Marie Osmond has recorded numerous albums, been on many television shows, and written a handful of books; now she’s bringing “An Intimate Evening With Marie and Friends” to Fantasy Springs Resort Casino on Saturday, April 4.
Marie Osmond comes from a Mormon family, and was one of nine children. Some of her brothers—she’s the only female among the nine—were teen-pop megastars as The Osmonds. The Osmond family’s musical success was due in large part to their father, George.
“My dad believed in hiring the best and managed our finances,” Osmond said during a recent phone interview. “My dad was a brilliant orchestrator, and he made sure we always worked with the very, very best.”
The family’s success in the music business is well-documented. “There are not many of us who can say we’ve worked consistently in the entertainment business for five decades,” she said. “We’re fortunate to say we’re still relevant.”
Osmond said there were times during her childhood when she wished she could have been doing something else.
“I have a very unique experience as someone who grew up in the entertainment industry. What is normal?” she asked. “My brothers played football with the Jacksons, and Janet (Jackson) and I were the cheerleaders. I could go on with the oddities in my life, but the principle is: We’re all going to go through up and downs through our life. God could care less who we are, but he cares about how we do it.”
Osmond has spoken openly about her struggles with postpartum depression. In 2010, her son Michael committed suicide due to issues related to depression.
“My son struggled his whole life with depression, and he eventually took his life,” she said. “I don’t know if I ever could have understood what my son went through continually if I had not gone through postpartum depression. I don’t care what they call it—depression is depression.”
Osmond explained she’s open about her struggles in hopes of making people feel comfortable asking for help.
“That’s one of the reasons why I’m open with my life,” she said. “The things I do disclose when I talk about postpartum—do you know how many women are ashamed? Women used to be institutionalized for postpartum depression, which is just barbaric to me. It’s one of the reasons why I spoke, because if you can talk about things, you can eliminate that fear that’s attached to it, and you create an open dialogue and bring peace to the situation. We’re all human beings going through life, and no one should feel ashamed for depression. There needs to be compassion and understanding for it.”
Regarding her career, Osmond has been recording new music.
“When you’ve been singing for five decades, you say, ‘Really? An album at your age?’” she said. “I should say age should never define our ability to give back. There are a lot of things that can be said musically when you hit the big 5-0 that could never be expressed any other way. I’m so excited about it, and one of the songs I’ll be doing in the show is a song that I recorded with Marty Roe, the lead singer of Diamond Rio. Marty has one of the most incredible voices.”
Osmond explained the concept behind her tour.
“The show is called ‘An Intimate Evening,’ and it’s the music through my life,” she said. “My brother Donny and I have been in Vegas for about seven years now. … Musically, this is not a Vegas show. This show, I produced it in the sense I’m a New York Times best-selling author; I’m invited to speak quite a bit as a motivational speaker; and I thought it would be really fun to combine my love of writing with my passion of music. I would say it’s a one woman show with music, and it’s an emotional journey that we’ll go on together. Part of the reason I chose the venues I’ll be performing in is because they’re more intimate.”
Osmond said she picked the Palm Springs area in hopes of performing for a multigenerational audience.
“I really like the Palm Springs area. There are multiple age groups out there, and it’s one of the reasons I chose that area,” she said. “My demographic is very diverse. I want to pull in as many people age-wise as possible, because there’s something for every age group in my show.”
“An Intimate Evening With Marie and Friends” takes place at 8 p.m., Saturday, April 4, at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, 84245 Indio Springs Parkway, in Indio. Tickets are $39 to $79. For tickets or more information, call 800-827-2946, or visit www.fantasyspringsresort.com.
I can dream of going, if only, I’ve been a fan since the Andy Williams show