The Man of the Moment Back on Tour

By RANDY LEWIS

May 31, 2001 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

He’s 43, he’s been married for 21 years, is the father of five boys and is still known to the world by the diminutive name that introduced him to the nation on his first TV appearance at age 5 on “The Andy Williams Show.”

Donny Osmond went on to sell millions of records on his own and as a member of his family’s singing group, the Osmonds, the ‘N Sync of the early ‘70s . He and younger sister Marie have starred in their own TV series not once, but twice, the latest the syndicated “Donny & Marie” talk show that ran from 1998 to 2000.

His first stab at Broadway flopped--he starred in a 1982 revival of George M. Cohan’s “Little Johnny Jones” that closed after opening night, but years later Osmond toured successfully in the Andrew Lloyd Webber-Tim Rice rock musical “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.” With some encouragement from rock singer Peter Gabriel, he even returned to the pop charts in 1989 with the single “Soldier of Love,” which reached No. 2 on the charts. Osmond recently released “This Is the Moment,” an album of mostly recent-vintage Broadway musical numbers.

He’s on a concert tour that comes to the Orange County Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa, which also brings him back near the Irvine neighborhood where he and his family lived during the latter half of the 1980s. After stints living in Toronto and Chicago, Osmond and his family are now back in Utah.

Question: Are you mostly doing material from “This Is the Moment” on the tour?

Answer: When we put the show together, I thought the last thing we should do is all of the album. I hate to go to concerts where you don’t hear something of the oldies. So “Puppy Love” is in there, so is “Soldier of Love” and some stuff from “Joseph,” which I did for six years. Not to give it all away, but the second half opens with a little film of my first performance on “The Andy Williams Show” at 5 and chronologically builds from there. . . . It’s footage I found in my basement that I didn’t know I had and I’ve never used.

Q: How did you decide which songs to use on the album?

A: That was a tough task, but that was the great concept behind the album in the first place, and I can’t take credit for it--that was [producer] Phil Ramone. He said we should go for “A” material and that because some of the best songwriters in the world today, and lyricists, are writing for Broadway musicals, I should think about doing a Broadway album. I wasn’t interested in doing a cast album, so Phil said, “Let’s make a pop album out of it.”

Q: Whose idea was the funk-jazz version of “Luck Be a Lady Tonight”?

A: That was Phil too. He played me Sinatra’s version, then Streisand’s version and then Marlon Brando’s. After that I said, “OK, what am I supposed to do with it?” He said, “Let’s go Steely Dan and take a whole new direction.” To try to re-create the original would be a big mistake, because then people would compare it to the original. You have to make it your own.

Q: Are there a lot of sets or big production touches in your show?

A: We’ve spent a lot of money on the sound and lighting package, but directorially, Phil and Jeff [Calhoun, the show’s artistic director] have put together a show that enhances the music.

Q: But aren’t so many of today’s biggest Broadway shows about the spectacle?

A: When I first met with Peter Gabriel back in 1986 or ‘87, he said, “Always make the music the most important thing.” I was having a hard time getting back on the charts, and Michael Jackson was telling me I should change my name, but Peter said, “Forget about the image--make the music.” From that point, that’s when Carl Sturken and Evan Rogers wrote and produced “Soldier of Love,” and that’s what did it. So now I’m very conscientious about image and publicity stunts, because Peter said, “Forget that [nonsense], just make the music good.”

Q: Is there more TV in your future?

A: I don’t know. I’m putting everything on hold because it’s important to me to tour this record internationally. I cut a pilot for Sony-Columbia-TriStar to do “Pyramid” [an updated version of the “$25,000 Pyramid” game show]. If they decide to do it, you may see me doing the Regis thing next year.

Q: As a former child pop star, do you have any words of wisdom for today’s preteen performers?

A: My advice to them is to enjoy every second of it while it lasts, because it’s all cyclical. I remember having ‘N Sync on our talk show. They were familiar with my career from the VH1 “Behind the Music” show, and we were laughing and having a great time. They know there’s an end to certain things and it’s important to get involved in other facets of the business.

* Donny Osmond, Saturday at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. 8 p.m. $39.50 to $59.50. (714) 556-2787.