Before a recent performance, the 50-year-old singer talked to the Tribune from his hotel room, which has a view of a huge billboard of his sister. "They've got me staying right where Marie's teeth are," Osmond said. "I came up with this line and Marie started laughing and said I've got to keep it in the show. It's so bright, because of her teeth, I can never shut the lights out."

Where did the ideas for the show come from?

When we started putting these ideas together, it was: What kind of show could we bring? We've got enough Cirque shows here. We wanted to bring back traditional Vegas, but you can't do traditional Vegas in its traditional form, because the bar has been raised too high. It was a huge challenge, so we scoured the business to find the right people to put this together. We bring updated dancing into traditional Vegas. It's a potpourri of everything, with the bar raised to today's standards. So that's a challenge.

Are there any Utah dancers in the show, and how are you faring compared to the younger dancers in the show?

We have two dancers in our ensemble who are from Utah. There was no biased opinion one way or another, it depended on how well they could dance. But what we wanted to do was get some really young [dancers] - they vary from 20 to 30 - and here I am. I think somebody forgot to tell [the director] that I'm 50 and I'm trying to keep up with these 20-year-olds. They've got me dancing my butt off. And of course Marie does, too. It's a killer. My daily routine [is that] I do as little as possible to conserve my energy for the show.

Before getting a phone call from the producers, had you and Marie considered coming back to Vegas?

We always felt it was inevitable to come here and do something. I've been working Vegas quite a bit over at The Orleans [Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas], re-establishing a base here because I took a long, long break from Vegas, and you just can't jump back in and think the audience will be there. So you've got the local people to convince that you're serious about coming back in on a long-term basis.

Where are you staying?

They've got me staying right where Marie's teeth are [next to a huge billboard of Marie at The Flamingo]. I came up with this line and Marie started laughing and said I've got to keep it in the show. I mean, it's so bright because of her teeth I can never shut the lights out. As a matter of fact, right now I'm overlooking Caesars and the Bellagio. At the end of the day, my wind-down routine is to watch the fountains at the Bellagio. It's really nice.

Has Las Vegas changed since you first performed here, more than 30 years ago?

It's changed a lot, but it's still Vegas. And that's why I think this show works, because it's variety. People love to see a little variety. Don Marrandino [president of The Flamingo and Harrah's] told me the other day - and I hope this doesn't sound self-serving - that Vegas, because of the economy, is hurting. But he said it's absolutely amazing that we're seeing an uptrend in your ticket sales. He says we're not hurting. People want good entertainment and that's the great thing about Vegas. What hasn't changed is that there's something for everyone. After every show, we have a VIP meet-and-greet, and I take advantage of that time to ask people where they're from, and it's all over the place. It's a melting pot for the world. It's people from back East, last night we had a whole group from Japan, a couple of nights ago people from Saudi Arabia.

What is the show like? Is it clean?

I just don't think it'd be right to have Donny and Marie up there speaking vulgarities. It's not us. It would look contrived if you tried to do it. It is a family show but yet it's an entertainment show. It's pure variety and that was our challenge. Marie does opera, country and of course I'll do the rock, and we'll play on that 'little bit of country, little bit of rock 'n' roll' thing,' It's nostalgic, we do this thing at the end of the show, and it's quite amazing: It's the Alan Jackson 'Remember When' song, and I put together this video of just some of the stars we've worked with over the years. I wish I could have put more in there, but there's only so many you can do in three minutes. I sit there every night impressed that we've worked with all these people from Groucho Marx to Britney Spears.

David Burger writes about popular music. Contact him at dburger@sltrib.com or 801-257-8620.