With a career spanning over six decades, Donny Osmond has reached many different branches of pop culture. For pop culture mavens, he’s the singing voice of Shang in Mulan. For Broadway buffs, he’s Joseph from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. For reality show fans, he’s the guy in the peacock costume from The Masked Singer or the winner of the Mirror Ball Trophy on Dancing with the Stars. These days, Osmond is combining all the highlights of his career into one show and taking it to New York City. “I've done Broadway. I've done Vegas. I've done albums. I've done films. I've done television and all this stuff. Now, what do I do with it? What do we do with all of that stuff? That's what this show is. It's a celebration of everything I've done,” says Osmond. He will perform at the Beacon Theatre July 12, as part of his Direct From Las Vegas tour (which is traveling around the country until August 17).

Not only does the concert celebrate the big hits of his career, but there is also a section that focuses on fan favorites. “It's called the request segment,” explains Osmond. “For about 15 or 20 minutes, it's a free-for-all. I put all 65 albums on the huge screen behind me, and anyone in the audience can pick any song I've ever recorded in my entire life.” In Las Vegas, the songs that were requested the most? From Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat. “I wish I could do all of the songs from Joseph,” he says fondly. “The ones that keep coming up in this request segment are ‘Any Dream Will Do’ or ‘Go Go Joseph.’ The entire audience starts singing it with me. They’re such fun songs to sing because so many people know them.”

One of Osmond’s favorite songs from the show might surprise some fans. "‘Close Every Door’ is such a significant part of my life,” he admits. The song takes place in the most quiet and somber moments of the show. Joseph has just been thrown in jail by Potifar with no happy ending in sight. It is a deep reflection on the meaning of life. While doing the show, Osmond chose to opt up during the last line of the song. 

“Andrew Lloyd Webber did not write that note, and Andrew likes his stuff sung exactly the way he writes it. So, when I assumed that role of Joseph, I put that note in there,” admits Osmond. One night, Lloyd Webber came to see him perform. “My director said, ‘You better not sing that note because he didn't write it that way.’ But I did. I went for it. Afterward, he came back to my dressing room. He was quite serious. He said, ‘That note you sang at the very end of “Close Every Door.” I didn't write that note.’ I said, ‘I know.’ Then he looked at me with a little smirk on his face and said, ‘But I love it. Keep it in.’ Every time I hear a Joseph sing that note, it belongs to me." Osmond finishes his story with a hearty laugh.

With over 2,000 performances as Joseph in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (in Canada and Chicago) and starring in the 1999 movie adaptation, Osmond still holds the rainbow overgarment close to his heart—quite literally. The multicolored coat that he first wore in 1992 with his debut in the show has followed him through every stage performance and the film. “That's the one I did everything in. Everything,” emphasizes Osmond. After filming wrapped, Osmond acquired the garment in a very madcap way.

“Before we broke, I turned to my dresser,” Osmond explains. “I said, 'Here are the keys to my car. In the trunk, you'll find two huge suitcases. As soon as this production is wrapped, I want you to steal the coat and the armor. I want you to steal the loincloth; I want you to steal everything.'” Many of these items are still on display at his show in Las Vegas, along with other memorabilia from his career. The technicolor dream coat has even come out of retirement a time or two; Osmond has officiated weddings wearing it.

And Osmond’s journey with Joseph is still not over. From December 3–29, he will take on the role of the Pharaoh at the Edinburgh Playhouse, as part of the show’s current U.K. tour. After a recent concert in London, Osmond got a call from Lloyd Webber. “He calls me and says, ‘Would you be interested in going back to Joseph as the Pharaoh?’ I said, ‘Dude, lock it in.’” The irony of rejoining the show is not lost on Osmond. Not only will he be embodying Elvis, who the Pharaoh is based on and was a friend of Osmond, he will be going from the young bright-eyed hero to the guiding powerful father figure. “It's gonna be hilarious. Can you imagine? I'm breaking that fourth wall with the audience,” Osmond laughs. “That juxtaposition between the role that I played for six years and now, you can only imagine.”

While going back to the 9-show-a-week lifestyle, Osmond wants to put his all into this next iteration of Joseph. “When Pharaoh comes out there, I have to nail this part. I have to. And the only way to do it is to enjoy it and work my butt off. I want people to walk away not just saying, 'That was really good.' I want them to say, 'That was incredible,'” explains Osmond. “When I approach things now, as I've always had in my entire life, I just don't want to haphazardly do them. I say, 'What more can we add to this part? What more can we add to this role? What more can we add to the show where people walk out and say, ‘That is so much more than what I expected?' When I put on a show, a concert, or whatever it might be, what I have in the back of my mind is that I don't want to put on a concert. I don't want to put on a show. I want to put on an event where people come back and say, ‘I just got to see this again.’”