Review of 'Donny Osmond - Liverpool 2023'

https://www.mandsbankarena.com/whats-on/donny-osmond/

I can't say we are huge fans of Donny Osmond but we certainly love his voice. I was lucky enough to see him in “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” in Toronto a number of years ago and recently we saw him in Pantoland at the Palladium where he was delightfully out of his depth. It is his beautiful vocals, easy going attitude and just a great sense of fun that really entertains.

When tickets came on sale for his UK tour earlier in the year we were quick to book. Our tickets were very good - Just to the left of the stage, on the side of the arena. The show occupied one side of the arena and not all seats were used in the area. The floor was occupied by the hard core fans who seem to follow Donny from show to show including attending his show with Marie in Las Vegas, which was apparent with the banter Donny had with the audience.

The show covered many of Donny's biggest hits but also songs from his latest album “Start Again”. The show was a celebration of his career and included several montages of his work. Particularly good was his “Auto-Rap-Ology” early in the show which took in his entire life, in rap, with a great selection of accompanying pictures, starting from his first television appearance, through to his joining his brothers in the Osmonds then onto the amazing success of the “Donny and Marie” show and then onto his life as a solo artist which continues to this day.

Before the interval Osmond threw open to the audience the selection of songs, allowing them to pick any song from any of his 28 albums. Deciding to make things interesting he jumped off the stage and climbed (literally) into the audience. For the next 15 minutes he proceeded to climb amongst the crowd both on the floor and in the side sections asking fans to pick a song. The huge video screens then showed the album on which the song was found along with the list of it's songs. Donny would then sing at least part of the song backed by his band. Of course, he was mobbed as he did this with his mic picking up interesting comments from those he passed by…

In the second half of the show he did a great montage of hits in tribute to his Vegas residency with his sister (including a cover of Elvis' “Viva Las Vegas”). The show ended, appropriately, with “On & On” and a promise he would return.

The show was full of fun and interest with our being highly entertained despite being woefully ignorant of much of Donny's work. His performance really sought to engage with the audience and play with us. The balance of slow songs with faster dance hits was very well judged, giving everyone a taste of the artist. The prices for tickets were not as expensive as you might expect…

The show started at 8 pm and was two hours including a twenty minute interval, finishing pretty much bang on time at 10 pm.

Rating: “I have absolutely no complaints”

Review Date: 2023-12-08

Location: Liverpool (England)

Address: King's Dock, Port of Liverpool, 16 Monarchs Quay, Liverpool L3 4FP ENGLAND

URL: https://www.mandsbankarena.com/

Located on the Mersey just south of Albert Dock this massive arena plays hosts to many large entertainment events. Food and facilities are as you might expect with nothing particularly notable…