Donny Osmond begins rehearsals today for his role as Gaston in Disney's
Beauty and the Beast. He will begin performances on Tuesday, September 19th at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre (205 West 46th Street) for a limited 9-week engagement.
The role will be Osmond's first return to Broadway since making his debut in 1982 in
Little Johnny Jones, which closed following opening night. Osmond relishes the chance to give the White Way another try: "Now almost 25 years later I have [another] chance. I couldn't do it any more right than joining such an iconic show as
Beauty. I can't wait to get started!"
Donny Osmond has numerous gold and platinum records to his name since beginning his career in the 1970s. He recently released the first of several DVD compilations of famous moments from
The Donny & Marie Show, his popular variety show that ran for four years on ABC. Recently, Osmond has hosted a new version of the classic game show "Pyramid," and co-hosted a short-lived talk show with his sister Marie. He continues to produce and release his own records.
Onstage, Osmond is best known for playing the starring role in
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, a role he performed over 2,000 times on the North American tour from 1992 to 1998. In 1999, a film version of the musical premiered to stellar ratings on PBS's "Great Performances" series.
Beauty and the Beast recently played its 12th anniversary show on Broadway on April 18th. The production also played its 5,000th performance on Tuesday, June 20th, making it the sixth longest running musical in Broadway history.
Beauty and the Beast plays Tuesday at 7pm, Wednesday – Saturday at 8pm, Saturday at 2pm and Sunday at 1:30pm and 7pm. Tickets are available online at
www.disneyonbroadway.com, via Ticketmaster at (212) 307-4747 or
www.ticketmaster.com, and in person at the Lunt-Fontanne box office (205 West 46th Street).
