Donny Osmond to Return to 'Beauty' for Final Performance

At the opening night of his current show at Feinstein's at the Regency, Donny Osmond announced that he will return as Gaston for the final performance of Beauty and the Beast on Sunday, July 29th.

On Wednesday, April 18th, Disney's Beauty and the Beast celebrated its 13th Anniversary as the inaugural Broadway musical from Disney Theatrical Productions.  At closing, the Broadway production - which is currently playing the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre - will have played 46 previews and 5,464 regular performances.

Osmond previously played Gaston from September 19th, 2006 through December 24th.   He released his 55th album in March, and the first ever DVD release of his famous "Donny and Marie" variety show is now in stores. Osmond's role as Gaston marked his first return to Broadway since making his debut in 1982 in Little Johnny Jones.  In 1992, Osmond took on the starring role in the North American touring company of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Sir Tim Rice's hit musical, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.  Over the next six years, he appeared in more than 2,000 performances of the show.  Osmond will also host a new prime time version of the classic game show "Name That Tune." He is currently playing Feinstein's with his show "Love Songs of the '70s" through April 28th.

The musical, directed by Robert Jess Roth, features Alan Menken's Academy Award-winning score, with songs by Alan Menken and the late Howard Ashman (including the Academy Award-winning title song and the show-stopping "Be Our Guest"), plus songs written especially for the stage by Alan Menken and Tim Rice (including "If I Can't Love Her" and "A Change In Me").   The production also features a book by Linda Woolverton, author of the original screenplay and choreography by Matt West. 

Visit www.disneyonbroadway.com for more information.

Photo of Donny Osmond by Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.