflower – until 12 November 2022
Reviewed by Lucy Hitchcock
3***
Jay Osmond has written a new musical based on the life of his life with The Osmonds.
Alex Lodge plays ‘Jay’, one of the brothers of the band and talks us through the rise to stardom and development of the group. He is essentially narrating, taking us step by step and segueing through songs that saturate the performance. Ryan Anderson, Jamie Chatterton, Danny Nattrass, Austin Riley and Tristan Whincup play the other brothers-Merrill, Alan, Wayne, Jimmy and Donny. This was a good mix of actors who had very good vocals and sounded very much like the Osmonds themselves!
The show was very vocal centric, with characters literally bursting into song every few minutes-showing the strength these actors have in order to continue with the energy and vocals. The young Osmonds – Osian Slater as Donny, Jack Jones as Alan, Alfie Jones as Wayne, Harrison Skinner as Merrill, Tom Walsh as Jay and Fraser Fowkes as Jimmy were delightful and brought a childish charm to the show.
For me, the standout performance was Georgia Lennon as Marie Osmond. She is an incredible vocalist and immediately changed the second Act into a better version of itself.
Bristol Costumer Services outdid themselves with the costumes and really brought a nostalgic feel to the show perfectly.
If you want to be transformed to the swinging 60’s and get as close to the Osmonds as you will be able to-this is the show for you!