Donny Osmond to Perform in Center for the Arts April 11

BUFFALO, NY -- The University at Buffalo Center for the Arts and UBASE will present Donny Osmond in concert at 8 p.m. on April 11 in the Mainstage Theatre in the Center for the Arts on the UB North (Amherst) Campus.

For more than 35 years, the world has watched Osmond develop from a cherubic little boy singing on TV with his older brothers to a seasoned performer who has the power to amaze. Without a conscious plan, Osmond has been working since the early 1980s to realize the kind of fulfillment he has found in his latest recording, "This Is the Moment," a collection of popular Broadway songs arranged and a sung in a fresh and contemporary style.

The release of "This Is the Moment" is a long way from Osmond's 1982 Broadway debut in an ill-fated revival of George M. Cohan's "Little Johnny Jones." "I opened and closed that show in one night on Broadway," he recalled, "and I remember thinking -- because it was just devastating -- "One of these days, I'm going to come back and do it right."

Osmond spent the next several years honing his talents as performer and producer, working with the likes of Jeff Beck, Boy George and Chicago. In 1987, Peter Gabriel invited him to record at his studio in Bath, England. The resulting demos recharged Osmond's recording career, which caught fire with the release in 1989 of "Soldier of Love," which hit the Top 30 in the U.K. and -- some 13 years after his previous Top 40 chart-maker -- No. 2 in the U.S.

Generating new heat in his singing career, Osmond took another important creative step. "I checked myself into acting classes, and studied for quite some time at the Pasadena Playhouse," he said, "not knowing what I was going to do -- just to be prepared."

Without realizing it, he was preparing for one of the greatest successes of his entire career, a Canadian and U.S. tour in the title role of Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber and Sir Tim Rice's musical "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat." Though he had been tempted to pursue an offer to race cars full-time on the professional circuit -- he had taken first place at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach Pro-Am -- Osmond turned down a racing contract in 1991 to sign a six-month contract to do Joseph. Although he would have to put everything else on hold, the calculated risk turned into a rewarding, triumphant six-year association. To date, the Joseph original cast recording is quadruple platinum in Canada and recently went gold in the U.S. Last year, the film version of the musical, starring Osmond, premiered to stellar ratings on PBS's "Great Performances" series.

The creative relationship between Osmond and Webber has proven to be a strong and enduring one. Not only was Osmond invited to perform two songs at London's Royal Albert Hall to celebrate the composer's 50th birthday (a concert that was broadcast on TV and released on home video) but Webber also gave him the previously unrecorded "Our Kind of Love" from his new musical "The Beautiful Game" for "This Is the Moment."

"This Is the Moment" also reflects the depth of Osmond's unique experience and knowledge, the result of an amazing career that began with his first appearance on TV's "The Andy Williams Show" on Dec. 10, 1963, one day after his sixth birthday.

By the time he was a teenager, he had become one of the most popular and successful stars in the history of pop music. In 1971, between his own and the Osmond Brothers' recordings, he was awarded six gold records; the following year, he took home eight, and another four in 1973. With his brothers, he enjoyed a No. 1 hit with "One Bad Apple" and such blockbusters as "Yo-Yo" and "Down By the Lazy River." On his own, Osmond hit No. 1 with "Go Away Little Girl," and made the top 10 with "Hey Girl" and memorable covers of Paul Anka's "Puppy Love," Roy Orbison's "Sweet and Innocent" and Johnny Mathis' "The Twelfth of Never." With his sister Marie he had a third wave of hit records and enjoyed yet another kind of success co-hosting a weekly variety TV series.

Osmond returned to TV in 1998 with his sister, co-hosting the daytime talk show "Donny and Marie" that enjoyed solid ratings for two seasons. Now 43 years old, he has been married to his wife Debbie for 21 years, and is the father of five boys, ranging from 21-year-old Don Jr. to two-year-old Joshua.

Tickets are $42.50, $37.50, $32.50 and are available from noon to 6 p.m. Tuesday-Friday at the Center for the Arts Box Office and all Ticketmaster locations, including Kaufmann's and Movies Plus. To charge tickets, call 852-5000; in Canada, call (416) 870-8000. For group sales, call 645-6771. For more information call 645-ARTS.