Marie Osmond to 'Rockument' Career on Aug. 24

Marie Osmond, known for being a little bit country and a little bit rock-n-roll, will prove she’s all that and more when she brings her “eclectic, evening with”-style show to the Mayo Performing Arts Center at The Community Theatre at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 24.

The multi-talented mom of eight, who began performing at the age of three with her famous siblings, is taking a cue from fans and adding their requests to her set list, the 51-year old said.

As Osmond pointed out, her career has spanned nearly five decades and her admirers, many of whom follow her on Facebook and Twitter (she has nicknamed these her “Twitter Tots,” an homage to her award-winning dolls named “Tiny Tots”), vary widely in age.

“A lot of younger people have recently found me and a lot of older people, who grew up with me as kids have said, ‘we want to hear 'Paper Roses,'" said Osmond, referring to the song she recorded at the age of 12, with which she made history as the youngest female artist to have her debut record go to number one on the country charts. A Grammy nomination soon followed.

“The show is going to be massive eclectic,” she said. “We’re going to rock with some of the country tunes. They want to hear some of the tunes from the early ‘70s. Donny and I have a new album out. I have a couple of solo songs on there that I really want to do; they’re fun. I did two shows on Broadway. I did The Sound of Music and The King and I so I’ll probably do a couple tunes from that.

“I’m kind of unique—I  guess, weird, odd maybe—in the fact that I can sing many styles of music," Osmond said. "A lot of people want to hear an opera piece so I’ll probably put an opera piece in for fun—just kind of keep it really unique. I’m going to do a quiet set, where the band leaves and I’ll just stick with the guitars.”

Often remembered for the comedy skits she performed on her variety show Donnie & Marie, which aired from 1976-1981, Osmond said she intends to show off her sense of humor and "leave ‘em laughing."

“I have a lot of video that I’m putting in that’ll kind of 'rockument' a few decades and add some funny things in,” she said. “It’s going to be kind of an ‘evening with.’ Some people know you from this era, and other people remember you from this. I guarantee by the end of the evening I’ll catch you up and you’ll know who Marie Osmond is. It’s definitely not just ‘play a song, play a song, play a song.’ That’s not how I am. I‘ve got some storytelling and all kinds of fun things [planned].”

Osmond’s career enjoyed a resurgence in 2007, when she appeared on the fifth season of “Dancing With the Stars”, finishing in third place.

“There’s no dancing (in this show), I’m not carrying a big band,” explained Osmond, who is touring during her month off from the Las Vegas show she and brother Donny star in five nights a week at the Flamingo Hilton until 2012. “It’s a different kind of show—a little more intimate, more music-oriented, talking, audience-relating. The show in Vegas has a lot of dancing and it’s very fun. I love the show that you’re going to see. I want people to leave there after that hour and a half and feel like, man, they forgot their problems and they feel great.”

Of all her career accomplishments, which include performing alongside Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr. and Elvis, Osmond said she is most proud of her philanthropy work. In 1983, the singer-songwriter co-founded the Children’s Miracle Network, which she said helps 17 million children each year.

The cross-genre crooner recently released a new album of inspirational tunes titled “I Can Do This.” All the proceeds for the sale of the record are going to the Children’s Miracle Network on behalf of Osmond’s son, Michael, who committed suicide in 2010.

“It’s something that I wanted to do for him,” she said. “My greatest highlight is that I have eight beautiful children and I’m happily married.”

Twice divorced, the entertainer remarried first husband, Stephen Craig in May, 30 years after they wed the first time. “I love my kids, and now to be happily married, I just feel like God has blessed me immensely,” Osmond said.

Life hasn’t always been a bed of paper roses for Osmond, and her willingness to talk about the tough times in her books Behind the Smile: My Journey out of Postpartum Depression and Might as Well Laugh About it Now have made her not only more relatable to her fans but also a New York Times bestselling author.

The performer is currently working on a new book. “I’m a little premature on talking about it but they actually gave me the topic,” she said. “It’s going to be on women—on being a woman. It’s kind of an interesting topic. Motherhood, sisterhood, women in the ‘hood. I don’t have a working title yet. Right now we’ll just call it ‘women in the hood.’”

Continuously challenging herself, Osmond said “I always like to try things that I’ve never done. This fall I’ll be one of the guests on (CBS soap opera) 'The Bold and the Beautiful.' I feel honored that they want me on it.”

While Osmond said her lifestyle doesn't lend itself to too many "typical" days, she said, "I'm a normal person." When she isn't performing, she said she works from home while her children are at school.

"During the summer we go to the movies, we clean out the garage," said Osmond, who has been living in Las Vegas while performing there.

While she said it's a great arrangement, Osmond also enjoys touring because gives her the opportunity to get out and see her fans.

“I’m excited to be there," she said. "I hope everybody has a great time. I’m thrilled because I’ve heard the tour is almost sold-out. Especially in this economy, you want people to feel like they got their money’s worth and had a wonderful time and we’re going to try to make them feel like they got more than their money’s worth.”