Donny Osmond Talks Having the 'Time of My Life' Back on Stage inJoseph —and Spending a Quiet Christmas Abroad (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Donny Osmond.Photo:Christie Goodwin

Christie Goodwin

Three years ago,Andrew Lloyd Webberpopped in on Donny Osmond’s Las Vegas show and came backstage with a question afterward.

“He and my producer, they asked, ‘Would you ever consider playing Pharaoh inJoseph?’ " Osmond, 67, recalls to PEOPLE. “And I said, ‘When the time is right, if it feels right, I’d entertain the idea.’ "

The time is now.

More than 30 years ago,Osmondcaptivated theater crowds when he toured the country as the titular character in Webber and Tim Rice’sJoseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.And now he’s back, this time in the over-the-top, villainous role of Pharaoh.

“When Andrew Lloyd Webber says ‘jump,’ you say ‘how high?’ " Osmond says. “And I hope he doesn’t mind, but I’m taking this role to a whole other level.”

Donny Osmond in ‘Joseph’ in Scotland.Christie Goodwin

Osmond’s run laststhrough Dec. 29 at the Edinburgh Playhousein Scotland, where he says theater-goers have been “amazing” and the cast like a “party every night.”

“They give me suggestions on the crazy things to do,” he shares. “I ask myself, ‘What wouldRobin Williamsdo? What wouldJerry Lewisdo? What would Milton Berle do? What would all these amazing comedians do?’ And then I take my experiences actually working with these people — and it’s working. The audiences are just having the time of their lives.”

“Opening night it was like, ‘What is this going to be like?’ And as soon as they set me down on the chair on stage and the lights came up, the applause and ovation … it was absolutely amazing. And then when Joseph comes out and [‘Poor Poor Joseph’] began, I looked at the audience and I said, ‘Déjà vu!’ "

What feels different this year, however, is spending Christmas abroad, away fromhis extended family.

“It’s justDebbieand myself,” he shares of his wife of 45 years. “It’s going to be kind of an unusual Christmas with just the two of us — we won’t have all the grandkids running around the house.”

He adds, however, that he has a great “present” coming: two more grandchildren, due in March and April, bringing the family total to 16.

He won’t be gone for long, though; on Feb. 11, Osmond returns to Las Vegas at Harrah’s Showroom for his first-ever solo residency, in a show he promises will be unlike anything audiences have ever seen.

Donny Osmond backstage at ‘Joseph’ in Scotland.Christie Goodwin

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“It’s extremely high-tech,” he teases, “and people are going to say, ‘Oh my goodness, I’ve gotta see this.’ "

With an open-ended run, Osmond is excited about the possibilities the future holds, whether it’s with Vegas or a stateside run ofJoseph.Though he knows that someday it’ll be time to throw in the cards.

“I’ve always said if I can’t give a hundred percent on stage like I do every night in Las Vegas or what I’m doing out here, if I can’t come up to that bar that I’ve set for myself, that’s the time to stop,” he says.

But for now, he adds, “I’m just having the time of my life on stage.”

source: people.com